Bill Murray’s cameo in the first movie was inspired. How did that come about?
RR: This idea of a post-apocalyptic world is so dour and depressing; we wanted to look at wish fulfilment at the end of the world. You can do anything you want without consequence. You can drive any car, you can shop at any store, and one of the things you can do is go to a huge mansion in Beverley Hills and crash for the night. That idea first began when we first wrote it as Patrick Swayze. They show up at Patrick Swayze’s house and there’s a big fight between a zombified Patrick Swayze and Tallahassee. Unfortunately, he got sick and we never really got the chance to offer him the role or give him the script. So, we officially put pen to paper and brainstormed and wrote about 10 to 15 drafts with different celebrity cameos in mind: Sylvester Stallone, Joe Pesci, Jean Claude Van Damme, Matthew McConaughey, Mark Hamill… and for one reason or another they all said no. One being schedule, another bring this idea of actors playing themselves in a movie that was hard to get over the hump
