Before the film very few people outside America were probably aware of the event, but it's legacy endures and anyone who still hasn't seen it (why?) through a classic bit of scheduling can see it tomorrow night on five at 9pm, y'know actually on Groundhog Day. Today in the The Observer, Ryan Gibley discusses the ongoing appeal of the film and reveals how close creators Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis were from turning a classic into an also ran:
"'The studio argued that the audience would be confused,' he recalls. 'I told them that if we explain it, we trivialise it. Who cares if it's a celestial event or whatever? Harold called me and said, "Just write something. We can always cut it out." I said, "What do you want? A gypsy curse?" That was the most stupid, commercial idea I could think of. He said, "Yeah, just write that."'Personally, due to climate changes, I think Spring will come earlier this year, but perhaps I ought to leave it to the professionals. "You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction. It's gonna be cold ... it's gonna be grey... and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life."
Rubin and Ramis both dashed off scenes to placate executives. Ramis's rewrite contained some dimwitted alterations that reveal how close the filmmakers came to squandering their picture's potential. In his version, Ramis created a spurned lover who takes revenge on Phil with the help of 101 Curses, Spells and Enchantments You Can Do at Home. 'Harold's draft also had a lot of adolescent, topical humour,' adds Rubin. 'I said, "You've gotta take all this out, because this movie is going to go on for years and years." Even then I believed it would achieve that kind of longevity. Of course, I've also believed that every screenplay I wrote would get made and that hasn't happened.' "
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