“There are amazing stories about Freddie Mercury. The guy was wild. He was living an extreme lifestyle [of] debauchery. There are stories of little people with plates of cocaine on their heads walking around a party,” Cohen said, before adding that was exactly the kind of thing the surviving members of Queen didn't want depicted in their biopic. “It [becomes] a less interesting movie, but you’ve got to remember that they want to protect their legacy as a band, and they want it to be about Queen. And I fully understand that.
However, the actor admitted to Stern that he should've listened to the warning bells that were going off right from the start. “[After] my first meeting, I should never have carried on because a member of the band —I won’t say who— said, 'This is such a great movie, because such an amazing thing happens in the middle of the movie.' I go, ‘What happens in the middle of the movie?’ He goes, ‘Freddie dies.’ I go, ‘So you mean it’s a bit like ‘Pulp Fiction,’ where the end is the middle and the middle is the end? That’s interesting.’ He goes, ‘No no no.’ So I said, ‘Wait a minute. What happens in the second half of the movie?’ And he said, ‘Well, we see how the band carries on from strength to strength.’ And I said, ‘Listen, not one person is going to see a movie where the lead character dies from AIDS and then you carry on to see [what happens to the band].”
Yes, the members of the band (this would have been either Brian May or Roger Taylor) wanted Freddie Mercury to die midway through the movie, with the latter half of the picture focusing on how Queen continued. And Cohen fully comprehends the mindset that powers such a viewpoint. “I fully understand why Queen wanted to do this. If you’re in control of your rights of your life story, why wouldn’t you depict yourself as great as possible?”
And even in light of the massive talent Cohen wrangled for such a movie, nothing worked in getting the movie made. “They asked me to write the movie, but I said, ‘I don’t know how to write a biopic.’ So I got in Peter Morgan [‘The Queen’], [but] they didn’t like that. I brought in David Fincher who wanted to direct it, then Tom Hooper ['The King's Speech,' 'The Danish Girl'] —they were very specific about how they wanted to do it. But at the end of the day, it really was an artistic difference."
It's a quite story, and the future of the project perhaps lies at Cohen's assessment of one of the film's producers: “Brian May is an amazing musician, but he’s not a great movie producer.”
matt z · Member since
Bizarre idea for the story. Freddie's death in the middle. I think he's probably exaggerating to please Howard's dimwit audience with sensationalism. But I bet the idea WAS to end cap it with a bit about the band and their attempt at survival + MIH
Day dop · Member since
So it wasn't to be a movie all about Queen. Well, half of it's a story about Queen, which would interest me. And the other half would've been a story about Queen+, which wouldn't interest me very much at all.
Can you imagine it? How Adam Lambert would be portrayed as the saviour at the end? The last beacon of light?
As a fan of Queen, but not Queen+, nor Adam Lambert (who I find quite irksome), I couldn't think of anything worse.
Doga · Member since
Holy Cow! David Fincher was interested in direct the movie??? If a guy like him was the director then i'll probably watch it.
Biggus Dickus · Member since
I seriously hope this piece of crap production never gets off the ground. I should have known it was Brian or Roger who wanted to tame the movie down.
The Real Wizard · Member since
The original idea about Freddie falling out with the band and then coming back together for Live Aid was excellent, but Hollywood insisted on including all the juicy drug stories, which Brian and Roger wanted no part of. They clearly didn't like the idea of their legacy potentially being tarnished by this - which is perfectly valid.
Maybe Brian proposed this obviously outlandish idea as a way to get the Hollywood guys off their back, and took one for the team. Clearly he sees no advantage in having Hollywood turning them into a drug band in the public's eye, which they currently are not.
But if he really thinks the last 20 years of Queen+ remotely compare even to the worst years of Queen, then there really is no defense for that. Even the most fervent of fans will refer to Q+AL as an excellent nostalgia act at best, not something that rivals A Night At The Opera or playing football stadiums in Argentina when 9 of the top 10 albums in the charts were theirs.
Makka · Member since
I can see Sacha's point. Why have Freddie's death half way through the movie? It doesn't make sense.
musicland munich · Member since
Thanks for the Link Jake
I like this unintended comedic gold in the morning :)
We need to remember that it's Howard Stern and SBC talking, but if any of it is true (and I suspect at least some of it is true), then it sounds worse than I thought. Freddie dying in the middle and the likes of David Fincher and Peter Morgan getting rejected - what on earth are they thinking?!? I seriously hope this movie never gets made now. Brian is overthinking it and someone should say to him in no uncertain terms that his artistic judgement from circa 2000 onwards is completely in demise. The problem is he won't listen.
Anyway, Brian, if you ever venture over here, I want you to know that I do think you are tarnishing the legacy with the various projects you did do and other ones you try to jeopardize with your overblown ego. All these messy Britney and Five duets, WWRY, The Cosmos Rocks and now this!! What a shame no-one seems to remember how Freddie himself said he wanted to be portrayed - "the good and the bad" and "never boring". Disgusting.
QueenTwo · Member since
K-M Very well said, your spot on with everything you say here!
Togg · Member since
Personally I have no desire to go see a film about Freddies sex life... I would rather a film concentrate on his musical legacy, together with (some of his personal troubles) equally I'm not sure having him die half way through the film is great, maybe at least show his legacy didnt die with him, but not half of the film. Either way i think they as a band are perfectly right to make the film tehy want not what Hollywood wants, since when did hollywood know anything? they pass on every creative idea until someone else does it and makes money then suddenly ther're all over it....
Bo Alex · Member since
So they want to make a movie about Paul Rodgers? WTF!
