The Emmy winning actress Keke Palmer is joining Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut, ‘Good Fortune’, which also stars the ‘Parks & Recreation’ and ‘Master of None’ alum, Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen.
Palmer was originally set to star in Ansari’s previous directorial debut at Searchlight, ‘Being Mortal’, before that movie was shut down by the studio over alleged inappropriate conduct by star Bill Murray, reports Deadline.
Palmer, in the wake of that experience, had nothing but praise for Ansari when Deadline spoke to her at the Nope premiere in summer 2022. Rogen also was set to star in ‘Being Mortal’.
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“I had a wonderful time filming,” Palmer told Deadline at the ‘Nope’ premiere. “Aziz Ansari is one of the coolest people that I ever met. That was the coolest experience, but I don’t know anything more than that”.
Her role in ‘Good Fortune’ is under wraps. Ansari writes, directs, and stars in the comedy, which is produced by Anthony Katagas, Alan Yang and Ansari. Aniz Ansari and Jonathan McCoy are the executive producers. “Keke is a delight to work with,” Ansari said in a statement. “I’m so happy she’s a part of our cast and even more excited to provide a quote for this press release announcing her casting.”
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As per Deadline, ‘Good Fortune’ originally began its shoot in May but was forced to suspend production due to WGA pickets. Palmer rose to prominence through her breakout role in ‘Akeelah and the Bee’ at age 12 and has gone on to appear in more 25 films and 30 TV shows, including Jordan Peele’s acclaimed ‘Nope’, ‘Hustlers’ and ‘Scream Queens’.
She founded her own digital network, KeyTV, for which she has written, produced and starred in various original content, including her directorial debut, the short film ‘Big Boss’, accompanied by an album of the same title, released in May 2023.
