Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut, Being Mortal has been suspended by Searchlight Pictures after a three-day production halt per an exclusive report from Deadline. The specifics behind the suspension are currently unknown, but it involves a complaint.
The film, an adaptation of Atul Gawande’s 2014 nonfiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, stars Ansari, Seth Rogen, Bill Murray, and Keke Palmer. Sources confirmed to Deadline that the complaint was not made against Ansari, who was accused of sexual misconduct amidst the MeToo movement with a story published on the now-defunct Babe Dot Net in 2018. Sources who spoke to Deadline said that Ansari and his producing partner Youree Henley have been working with Searchlight to determine the next steps.
Cast and crew received the following letter from Searchlight:
“Dear Being Mortal Cast and Crew,
We know you are all concerned about the recent delays in production and want to give you an update.
Late last week, we were made aware of a complaint, and we immediately looked into it. After reviewing the circumstances, it has been decided that production cannot continue at this time.
We are truly grateful to all of you for everything you’ve put into this project. Our hope is to resume production and are working with Aziz and Youree to figure out that timing.
Production will be in touch with you to share details on the wrap, and we will let you know as soon as we have more information to share.Searchlight Pictures”
Being Mortal went into production on March 28. Details of the film’s plot have been kept quiet. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “logline details for Mortal are being kept in the casket, but the book explored the concepts of death and aging and how the medical profession tends to mishandle both. Searchlight has previously described the project as being at the intersection of “insightful humor and pathos.” At the time, it is unclear if the suspension will impact its release date, expected in 2023.