Keke Palmer Says Aziz Ansari’s ‘Being Mortal’ May Need ‘Major Rewrite’ After Bill Murray Controversy Suspended Production

Keke Palmer
Michael Buckner for Variety

Keke Palmer has thrown her name in the hat for “Sister Act 3.”

No, not a formal audition, but she showed off her vocal chops by singing a snippet of “Joyful, Joyful” on the carpet at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on Saturday evening.

“I’m your girl,” Palmer said. “I’m ready.”

“Sister Act” star Whoopi Goldberg recently revealed her dream cast for a potential third installment of the nun comedy. “I’m gonna ask Keke to come. You know, I want everybody to come in. I want Lizzo to come,” Goldberg said during an appearance on Comedy Central’s “Hell of a Week With Charlamagne tha God.” Nicki Minaj is also on her wish list.

“When I went on ‘The View,’ Whoopi and I talked about it,” Palmer said. “I’m definitely here, you know what I’m saying?”

She added, “Call me, Whoopi!”

Palmer also opened about her work in Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut “Being Mortal.” In April, Searchlight Pictures suspended production with about a month of shooting left to go after a complaint about co-star Bill Murray’s inappropriate behavior was filed.

Palmer says she doesn’t know if the film will ever be completed. “If somebody could figure it out, it would be Aziz,” she said. “Obviously, we got cut short at a certain point but I will say that I am pretty devastated. It’s an amazing film. If there is some way to be able to complete, salvage it, I would want to do it.”

Palmer didn’t address the Murray controversy but alluded to the possibility of cameras rolling again without him in the picture: “[Ansari] would probably have to do a major rewrite, but I know what we got was gold.”

Saturday’s second annual Academy gala raised $10 million for the Academy Museum. The evening honored Julia Roberts, Tilda Swinton, Steve McQueen and Miky Lee. Diana Ross was the surprise performer during the event, which was co-chaired by Halle Berry, Jason Blum, Ryan Murphy and Lupita Nyong’o and presented by Rolex.

From Variety US