Good Fortune is a comedy and the feature directorial debut from writer/actor Aziz Ansari, which centers around a well-meaning but rather inept angel who meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker and a wealthy venture capitalist. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ansari in anticipation of the home entertainment release of the film.
Rick Hong/We Live Entertainment: So I gotta ask, “Master of None” your TV series, kind of like tunes you up, directing those episodes, writing those episodes. So how was doing this into a feature, or you’re still like, “Man, it was still a crazy task.”
Aziz Ansari: Yeah, I mean, that definitely was like a training ground to do this film. You know, whether it was the idea of acting and directing and writing something, doing all those jobs, producing, and I also brought some of the same team I had on “Master of None”, whether it was Alan Yang, who was a producer; my brother Aniz Ansari, he worked on the film as well. Kelsey Comeau is a producer. So I definitely learned a lot that I brought to this, but, you know, making a film is a different thing. There was a little bit of a learning curve, but I feel really great about where we ended up, and hopefully we can do more.
Writer/director/star Aziz Ansari
RH: And then how was the dynamic of you guys? Like you and Seth Rogen made sense, but then you add Keanu to that, to see him kind of go back to his comedy thing, or even just the subtle facial expressions…
Aziz Ansari: You know, me and Seth, we’ve been working together and have known each other for a long time, and Keanu I didn’t know. But, you know, bringing him into the fold was really cool ’cause I think he has such a different energy than Seth and me that, you know, when you put us all together, it worked really well. Keanu hasn’t done comedy in a while, but he’s such an outstanding actor, and he’s so present, even just in the background of scenes, and his facial expressions and stuff would work. It was just hilarious. He spent a lot of time working with me on the character and on the script, and we rehearsed a lot. And, um, I think it paid off. I think his performance in particular is the heart and soul of the film.
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Aziz Ansari as Arj and Keanu Reeves as Gabriel in Good Fortune. Photo Credit: Eddy Chen
RH: So I’m wondering when it’s the three of you guys together in some of those scenes, who’s ruining the take from laughing?
Aziz Ansari: Yeah, we were all pretty good. I’d say probably me, more than those guys. But we’d laugh in a fun way and be like, “Oh, let’s do that again. Let’s try that again.” It was fun.
RH: So you’re open, so when you’re shooting stuff, versus, “Hey, let’s stick to the page”.
Aziz Ansari: I’m totally open, and I love when we come up with ideas in the moment on set, ’cause it’s so different to be sitting on a computer typing and then to be in the place with the actors in the location. It’s just that everything’s more alive, and I think trying to come up with the best idea is always the game.
Keanu Reeves as Gabriel, Seth Rogen as Jeff, and Aziz Ansari as Ari in Good Fortune.
RH: Do you like being in the scene and then having to direct stuff, or the days that you didn’t have to be in front of the camera?
Aziz Ansari: It was easier for me just to be behind the scenes and shoot. There’s something really fun about not being in the scenes and just watching, sitting behind the camera, and just kind of watching them; you get this little show for yourself. I remember when we shot the scene where that was the first time Keanu’s character eats a cheeseburger. And you know, being there behind the camera, they showed me some photos from behind the scenes, and I’m just sitting there cackling. It was so fun and exciting. You write this stuff, and you kind of have it in your head, and then you give it to all these people, your crew, your cast, and hopefully they bring a piece of themselves into it, and it becomes even greater than you had in your head.
RH: Well, man, I wanted to tell you, congratulations on your career. This movie was awesome.
Aziz Ansari: Oh, I’m so glad you liked it, thanks.
Good Fortune is now available on PVOD. Lionsgate Home Entertainment will release on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray December 9th.
