Following allegations made against co-star Bill Murray last year, production will not resume on the unfinished film Being Mortal.
It’s been the better part of a year since Searchlight Pictures suspended production on Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut, Being Mortal. The comedy drama would have marked the directing debut for the Master Of None actor who was also starring in the film alongside Bill Murray and Seth Rogen. However, back in April of last year, it emerged that the Disney-owned backer of the film, Searchlight Pictures, had suspended production to investigate allegations of improper behaviour against Murray.
Murray is believed to have settled out of court but his alleged actions seem to have had a devastating impact upon the project, with reports today confirming that it is dead. It is believed that with half of the film shot, Searchlight opted not to restart production but did give Ansari the opportunity to take the film elsewhere. Clearly, that has not worked out as Ansari might have hoped and it is stated that other cast members have now moved on to new projects.
The project was based on the non-fiction book Being Mortal: Medicine And What Happens In The End by Atul Gawande, an American surgeon. Ansari wasn’t just starring and directing, he also penned the screenplay and was producing alongside Youree Henley. The film’s cancellation will surely come as a blow to Ansari, given how involved he was at every level of the project.
Puck News is also reporting that Searchlight is keen to work with Ansari again, with the idea being to re-team the comedian with Seth Rogen to work on a new script. We’ll bring you more on that project as we hear it.
