Have I told you about my screenplay called Arbor Day? It's about a greedy logging magnate who gets turned into a tree. Unfortunately, I haven't yet convinced Hollywood that the script is a license to print money, so for the time being, Groundhog Day remains the most brilliant comedy about a quasi-holiday.

Now, there's never a bad time to talk about Groundhog Day the movie, but there's probably not a better time than Groundhog Day the day. And that's today, so let's do that.

Over at Buzzfeed, they've got a good rundown of 12 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Groundhog Day. For example, Tom Hanks and Tori Amos almost played Phil and Rita(?!) But there are a few notable things that didn't make the list. Like, did you know, Harold Ramis says in the DVD commentary that Phil was originally imagined to have spent 10,000 years repeating Groundhog Day? They changed it to 10 years, though it's never made clear one way or another in the actual movie, but I love the idea of Phil spending millennia in Punxatawney.

Oh, and I once read a deleted scene from the screenplay where Phil steals an airplane and visits his mother. Is the movie better without it? Maybe, but it's an interesting sequence on its own and gives you just a glimmer of an idea of all the possibilities they couldn't fit into the movie.

Meanwhile, if you still think GD is just a fun little disposable comedy, you have to read this 2003 New York Times article on a MoMA film series about faith in film. It turns out Groundhog Day is held in high regard as an important philosophical work by theological leaders from multiple religions. Can Cap'n Ron say that? Yes, of course Capn' Ron can say that. Sorry, bad example.

Anyway, happy Groundhog Day, everyone! And don't forget your booties, because it's cold out there today!