2 - Frameworks: Stardom, Authorship, Genre
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2013
Summary
Stardom, Bill Murray: Mixing comic performance and sincerity
If Lost in Translation was originally written with Bill Murray in mind, and Murray figured most centrally in marketing devices such as the trailer and the main poster, the presence of the star is as good a place as any to begin the closer analysis of the film itself, and some of the key frameworks in which it might be expected to be located for viewers. Murray was an important ingredient in the production from a commercial point of view, as reflected by his prominence in the marketing campaign, which implies that his presence was considered to be one of the strongest selling points of the film. As an established star, with a track record over a period of more than two decades, he brought to Lost in Translation a number of associations on which the film plays, sometimes quite explicitly. These have a prominent role in some central narrative dimensions of the production, including the fact that Murray's character is a disillusioned performer engaged in what he is all too aware is a cynical cashing-in on his image (in contrast to what is signified by the actor's presence in the film). They also contribute importantly to the broader positioning of the film in the indie/Indiewood arena. The general location, and more specific performance, of Murray in Lost in Translation can be understood in itself as a manifestation of the kind of hybrid status that typically characterises the Indiewood sector.
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- Lost in Translation , pp. 31 - 75Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2010