Bill Murray and Aziz Ansari are working on an as yet untitled comedy drama for Searchlight Pictures – Ansari will direct.
Aziz Ansari will make his feature directorial debut on an upcoming comedy drama for Searchlight Pictures. The Master Of None actor will also star in the film with Bill Murray, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It doesn’t have a title yet, but we do know it’s based on nonfiction book Being Mortal: Medicine And What Happens In The End by Atul Gawande, an American surgeon. It covers some serious topics, like end-of-life and hospice care and contains personal stories from the author. From the sounds of it, it’ll make for a bittersweet film.
Ansari isn’t just starring and directing, he also wrote the screenplay and will be producing alongside Youree Henley. For a first-time feature director he’s got a lot on his plate. Henley has worked with both actors before, producing Murray’s On The Rocks in 2020 and Ansari’s upcoming special Nightclub Comedian.
There’s no information on the plot yet, or what characters the actors will be playing, but they are both skilled at striking a balance between comedy and drama. The film that immediately comes to mind for Murray is Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation, which earned him an Oscar nomination. His other recent work includes Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch and Ghostbusters: Afterlife – he’ll also become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.
Ansari has two Emmy Awards for his writing on Master Of None, and directed a few episodes for the Netflix show as well. Nightclub Comedian will stream on Netflix later this year.
More news on Searchlight’s new comedy-drama as we hear it.
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