Searchlight Pictures has suspended production for the Aziz Ansari directed movie, ‘Being Mortal’, over complaints involving actor Bill Murray, Deadline reported. 

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the complaint was filed last week, and a source close to the production told the news organization that Ansari and producing partner Youree Henley are working with Searchlight to determine the next steps. The publication also confirmed that Murray’s inappropriate behaviour caused the halt. When THR reached out to Searchlight for a comment, the film studio refused to speak about the investigation. 

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While the nature of complaints against Murray remains unknown, Ansari has faced sexual misconduct allegations in 2018, after the events at a date were deemed inappropriate. He addressed these in a 2019 Netflix special, ‘Aziz Ansari Right Now’, saying “There’s times I felt scared, there’s times I felt humiliated, there’s times I felt embarrassed, and ultimately I just felt terrible that this person felt this way.” 

Murray, for his part, has a reputation for being a difficult actor to work with. The ‘Groundhog Day’ star said in a 2018 interview with The Guardian, “I remember a friend said to me a while back: ‘You have a reputation.’ And I said: ‘What?’ And he said: ‘Yeah, you have a reputation of being difficult to work with”. He added, “But I only got that reputation from people I didn’t like working with, or people who didn’t know how to work, or what work is. Jim [Jarmusch], Wes [Anderson] and Sofia [Coppola], they know what it is to work, and they understand how you’re supposed to treat people.” 

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The upcoming project, ‘Being Mortal’ is based on Atul Gawande nonfiction book ‘Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End’. Apart from Murray, Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer appear in the movie where Ansari is directing, appears in a small role, and has written the script. 

While film details are scarce, the book’s premise deals with ageing and death, and how the medical profession bungles both.