Starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz and Bill Murray, the film Charlie's Angels was a huge success at the box office, bringing in $264 million. However, behind the scenes, things weren't so smooth for the film, as we'll reveal. This should not come as a surprise given that nowadays, stories continue to pile up relating to Murray's conduct on-set.Murray's target on-set happened to be Lucy Liu, who was also underappreciated in her role when it came to the salary distribution.We'll take a look back at how the beef started between Murray and Liu behind the scenes, and how the actress stood up for herself and didn't take the insults that came her way. We'll also reveal what Drew Barrymore thought about the entire ordeal between her fellow co-stars.
Lucy Liu And Bill Murray's Feud Ignited In Charlie's Angels Because Of Re-Shoots
Speaking alongside the podcast, Asian Enough, Lucy Liu dropped some behind the scenes details as to exactly what went on between herself and Bill Murray.
According to Liu, things started going south during a particular reshoot. A certain scene in the film was reshot without Bill Murray, and it turned out to be a lot more fluid than the original.
Liu stated, “We had taken the weekend to rework that particular scene and Bill Murray was not able to come because he had to attend some family gathering,” she explained. “So it was everyone else, and we just made the scene more fluid."
“I wish I had more to do with [the rewrite], but I didn’t,” she continued. “Because I was the last one cast, and I probably had the least amount of privilege, in terms of creatively participating at that time.”
Liu states that at that point, things started to intensify between the two as for whatever reason, Murray blamed the reshoots on Liu and his lack of knowledge about them.
Liu describes the awkward moment of Murray staring her down, “I was, like, ‘Wow, he seems like he’s looking straight at me.’ I couldn’t believe that [his comments] could be towards me, because what do I have to do with anything majorly important at that time?” she said.
“I say, ‘I’m so sorry. Are you talking to me?’—and clearly he was, because then it started to become a one-on-one communication.”
Things clearly reached a boiling point, with Murray making a scene behind the camera...
Bill Murray Interrupted Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, And Lucy Liu Mid-Scene
Things would only worsen between the two sides, as Murray started to insult Liu's acting abilities. According to The Independent, Murray took his insults to the next level, interrupting the actress mid-scene, while she was shooting alongside co-stars Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz.
Murray said, “I get why you’re here, and you’ve got talent…(to Barrymore and Diaz) but what in the hell are you doing here? You can’t act!”
Looking back at the incident, Liu is proud of the way she stood up for herself, despite the heat from the actor.
“I stood up for myself, and I don’t regret it,” she said. “Because no matter how low on the totem pole you may be or wherever you came from, there’s no need to condescend or to put other people down.”
I don’t want to be that person that is not going to speak up for myself and stand by the only thing that I have,” she explained, “which is my dignity and self-respect," she continued.
Drew Barrymore Praised Lucy Liu For Standing Up To Bill Murray
Not only was Liu proud of herself, but she also received praise from her co-star, Drew Barrymore.
Recalling the experience, Barrymore credited Liu for the way she responded to Murray's harsh words.
"What you have to know is how much Lucy stood up for herself and that was the great thing that came out of an unfortunate circumstance. She literally said, ‘I do not accept that kind of behavior from you.’ And we all supported her and backed her up and we moved forward.”
It should not come as a surprise to learn that Bill Murray was replaced in the sequel by the late Bernie Mac. Rumors seem to be mixed about his departure, with some tabloids claiming Murray backed out, while others state that the film wanted no part of Murray following his antics on the first film.
