Being Mortal (film)
{{Short description|Unfinished American film by Aziz Ansari}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Being Mortal
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| director = Aziz Ansari
| screenplay = Aziz Ansari
| based_on = {{Based on|Being Mortal|Atul Gawande}}
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Aziz Ansari
- Youree Henley
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- Aziz Ansari
- Bill Murray
- Seth Rogen
- Keke Palmer
}}
| cinematography =
| editing =
| music =
| studio = Oh Brudder Productions
| distributor =
| released =
| runtime =
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Being Mortal is a cancelled{{cite web |last=Vlessing |first=Etan |title=Bill Murray Addresses 'Being Mortal' Misconduct Controversy |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/bill-murray-addresses-being-mortal-misconduct-controversy-1236182686/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=April 5, 2025 |access-date=April 6, 2025}} 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
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/bill-murray-aziz-ansari-searchlight-movie-1235097266/|title=Bill Murray, Aziz Ansari Team for Searchlight Comedy-Drama (Exclusive)|date=February 22, 2022|first=Borys|last=Kit|website=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=February 22, 2022}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Kroll |first1=Justin |title=Seth Rogen Joins Bill Murray In Aziz Anzari's Directorial Debut Being Mortal For Searchlight |url=https://deadline.com/2022/03/seth-rogen-bill-murray-aziz-ansaris-being-mortal-searchlight-1234985262/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=March 24, 2022 |date=March 24, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Kit |first1=Borys |title=Keke Palmer Joins Bill Murray and Seth Rogen in Aziz Ansari's Being Mortal (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/keke-palmer-aziz-ansari-being-mortal-1235123421/ |access-date=April 1, 2022 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=April 1, 2022}}
=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.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/searchlight-being-mortal-1235007035/|title=Searchlight Pictures Suspends Production On Adaptation Of Being Mortal|date=April 20, 2022|first=Justin|last=Kroll|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=April 20, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/being-mortal-bill-murray-1235007590/|title=Being Mortal Production Suspended Due To Complaint Against Bill Murray For Inappropriate Behavior|date=April 21, 2022|first=Justin|last=Kroll|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=April 21, 2022}}
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."{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/bill-murray-being-mortal-production-suspension-speaks-out-1235013728/|title=Bill Murray Speaks Out On Being Mortal Production Suspension: 'I Did Something I Thought Was Funny, And It Wasn't Taken That Way'|date=April 30, 2022|first=Bruce|last=Haring|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=May 1, 2022}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://puck.news/the-secret-bill-murray-settlement-revealed/|title=The Secret Bill Murray Settlement Revealed|date=October 10, 2022|first=Eriq|last=Gardner|website=Puck|access-date=October 11, 2022}}
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".{{Cite web |last=Malkin |first=Marc |date=2022-10-16 |title=Keke Palmer Says Aziz Ansari's 'Being Mortal' May Need 'Major Rewrite' After Bill Murray Controversy Suspended Production |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/events/keke-palmer-being-mortal-sister-act-3-1235405097/ |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
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.{{cite news |last=Belloni |first=Matthew |date=February 27, 2023 |title=11 Burning Questions About the First Two Months of Hollywood '23 |work=Puck |url=https://puck.news/11-burning-questions-about-the-first-two-months-of-hollywood-23/ |url-access=limited |access-date=April 26, 2023}}
References
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