Being Mortal (film)

Being Mortal is a suspended American comedy-drama film written, directed, produced by, and starring Aziz Ansari in what was set to be his feature directorial debut. It is based on the 2014 non-fiction book Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Bill Murray, Seth Rogen, and Keke Palmer were set to co-star.

Filming began in March 2022. In April, production was suspended due to a complaint against Murray for allegedly sexually harassing a young female crew member.

Cast

 * Aziz Ansari
 * Bill Murray
 * Seth Rogen
 * Keke Palmer

Production
On February 22, 2022, Searchlight Pictures announced the development of an untitled film written, directed, and produced by Aziz Ansari in his feature directorial debut, with Ansari and Bill Murray attached to star. Taylor Friedman and Cameron Chidsey oversaw the film for Searchlight. Youree Henley was also a producer. In March, the title was revealed to be Being Mortal, the same as the material it is based on. In the following months, Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer joined the cast.

Suspension
After principal photography began on March 28, 2022, Searchlight halted production on April 18 and officially suspended production on April 20 after investigating a complaint filed against Murray for "inappropriate behavior" a week prior. In a letter to the cast and crew, Searchlight said they were working with Ansari and Henley to resolve the matter and resume production.

On April 30, Murray made a similar statement: "I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn't taken that way. The company, the movie studio, wanted to do the right thing, so they wanted to check it all out, investigate it, and so they stopped the production. But as of now, we're talking and we're trying to make peace with each other." In October of that year, reports emerged that Murray had allegedly straddled a "much younger" female production assistant and while both masked, kissed her on the mouth, causing her to file an official complaint.

Shortly afterward, Palmer told Variety that the film would need "a major rewrite" to be completed without Murray, but that "if somebody could figure it out, it's Aziz".

The filmmakers sought to find a financier and distributor to replace Searchlight to no avail. Ansari moved on to direct another film, Good Fortune, after which he reportedly intends to revisit Being Mortal.