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Bill Murray in FCU: Fact Checkers Unit
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Did you know that Bill Murray drinks milk before he goes to bed? Such are the unproven rumors that plague the hard-working men of FCU: "Fact Checkers Unit." Created by the New York based comedy duo of Pete and Brian (Peter Karinen and Brian Sacca, of "Knock Knock" online fame) and director Dan Beers, an associate producer on Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, "FCU" was born out of the trio's desire to lampoon the popular crime show CSI, says Beers, with "two fact checkers who work with the intensity of homicide detectives." Working at the fictional Dictum Magazine, the two intrepid truth-seekers must contend with Wikipedia (a fact-checker's worst villain) and the multiple vagaries that plague them every day. When the Bill Murray fact hits them, they set out to find his house and spy on him to check the fact.
The project, of course, couldn't have gone forward without the participation of Murray, so Beers, who met the actor while working for Wes Anderson, faxed him about the short and asked if he would play himself. "I later ran into him and he said he liked the idea and that he would do it -- and that was it. That's the kind of guy Bill is," says Beers. "Extremely generous." Written over a few months, Beers, Karinen and Sacca were adding and deleting scenes up until the week before the shoot. ("Bill made fun of us that it took three guys to write ten pages," write Karinen and Sacca via email.)
But the short film's most priceless moments were spontaneously improvised during the production, including a bit of deadpan hilarity when Murray improvises "chopsticks." "We knew we wanted that piano shot, but right before we shot it we realized none of the three of us could play piano," writes Karinen. "So Brian and I had a PA teach us chopsticks right before the shot, and Bill improvised the entire thing without a rehearsal."
-Anthony Kaufman
Dan Beers
Comedy
9:26
Bill Murray : Bill Murray
Fact Checker : Brian Sacca
Fact Checker : Peter Karinen
Editor : Kristen Schaal
Karol Marrs
Dan Beers, Peter Karinen, and Brian Sacca
Mark Schwartzbard
Paul Kelly
Executive Producers : R. Fernandez, D. Levinson, L. Schwar
Producer : Nicole Romano
Composer : Patrick Force
Prod Design, Hair, Make-up : Katie Akana
