New director recruited for Queen movie Bohemian Rhapsody
Twentieth Century Fox has unveiled the new director of the Queen biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ following the sacking of Bryan Singer.
Acclaimed Eddie The Eagle and Sunshine on Leith director Dexter Fletcher will helm the movie for the final stages of filming when it resumes next week.
It’s expected that the much-troubled movie will still be released over the Christmas period in 2018 as planned.
As well as being an acclaimed director and writer, Fletcher is a seasoned actor appearing in TV shows like Press Gang, Band of Brothers and Hotel Babylon and movies including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Elephant Man and Layer Cake.
Bryan Singer was fired from the Queen movie earlier this week for an alleged “pattern of unreliable behaviour on the set" – according to BBC sources.
In response, Singer has issued a statement via his attorney, which reads: “Bohemian Rhapsody is a passion project of mine. With fewer than three weeks to shoot remaining, I asked Fox for some time off so I could return to the U.S. to deal with pressing health matters concerning one of my parents.
“This was a very taxing experience, which ultimately took a serious toll on my own health. Unfortunately, the studio was unwilling to accommodate me and terminated my services. This was not my decision and it was beyond my control.”
Singer also rubbished tabloid reports that he had a fallout with Rami Malek, who plays Freddie Mercury in the film.
He added: “While, at times, we did have creative differences on set, Rami and I successfully put those differences behind us and continued to work on the film together until just prior to Thanksgiving.
“I wanted nothing more than to be able to finish this project and help honor the legacy of Queen, but Fox would not permit me to do so because I needed to temporarily put my health, and the health of my loved ones, first.”
> And here for comparison is Freddie himself - right ? Wrong. This is Rami revving up for the performance of his life. The whole thing is truly breathtaking now the production is taking shape. It feels like a rocket taking off. Shooting begins Friday. Bri > > A post shared by Brian Harold May (@brianmayforreal) on Sep 5, 2017 at 6:29pm PDT
Filming on Bohemian Rhapsody began in London in September. Alongside Malek, Ben Hardy (as Roger Taylor), Joe Mazzello (John Deacon) and Gwilym Lee (Brian May) were cast as Queen’s other members.
Roger Taylor and Brian May are serving as executive producers on the movie and Brian has shared a series of behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot on social media in recent months.
Back September 2010, Sacha Baron Cohen was originally confirmed to play Freddie Mercury in the film but he dropped out in July 2013 citing “creative differences” between himself and the band. Dominic Cooper was later rumoured to play Freddie, however this never materialised.