By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | April 21, 2022 |
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | April 21, 2022 |
Searchlight Pictures has suspended production on Being Mortal, the directorial debut of Aziz Ansari. The film, which was set to star Ansari alongside Bill Murray and Seth Rogen, initially halted production for several days, according to Deadline. As reported by Variety, the studio sent out a letter to the film’s cast and crew announcing the news. It refers to a complaint made against someone and that, after reviewing the circumstances, ‘it has been decided that production cannot continue at this time.’ Searchlight also noted that they hope ‘to resume production and are working with Aziz and Youree [Henley] to figure out that timing.’
This is, to put it bluntly, very unexpected and deeply suspicious. Deadline says that the shutdown isn’t COVID related and that line about a complaint immediately forces us to look for the culprit. Variety says that a source familiar with the production claims that the complaint is not directed towards Ansari. The actor-writer faced controversy in the midst of the #MeToo conversation after a questionable article from the now-shuttered site babe.
Shutdowns like this don’t happen often, especially when they’ve shot as much footage as Ansari reportedly had before Searchlight called time. Stuff like this usually occurs when there are financial troubles or unavoidable problems like bad weather or mass illness. For Searchlight to shut down a film and put potentially millions of dollars on the line following a complaint suggests that something very serious happened, so serious and verifiably true that they couldn’t afford to ignore it. That in and of itself feels like progress given how many stories we’ve heard over the years of abuses and bad behavior being overlooked in favor of getting the work done. To end shooting at such a late stage after a complaint suggests that the person involved cannot easily be replaced to allow work to continue as if nothing ever happened.
We may have to wait a while for further news. Searchlight says they’re committed to this project, so maybe we should stay tuned to see when production restarts and note which familiar faces are missing.