Two weeks ago, production on Being Mortal, which is (or perhaps was) to be the feature film directorial debut of Aziz Ansari, was put on hold after a “complaint.” It was later revealed that the complaint involved one of its stars, Bill Murray. Details still haven’t been made public; all that’s reported is it involved “inappropriate behavior.” Nearly two weeks later, the legendary actor has opened up about what happened — while still keeping things close to the vest.
CNBC caught up with Murray, who could only say that the complaint involved a “difference of opinion.” He didn’t go into specifics, but he did say, “I did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way.”
Murray didn’t reveal who filed the complaint, but he did say they were trying to resolve it. “As of now we are talking and we are trying to make peace with each other,” Murray said. “We are both professionals, we like each others’ work, we like each other I think and if we can’t really get along and trust each other there’s no point in going further working together or making the movie as well. It’s been quite an education for me.”
Still, he seemed optimistic that “we are going to make peace,” though he noted that he’ll only go forward if the woman involved is okay with it. He also said he was trying to learn from the experience.
“I think it’s a sad dog that can’t learn anymore,” Murray said. “That’s a really sad puppy that can’t learn anymore. I don’t want to be that sad dog and I have no intention of it.”
He added, “What would make me the happiest would be to put my boots on and for both of us to go back into work and be able to trust each other and work at the work that we’ve both spent a lot of time developing the skill of.”
Being Mortal, based on Atul Gawande’s nonfiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, was halfway through production when it was shut down. It features not only Murray but Seth Rogen and Ansari himself.
(Via CNBC)
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