Bohemian Rhapsody won’t arrive in theaters until November, but those few months pale in comparison to the years-long production hell to actually get the film made. This would include an intensive casting process spanning from Sacha Baron Cohen to Rami Malek, the latter of whom appears to fully embody Freddie Mercury in the film’s trailers. As the release date approaches, Malek has revealed exactly how he was inspired to finish the film when director Bryan Singer (X-Men) departed, a move that threatened to again implode the film.
Although director Dexter Fletcher (Eddie the Eagle) replaced Singer (who was fired for “unreliability and unprofessionalism” surrounding his “personal issues”), both will still receive directing credits. For his part, Malek told Entertainment Weekly that he drew from the deepest well of inspiration possible — Freddie Mercury himself — for a proper finish:
Despite the frustrations, the cast and filmmakers were determined to tie things up. “I can wholeheartedly say I would never let this film be unfinished,” says Malek about Singer’s firing. “Every moment where there was a challenge on set, I just reminded myself: What would Freddie do? And I guarantee, he would’ve seen it through.”
Indeed, Mercury was so devoted to finishing what he started that he recorded Queen music until a few days before he died from AIDS complications in 1991. Guitarist Brian May once told the Times of Malta‘s Herman Grech that Mercury struggled through their final sessions but was “completely focused” because “he knew that he wouldn’t be there that long.” In comparison, pushing through a complicated Hollywood production isn’t nearly as insurmountable as a feat. We’ll find out how well Malek and the rest of Bohemian Rhapsody‘s cast and crew prevailed when the film lands on November 2.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
