Bill Murray’s on-set behavior has crossed the streams, with numerous accounts of misconduct, both fresh and rehashed, popping up in the news cycle. And it’s not just co-workers that are allegedly falling victim: it’s entire productions, too. Notably, the Aziz Ansari-directed Being Mortal is in limbo. However, co-star Keke Palmer seems optimistic on how cameras can get rolling again.
At the Academy Museum Gala this past weekend, Keke Palmer said, “If somebody could figure it out, it would be Aziz…Obviously, we got cut short at a certain point but I will say that I am pretty devastated. It’s an amazing film. If there is some way to be able to complete, salvage it, I would want to do it.” She continued, “[Ansari] would probably have to do a major rewrite, but I know what we got was gold.”
Production on Being Mortal stopped in April, just one month after it began, due to an on-set issue with co-star Bill Murray, who reportedly kissed and straddled a female crew member. Murray later addressed the situation, saying, “I did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way.”
Being Mortal is set to be Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut, although he did direct nearly half of the episodes of his fantastic Netflix series Master of None. In addition to Keke Palmer and Bill Murray, the film also expected to co-star Ansari and Seth Rogen. The movie is based on the book of the same name and is “a meditation on how people can better live with age-related frailty, serious illness, and approaching death.”
During the interview, Keke Palmer also expressed interest in joining Whoopi Goldberg for Sister Act 3, saying to Sister Mary Clarence herself, “I’m your girl…I’m ready.”
What are your thoughts on the Bill Murray/Being Mortal situation? Do you think production can get back on track?