Aziz Ansari is a rare filmmaker who is getting a second chance to do his feature film debut. After the drama surrounding his first-first film, “Being Mortal,” led to that movie getting scrapped midway through production, the actor-filmmaker has turned his sights to another project, “Good Fortune,” which he hopes will finally make him a feature director.
Today, Lionsgate announced the upcoming film, “Good Fortune,” which is set to be written and directed by Aziz Ansari, becoming his new official feature film directorial debut. Not only is Ansari set to write and direct, but he’ll also star opposite Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves in the new comedy. Plot details are being kept secret, as all studios do nowadays, but with Ansari, Rogen, and Reeves attached, a lot of eyes are going to be on “Good Fortune.”
“We have indeed found good fortune with this film,” said Joe Drake, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. “We love the script and believe strongly in Aziz as both a performer and a director. And when you add in Seth and Keanu – two incredible world-class talents — toplining alongside Aziz, this has the potential to be a very special film for us. We moved quickly to land this project once it was available.”
“Good Fortune” is expected to begin production next month and will be one of the biggest projects to be shopped around at Cannes coming up. As mentioned, a lot of folks have been anxiously awaiting Ansari’s feature directorial debut. His first attempt, “Being Mortal,” featured a cast including Bill Murray, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, and Ansari himself. That film was shut down after sexual misconduct allegations were levied against Murray. Searchlight shelved the film and reports circulated that Ansari wasn’t able to find another studio to foot the bill to finish the film. Clearly, Ansari has moved on to something new.
With production beginning next month, you can probably expect “Good Fortune” to land a release sometime next year.