Aziz Ansari's BEING MORTAL Film Project Suspended Due to Complaint Made Against Bill Murray

Earlier this week it was reported that Aziz Ansari's Being Mortal film project was suspended by Searchlight Pictures. Ansari is making his directorial debut with the project, and he was going to star in the film alongside Bill Murray and Seth Rogen.

There were no details regarding why the production was suspended when the news first hit, but now Deadline is reporting that the reason is of a complaint was made against Bill Murray for “inappropriate behavior.”

There are no other details on what that entails, but the studio made the decision to suspend production going forward as they investigate the issue. After the investigation is done, they will decide on how they want to proceed. The movie was already halfway through production.

Whatever happened must have been pretty serious because it caused the entire production to shut down. There are lots of stories out there about Bill Murray’s difficult behavior on some of the film projects he’s been a part of over the years. But, then there are the stories of others about how they enjoyed working with him.

I’m sure at some point additional details will be released, but as of right now this is all we’ve got. Here’s the letter that was sent out to cast and crew:

Dear Being Mortal Cast and Crew,

We know you are all concerned about the recent delays in production and want to give you an update.

Late last week, we were made aware of a complaint, and we immediately looked into it.  After reviewing the circumstances, it has been decided that production cannot continue at this time.

We are truly grateful to all of you for everything you’ve put into this project. Our hope is to resume production and are working with Aziz and Youree to figure out that timing.

Production will be in touch with you to share details on the wrap, and we will let you know as soon as we have more information to share.

Searchlight Pictures 

The film is based on Atul Gawande’s nonfiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.

The book addresses end-of-life care, hospice care, and also contains Gawande's reflections and personal stories. He suggests that medical care should focus on well-being rather than survival. Being Mortal is a meditation on how people can better live with age-related frailty, serious illness, and approaching death. Gawande calls for a change in the way that medical professionals treat patients approaching their ends. He recommends that instead of focusing on survival, practitioners should work to improve quality of life and enable well-being. Gawande shares personal stories of his patients' and his own relatives' experiences, the realities of old age which involve broken hips and dementia, overwhelmed families and expensive geriatric care, and loneliness and loss of independence.

Cast and crew were told about production being suspended last night in a letter sent out by the studio.