Aziz Ansari has opened up about his canceled dramedy film “Being Mortal,” which was forced to shut down production in 2022 after Bill Murray, 74, was accused of misconduct on the set.
“He was devastated,” Ansari, who faced his own misconduct scandal in 2018, said about Murray, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday.
“He couldn’t believe it happened,” the “Parks and Rec” alum, 42, added. “I think this movie meant a lot to him.”
“Being Mortal,” based on a 2014 non-fiction book, was meant to be Ansari’s feature directorial debut. He was also starring in the project alongside Murray, Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer.
According to THR, the movie was over halfway done filming when a female production assistant made a complaint that accused Murray of being “touchy” with women on set. The studio launched an internal investigation and found that the claim about Murray “had merit,” so the rest of shooting was canceled.
“Everybody’s texting me, ‘Oh, Aziz, I’m so sorry,’” Ansari recalled of when the news broke in April 2022. “And I said, ‘Oh God, I can’t live in this woe-is-me moment.’”
At the time, Ansari decided to pivot his focus on another movie, “Good Fortune.”
“I called Seth. I said, ‘Hey, I know you’re supposed to be filming ‘Being Mortal,’ so you’re free today. This is a sh—y day for me. If you want to help me, read this, tell me if you want to do it,’” Ansari shared, adding that Rogen called him two hours later and agreed to do the movie.
“Good Fortune,” which marks Ansari’s official feature directorial debut, is about a struggling documentary editor (Ansari) who, after meeting an angel (Keanu Reeves), body-swaps with a wealthy employer (Rogen). The film premieres Sept. 6 at the Toronto Film Festival.
Ansari told THR he’s hopeful he can complete “Being Mortal” with Murray involved.
Murray addressed the misconduct scandal in April on the New York Times’ podcast “The Daily,” admitting that he felt “barbecued” by the experience and “tried to make peace” with those involved.
“It was Covid, we were all wearing masks and we were all stranded in this one room listening to this crazy scene,” he recalled. “I dunno what prompted me to do it. It’s something that I had done to someone else before, and I thought it was funny, and every time it happened, it was funny.”
“I was wearing a mask, and I gave her a kiss, and she was wearing a mask,” Murray said. “It wasn’t like I touched her, but it was just, I gave her a kiss through a mask. And she wasn’t a stranger.”
Murray — who ultimately paid the accuser a settlement of around $100,000 and signed a nondisclosure agreement regarding the alleged incident — also said it “still bothers” him that HR shut down the film’s production.
“I’m like, what? How was anyone supposed to know anything like that? There was no conversation, there was nothing. There was no peacemaking, nothing,” he explained. “It went to this lunatic arbitration, which, if anyone ever suggests you go to arbitration: Don’t do it. Never ever do it. Because you think it’s justice, and it isn’t.”
Ansari, for his part, was accused by a Brooklyn photographer in Jan. 2018 of making her feel “pressured” into sex one night at his Tribeca apartment after a dinner date in Sept. 2017.
The comedian, when he addressed the allegation, insisted the encounter was “completely consensual.” Ansari briefly stepped away from the spotlight before returning to stand-up later in 2018.
