A Chat With Danny Rubin
Groundhog Day Screenwriter

By Alan Freed, PunxsutawneyPhil.com Webmaster

If we could attribute the increased interest in Punxsutawney's Groundhog Day festivities over the past decade to one individual, it would be Danny Rubin.

After all, it was Rubin who came up with the idea of sticking someone in our town for many, many, many, many Groundhog Days for the entertainment of millions of people around the world.

Rubin spent many years in professional theater companies, children's television and as a teacher of screenwriting. He is currently a member of the faculty at The College of Santa Fe (New Mexico).

Groundhog Day was released in 1993, and claimed the top spot in the box office for two weeks. Worldwide the movie brought in more than $100 million, and it earned a British Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

I first had a chance to meet with Rubin when he visited Punxsutawney with Bill Murray on Groundhog Day, 1992. I recently caught up with him by phone at his home in New Mexico to talk about the film, which is still making lasting impressions on people seven years later.

During that conversation I got answers to some of the questions I have been asked about the film by e-mail from people over the past several years:

Why Groundhog Day? Could the movie have just as easily been "Arbor Day?"

Yes, it could have just as easily been Arbor Day, and the events of the movie would have been dictated by that choice. There were many reasons that Groundhog Day was a good arbitrary choice. It was a good choice because it's in the dead of winter. That made good sense for the story since the main character was stuck in his darkest day.

It made sense that the character would come from out of town, and that the character was predicting the weather. He felt could predict anything.

It's also an "unexploited" movie holiday. The reason it became Groundhog Day was that I got the idea right around that time, and I happened to be one of the few people outside Pennsylvania that knew about it.

Where had you heard about Groundhog Day?

I had done a trade show for Bell of PA while working as an industrial writer. I encountered the holiday somewhere during that experience.

Was Bill Murray who you had in mind to play Phil Connors?

I wasn't thinking of it as a comedy, so I didn't want to put a comedian in that role. I wanted a Kevin Kline - someone like that. The studio wanted a big comedian in the center role. I was skeptical. I like Bill Murray's work, but I didn't think he had the acting chops to make it work. Harold (Ramis) told me that (Murray) would be right for the part, and he was right. At that time Bill was starting to take on more meaty roles as an actor, and it came at a good time for him.

Why wasn't Groundhog Day filmed in Punxsutawney?

I was told that the reason was that Punxsutawney is laid out in a more linear fashion, and the festival is off to the side. In order to make the town look and feel claustrophobic it was important to have the festival set in a town square - that was a big part. It was important for the character to feel claustrophobic, even in the scenes in his room. His room got smaller & smaller throughout the movie.

Also, there were better technical facilities available to the crew in Chicago.

What made you decide to visit Punxsutawney in 1992?

It was Bill (Murray's) idea. The timing worked out. A couple days before Groundhog Day that year, he called and was surprised that no one involved in the production had been there, and he thought it would be a good idea if he and I went.

What was your impression of the festivities?

I loved it. I thought the festival was so much fun. It doesn't start at dawn - it starts the night before and that's the goofy drama of it. It is a very local affair but everybody knows it's a goofy affair. I felt a little bit bad that the end result of the movie portrayed the town as a cartoon of itself.

I remember that it seemed to me when we were there Bill Murray got more attention than the groundhog. The festival itself was nothing compared to having a movie star in town. We landed in the middle of the night and there were people waiting there, wanting to catch a glimpse of the guy.

What elements of the real town did the filmmakers attempt to duplicate in the movie?

We definitely wanted to capture the look of the town elders that are on stage, and the feel of the crowd itself. There was a "bachelor auction" advertised in the local newspaper at the time. I had never heard of one before, and that made it into the movie's final act.

What advice would you give to people thinking about attending the festivities?

Fly in on a private jet in the middle of the night for starters! Bring lots of warm clothes. And to do it right, plan to stay up all night with your friends.

How close was the final product to the movie you had originally envisioned? What were the major differences?

There were three major differences from what I originally wanted. The first act was different. I began the story after he was already repeating the day because I found that intriguing. It was fun seeing him live his day knowing what other people were going to do and what other people were going to say. It made him seem supernatural.

Second, there was a voiceover in the original script. I didn't mind seeing it go.

Third, the overall tone was a little more comedic than I had originally thought it would be. I wanted it to feel whimsical, but real. I think in the end it felt a little less real than I expected.

These aren't criticisms, just differences. There are dozens of ways we could have done it and any one of them would have worked. And this one worked extremely well.

Could there ever be a Groundhog Day II?

I already figured out what it would be. We'd give it a name like Groundhog Day II: Return to Punxsutawney. The rest of the movie would be identical - we'd just re-release it!

How have you celebrated Groundhog Day in the years since the movie?

Oh, we've done different things. We had a great Groundhog Day party once - a big mid-winter dance party. Sometimes we just watch the movie. I'm always fielding phone calls from friends who wouldn't call me to wish me a Happy Birthday, but who do call me on Groundhog Day.

What projects do you have in the works now?

I'm working on a spy movie called Spy Wheel set in Berlin… and a Martian movie called Martian Time - the second in my time trilogy after Groundhog Day. I teach at the College of Santa Fe and run a teen arts center here.

Visit Danny's Web Site, complete with his "Blogus Groundhogus!"