Aziz Ansari from “Parks and Recreation” is debuting his first directional feature film, “GOOD FORTUNE,” releasing exclusively in theaters on Friday. The theatrical comedy follows Arj (Ansari), who works several low-paying jobs and lives in his car until an angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) intervenes. Gabriel, a lower-level angel, oversteps his duties and swaps Arj’s life with the life of a rich tech investor (Seth Rogen). While the film maintains a comedic, feel-good tone, it also tackles class disparities.
The Daily Texan sat down with Ansari to discuss the film before its release.
The Daily Texan: (The film) addresses class disparities pretty front-on. … So how did you approach putting together an ending for a movie that doesn’t yet have a real-life resolution?
Aziz Ansari: You can either end with something bleak. Like, you can end with, ‘Oh, is this never gonna get better?’ … This didn’t feel like the moment to do something like that, and it didn’t feel like this movie. Another thing you can do is like, ‘Oh, it’s just kind of circular. You’re just kind of back where you started.’ It didn’t feel like (I) wanted to do that. And then, there’s a couple of Italian movies, “Nights of Cabiria” and “Umberto D.” They’re Italian neorealist movies that are about these same issues: people really struggling. And they really end on these beautiful moments of a joy for life. … Those kinds of endings, shooting for something that felt uplifting (and hopeful), felt like what I should go for.
DT: I’ve read about the research process that went into being able to make this type of movie. … Can you talk a little bit more about what you learned?
AA: They’re sensitive topics, so I wanted to make sure I was getting it right. So I interviewed a lot of people. … Keke (Palmer’s) character is working at a Home Depot-type store, and she’s trying to unionize the store. There was a guy that I interviewed that tried to unionize his Home Depot, and his whole story of what made him start that journey was so fascinating. … The nightmare is, you make something about this kind of stuff, and someone that’s really dealing with it rolls their eyes at it.
DT: Why Keanu (as Gabriel)? Because when I think of him, I think more of his action films.
AA: It felt kind of cool to bring him back into comedy. … He has this kind of mythical quality to him. I’ve said it a couple times –– if someone told me Keanu is, like, 3,000 years old, (it would) kind of make sense. There’s something about him. There’s this wisdom about him. He’s talked to me before about (how) he played Buddha in some movie, and I think that had an effect on him. That’s why he kind of felt right. … and he’s really funny, playing the naivete that I wanted Gabriel to have.
DT: What advice do you have for students who are trying to break into the film industry?
AA: Just start. Just try to get on a set or whatever, and just try to learn what you can from actually doing. Also, just watch as many films as you can. Something I realized when I decided to become a director was I looked at my favorite directors. … The thing all these people have in common is they’ve seen every movie. … Clearly, there’s something to this, being so ‘film literate.’
Those would be two great places to start — and get really good at writing because it all starts with a script.
