Hey, Bill! (and a Cardinal-sponsored screening of Groundhog Day)

This Friday, Cardinal Spirits is sponsoring a screening of Groundhog Day at Butler Park as part of Bloomington's Movies in the Parks series. We love this series — you bring blankets and snacks and an extra sweatshirt to your local park, claim a little space on the ground with your friends and family, and watch a movie together under the stars starting at dusk. It's free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

As sponsors for this Friday's movie, we got to choose the film. The organizers said the movie had to be rated PG. We said it had to star Bill Murray. Groundhog Day was right in that sweet spot.

Why Bill Murray? The short answer is that he's amazing. The long answer is below, with Cardinal Spirits co-founders Adam Quirk and Jeff Wuslich:

There is a framed Bill Murray print hanging in the production area of the distillery. If you go on a tour, you can see it up close. Or you can just peek at it through the door that leads to the production facility, back by the bathrooms. What's this all about?

Adam: I bought that picture probably 3 or 4 years ago online and I was going to hang it at my house, but my wife did not like that idea. I built the distillery so I would have a place to hang it. 

And now that whole room is known as Bill Murray?

Adam: Yes. We have two spaces in the back that are both part of our production facility. When someone was looking for someone else, we would say, "He's in production," but that could mean either of those spaces. So, we decided to call one space "Bill Murray" for clarity. It's the area where things are packaged and shipped out.

Jeff: We also have a printer back there, it's called Bill Murray's Printer, and it always feels good to print to that. A receipt printer up front is also called Bill Murray. It can get very confusing.

So, Bill Murray. You guys must think he's pretty great?

Adam: He's a personal hero. I just think he has an incredible sense of humor and I like the way he lives life. He lives in the moment. 

Jeff: And he doesn't have an agent.

Adam: Yeah, if he had an agent he would probably get roped into doing a bunch of crappy movies he doesn't want to do. 

What's the closest you've come to meeting Bill Murray?

Jeff: Well, Groundhog Day was filmed in Pittsburgh, and I was once at the building where it was filmed. I was eight years old then ... so, that was four years before the movie was filmed. Actually, I'm not even sure he was in the scenes that were filmed at that building. And, I guess it could have been filmed at a sound stage. But they showed the outside of that building in the movie.

Adam: I lived in Brooklyn when he was hanging out in Brooklyn in the mid-2000s. I would hear from a friend of friend that he would show up at parties in Williamsburg. Any time I would go to Williamsburg, I had my eyes open.

Sounds like some pretty close calls, guys. What would you do if Bill Murray showed up one day at Cardinal Spirits? 

Adam: I would ask him if he wanted to distill something. 

Jeff: I've told the staff, they need to call me if Bill Murray shows up. I do have this nightmare where I come into the distillery one morning and the tables are turned over, and all the booze is gone, and everyone is passed out, and I'll be like, "Guys, what happened last night?" and they'll whisper, "Bill Murray."

What do you think he likes to drink?

Adam: I don't know. He was in that scotch ad in Lost in Translation.

Jeff: I think he's a tequila guy. I read that somewhere.

What job at Cardinal Spirits would best suit him?

Adam: Probably giving tours.

Jeff: Parking attendant. 

What's your favorite Bill Murray movie?

Adam: I've probably seen Caddyshack 300 times. There was a period when my roommate was, I would say, addicted to Caddyshack. He would watch it every day, sometimes twice a day. It was just the soundtrack of our lives for a year. I think he's good in that, but my favorite Bill Murray movie is The Life Aquatic.

Jeff: It's hard to pick a favorite, but probably The Royal Tenenbaums.