It’s been troubling times for Bill Murray since the reports of his inappropriate behavior on the set of Aziz Ansari‘s directorial debut, Being Mortal. The Ghostbusters star was hit with sexual misconduct allegations during filming and, as a result the studio behind it, Searchlight Pictures, pulled the plug with over 50% of the film already shot. Ansari was allowed to shop the film (and the footage) to other buyers, but in the end, there seemed to be no takers for what’s likely seen as a tainted project.
According to The Playlist (via Puck), as Ansari searched for another studio to take the movie over, the other actors involved, including Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer, had to be released from their contracts, as they had various other projects to shoot. As such, the film is dead in the water and seems unlikely to ever get finished.
The film was originally shut down following reports of Murray allegedly kissing and straddling a female member of the film crew. Murray himself had acknowledged the accusations but said the misconduct was meant to be as a joke. Once Searchlight departed the film, which left Being Mortal on indefinite pause, Murray settled the lawsuit out of court for a reported $100,000. This is also when the film was shopped around to other studios by Ansari, to no avail.
Through all of this, it looks as if Searchlight isn’t cutting any ties with Ansari. Even though this particular project is marred by controversy, the studio is planning to work with Aziz on another project that will be written by both him and Seth Rogen. There are no details yet on what this future project will be, except the studio will be involved with the production.
The Playlist also wanted to note that once Ansari and Rogen’s script is finished and the new project as a whole is done, there is a chance in the distant future that Ansari can revisit Being Mortal under new circumstances. However, they also find it unlikely that anything would happen in the years going forward. All of this also seems to have put something of a chill on Murray’s career, with it noteworthy that he will not be seen in either of director Wes Anderson’s next two projects (Asteroid City and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar), despite the star having appeared in all of his other films since Rushmore way back in 1998.