While many consider Groundhog Day to be an annual celebration to the hilarious and distinguishedcareer of Bill Murray, the Toronto International Film Festival officially declared September 5th as Bill Murray Day, and the fest and its attendees paid tribute to the comedian with a retrospective of his work (including screenings of Ghostbusters and Stripes), a Q&A session, and the world premiere of Murrays latest film St. Vincent with Melissa McCarthy.
A sudden burst of heavy rain attempted to mar Bill Murray Day in the Canadian city as hundreds of fans became soaked, but Murray himself wasnt going to let some wet weather ruin the occasion as he faced the downpour head on, drenching his tan khakis before he made his way down the red carpet. At some point, Murray was handed a plastic gold crown and a sash that read Bill Murray Day, which the actor wore proudly on his way into the Princess of Wales Theatre. St. Vincent co-star Chris ODowd also marked the occasion by wearing a Bill Murray T-shirton the TIFF red carpet.
Earlier on Bill Murray Day during the Q&A, someone asked the minor league baseball team ownerwhat film he would watch if thrown into a Groundhogs Day-esque situation where he was locked in a room with the same movie on loop. Murray picked both Francois Truffauts comedy Small Change and Roberto Benignis Johnny Stecchino. Murray arrived at the Q&A session wearing a grey beret and reportedly sang Princes Raspberry Beret as he took the stage.
As the credits rolled onthe premiere of St. Vincent, which marked the end of Bill Murray Day, the audience gave the actor a standing ovation.St. Vincent will arrive in theatres via the Weinstein Company on October 24th.