50 Fun Facts About Scrooged

Who directed Scrooged (1988)?

He had made Superman and The Goonies and would follow this with Lethal Weapon 2. He and Murray met for drinks before signing on to check they got along; the shoot tested that.

What is the job of Bill Murray's character in Scrooged?

He runs IBC and is staging a live Christmas Eve broadcast of A Christmas Carol, which is what makes the film a story about the story.

What is the name of the fictional network Frank runs?

Its Christmas line-up includes 'Robert Goulet's Cajun Christmas' and 'The Night the Reindeer Died'. Exteriors were shot outside the Seagram Building in New York.

Which two former Saturday Night Live writers wrote the Scrooged screenplay?

Murray reworked the script with them before agreeing to star. O'Donoghue later estimated only 40% of their script survived and disowned the finished film in spectacular language.

How long had Bill Murray been away from acting before Scrooged?

He retreated after The Razor's Edge flopped in 1984 and the Ghostbusters phenomenon overwhelmed him. He said the flop made him feel 'radioactive'.

How much was Bill Murray paid for Scrooged?

Producer Art Linson argued that every year Murray stayed away increased his drawing power. He said only Eddie Murphy could match him for opening-weekend pull.

What was Scrooged's production budget?

Filming ran three-and-a-half months from December 1987 to March 1988, mostly on Hollywood sets. It went on to gross $100.3 million worldwide.

Which meek IBC executive does Frank fire for questioning the violent Christmas Carol promo?

Bobcat Goldthwait plays him. Abandoned by his family, he later shows up with a shotgun, and ends the film rehired with a raise and helping Frank storm the studio.

How did Frank's mentor Lew Hayward, the film's Marley figure, die?

John Forsythe plays him as a decaying corpse with a golf ball still lodged in his skull. He warns Frank three ghosts are coming.

In Scrooged, the Ghost of Christmas Past appears in what form?

Sam Kinison had been considered for the part.

Which musician plays the Ghost of Christmas Past in Scrooged?

He was a personal friend of Murray's. His New York Dolls bandmate Arthur Kane reportedly flew into a jealous rage on seeing how big the part was.

Carol Kane's Ghost of Christmas Present is a violent fairy who hits Frank with what household appliance?

Kane said she also kicked Murray 'in areas that weren't pleasant for him', and once tore the inside of his lip. Murray insisted she really hit him.

Why did Carol Kane end up performing her own ballet scenes rather than using a planned body double?

He saw her rehearsing and convinced Donner to keep it. Kane sometimes cried for long stretches on set out of frustration at the violent scenes.

Who plays Claire Phillips, Frank's ex-girlfriend who runs a homeless shelter?

Murray insisted the romance be expanded before he signed on. Claire is later shown, in the future, having taken his advice and become a selfish socialite.

Which screen legend plays Preston Rhinelander, the IBC boss who wants programming that appeals to pets?

He was not interested in the small role until Donner had him meet Murray, who talked him into it. Critics later noted the pet-TV joke has aged into prophecy.

Who plays Grace Cooley, Frank's loyal assistant, in Scrooged?

Los Angeles Times critic Sheila Benson called hers the film's one completely persuasive performance. Her son Calvin has not spoken since seeing his father die.

What are the first words the mute boy Calvin says at the end of Scrooged?

It is Tiny Tim's line from Dickens, delivered as Frank and Claire reunite. Nicholas Phillips plays Calvin.

Which song does Frank lead the cast and audience in singing at the end of the film?

The Al Green and Annie Lennox version peaked at No. 9 in January 1989 and is now a Christmas radio staple despite never mentioning Christmas.

Which two singers recorded the closing-credits single from Scrooged that reached No. 9 in January 1989?

It spent 17 weeks on the US chart. The A&M soundtrack had nine songs, seven of which were released as singles.

How many of Bill Murray's real brothers appear in Scrooged?

Brian Doyle-Murray plays Frank's father, John Murray plays his brother James, and Joel Murray cameos as a party guest.

In Scrooged's promo 'The Night the Reindeer Died', which TV action star saves Santa with a minigun?

Donner contacted him directly. The stripped-down M134 was the same one used in Predator, and he found it almost too heavy to carry.

Which comedian plays Scrooge in IBC's live broadcast within the film?

Jamie Farr of M*A*S*H plays Jacob Marley in the same production, and gymnast Mary Lou Retton is Tiny Tim.

Which Olympic gymnast plays Tiny Tim in the broadcast-within-the-film?

Her Tiny Tim throws away the crutch and does a tumbling pass. Robert Goulet, John Houseman and Lee Majors all appear as themselves.

Which jazz great appears as a street musician in Scrooged?

He plays alongside Paul Shaffer, David Sanborn and Larry Carlton on a New York sidewalk, and Frank tells them to get a job.

Which dance troupe made its final appearance in Scrooged?

They perform in the IBC Christmas Carol broadcast. Their TV show had ended earlier in 1988.

