Bill Murray and Aziz Ansari Team Up for a New Movie About Mortality
Ansari will also write and direct the comedy-drama film, which is based on the book “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.”
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In what feels like a particularly random pairing, Bill Murray and Aziz Ansari are teaming up to star in a new film from Searchlight Pictures that will mark Ansari’s feature directorial debut.
The as-yet-untitled movie, which Ansari will also write, is based on the nonfiction bestseller Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. The book by Atul Gawande explores mortality and aging in the modern era as doctors prioritize extending life at all costs.
It may seem like a heavy topic for two actors primarily known for their comedy work, but both Murray and Ansari have proven deft at balancing humor and drama. Murray’s prolific film career speaks for itself, and Ansari garnered critical acclaim for his quirky, semi-autobiographical Netflix series Master of None.
“Aziz Ansari is an incredible talent and, with this script, he brings a singular combination of insightful humor and pathos,” said Searchlight Pictures execs David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with him on his feature directorial debut, which is long overdue, and, of course, working with the genius Bill Murray once again.”
The film marks one of Ansari’s highest-profile projects since the controversy surrounding a 2018 Babe article in which an anonymous woman accused the former Parks and Recreation star of sexual misconduct.
The article, titled “I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life,” was less black and white than many other horrendous stories emerging during the height of the Me Too movement about men in Hollywood abusing their power for sex, prompting a debate about whether or not the movement had gone too far. Ansari has addressed the article in his standup sets, and has apologized while also maintaining that the encounter was consensual and that he didn’t do anything wrong.
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Searchlight has set Ansari and Murray’s film for a 2023 theatrical release.
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