Uncategorized, Verse

Ever have deja vu?

Billy Murray and Andie MacDowell

Didn’t you just say that?

It’s amazing what you can do with the Internet nowadays. Many networks are engaging in convergent entertainment, which simulcast their varying modalities of mass communication online and on television. One such species of this information evolution has mutated into the form of pop-up video—what the long-running series LOST referred to has “enhanced” viewing and originally made relevant by the pop-culture, music-video phenomenon, aptly named VH1’s “Pop Up Video.” In the case of American Movie Classics (AMC), the spontaneous updates occasionally invite viewers of this network’s regular programming to visit AMCTV.com, for background on their current viewing interest.

I was watching Groundog Day on AMCHD recently, during one such dynamic broadcast.

The epiphanous caption read ‘Bill Murray spoke to his wife in her sleep on their wedding night.’ It popped up while Murray spoke to Andie MacDowell on the screen, as she sleep acted. That’s kind of an intimate fact about Murray’s life though, isn’t it? Where’d they verify that? Who were their fact checkers? I noticed they didn’t get a direct quote from the smooth-talking Ghostbuster himself.

They did, however, quote him in saying that Groundhog Day was a turning point in his career. It was the movie, premiering Feb. 2, 1993, about which the New York Times reported “Mr. Murray is back in top form with a clever, varied role that draws upon the full range of his talents.”

That’s why, when people ask, “What About Bob?” I always say, ‘Don’t forget Groundhog Day.’

Just before the credits scrolled up AMC’s ultra-crisp, high-definition display, one of the last popups quoted the Co-writer and Director of Groundhog Day Harold Ramis in saying that the movie received a positive response from people of all creeds, religions and philosophies.

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