To what year does the Ghost of Christmas Past first take Frank, to see his neglected childhood?

Young Frank escapes his dismissive father through television. Later stops in 1968 and 1971 show him meeting and then losing Claire at IBC.

Where does the Ghost of Christmas Present abandon Frank, next to Herman's frozen body?

Herman is the homeless man Frank mocked at Claire's shelter. Frank breaks through a boarded door and finds himself back on the set minutes before air.

In the future the Ghost of Christmas Future shows Frank, what has happened to Calvin?

Frank also sees his own cremation, attended only by his brother and sister-in-law, and ends up inside the burning coffin before snapping back to the elevator.

How is Frank's body dealt with in the vision of his own funeral?

He finds himself inside the coffin as the flames close in. Only James and his wife Wendie attend.

How did the writers react to Murray's improvised, emotional final speech on set?

The crew applauded, then O'Donoghue asked 'What was that? The Jim Jones hour?' Donner punched him in the arm hard enough to leave a week-long bruise.

What did Murray say the fake snow on the Scrooged set caused him to do?

He described the set as dusty, smelly and smoky and the shoot as 'a fair amount of misery', and later said only one take in the finished film was really his.

What did Bill Murray jokingly conclude about Donner after being told to play everything 'louder, louder, louder'?

Donner, for his part, called Murray 'superbly creative but occasionally difficult' and said 'you don't direct him, you pull him back.'

What fraction of the original script did Michael O'Donoghue say made the finished film?

He said what survived was 'twisted' and that Donner did not understand comedy. He disowned the film outright before his death.

For which award was Scrooged nominated at the 61st Academy Awards?

Thomas R. Burman and Bari Dreiband-Burman were nominated for work including Lew Hayward's rotting corpse. They lost to Beetlejuice.

Which film beat Scrooged to the Oscar it was nominated for?

Both were 1988 comedies leaning heavily on ghosts and prosthetics. Scrooged's own marketing leaned on Murray's Ghostbusters past: 'this time, it's three against one'.

Which studio released Scrooged on November 23, 1988?

It topped the Thanksgiving weekend box office with $18.6 million, ahead of The Land Before Time and Oliver & Company, then dropped over 40% the next week.

How much did Scrooged gross worldwide?

About $60.3 million came from the US, making it the 13th biggest film of 1988, and $40 million from overseas.

Which composer wrote the score for Scrooged?

He was busy that year: he also scored Beetlejuice, the film that beat Scrooged to the makeup Oscar. The Hollywood Reporter called his music 'full blast with holiday spirit'.

Which famous New York skyscraper stood in for the exterior of IBC's headquarters?

Almost everything else was shot on Hollywood sets. The Mies van der Rohe tower on Park Avenue is a landmark of corporate modernism, which suits Frank.

How long is the final theatrical cut of Scrooged?

Murray complained Donner 'shot a big, long, sloppy movie' and left a lot on the cutting-room floor. A promised 'Yule Love It!' DVD of extras in 2006 never materialised.

What grade did Scrooged receive from CinemaScore audiences on release?

Earlier test screenings had been the best Paramount had ever recorded, with 93% rating it 'very good', but critics split between finding it too mean and too sentimental.

Which critic called Scrooged one of the most 'disquieting, unsettling films' in some time?

He felt it showed pain and anger more than comedy and that Murray looked genuinely unhappy. The BBC's Ben Falk, by contrast, said it is hard not to sing along at the end.

Which crooner appears as himself fronting a 'Cajun Christmas' special in IBC's parody lineup?

Critic Sheila Benson called the opening's fake IBC schedule the film's high point, alongside 'The Night the Reindeer Died'.

As of 2025, what approval score did Scrooged hold on Rotten Tomatoes?

Metacritic was harsher at 38 out of 100, though the film has since become a regular Christmas television staple.

Who plays Brice Cummings, the executive assigned to 'help' Frank at IBC?

The Hollywood Reporter praised his credible portrayal of a sleazy executive; Frank restrains him to hijack the live broadcast.

The failure of which 1984 film left Bill Murray feeling 'radioactive' before his four-year break?

It came out the same year as Ghostbusters, his biggest ever hit, and Murray considered himself 'rusty' on the Scrooged set.

Which M*A*S*H star plays Jacob Marley in the live broadcast within the film?

Other cameos include John Houseman, Paul Shaffer, David Sanborn and Larry Carlton as a street musician.

How much did Scrooged take over its Thanksgiving-extended opening weekend in the US?

That topped the weekend ahead of The Land Before Time and Oliver & Company and ranked as the fourth-best opening of 1988.

Where did Scrooged's US gross of just over $60m place it among the films of 1988?

It left theatres after eight weeks, having slipped to ninth place over the Christmas period itself.

What was the punning name of the 2006 special-edition DVD that Paramount promoted but never released?

It was to include a Donner commentary and several featurettes, but missed its Halloween release date for reasons never disclosed.