BRIAN: Well we have a busy year coming up, 'cause we are doing this Freddie musical and that's now, the engine has started rolling.

LIZ: And is this the biopic, or is that ….?

BRIAN: Yes, the biopic, and it's about Freddie and, of course it has to be about us as well, and I think it's gonna be a really interesting film, you know. We've been through various alleyways, you know. We've been through all kind of thoughts as to what the film actually should be, and I think it's now very clear to us. We have a great director and we think we have a great guy playing Freddie, but we feel that we understand what our brief is now, because it's a film about Queen as a family in a sense, because there's the group like us forms organically in a sense, you know. We weren't put together from the outside. We just evolved very luckily into a unit which democratically worked, organically, was created - and the sum of its parts were greater than the parts, if you know what I mean.

But also it's very much a family, because we were all together longer than any of our relationships (laughs) outside - our marriages and stuff, and so the film is a kind of exploration of the dynamics of that kind of family and what happens, how it comes together and how what happens when it gets disrupted and out of balance and how it can regain its integrity. So it's a fascinating project really and I think the script is reflecting those thoughts. And, of course, it's about Freddie. It's about how he functioned in this environment.

LIZ: And the thing is, lots of people know 'that' Freddie, you know, the on-stage or feel they know him because that was the only bit they saw.

BRIAN: Yeah.

LIZ: But I'm sure, obviously you knew him so well, there must have been a million other facets of him?

BRIAN: Yeah. The Freddie we knew was pretty shy, really, but he had an extraordinary way of using his talents and also very good at bringing out other peoples' talents, you know, and by that I include me and Roger and John. He was... he had very generous nature, I think, and also a very far-seeing nature - very focussed, because he realised that if he got the best out of everyone around him, that would benefit everyone. So yeah - a very unusual person, Freddie.

LIZ: And I guess finding someone to represent that is equally difficult. I'm not gonna make you tell me who it is, but… (laughs)

BRIAN: Well, the rumours are out there, I know. (laughs)

LIZ: Everyone can Google it. What about someone playing you? Have you ever had anyone play you before?

BRIAN: No, not really. (laughs) That's an interesting thought. We have someone, I think, on the cards, you know I don't think, I probably can't reveal this either, but I'm excited about the guy who's at the moment the front runner for playing me. It's gonna be weird, I mean, that is very weird, and I… to be honest, that's one of the things which has stopped us doing this before, I think, you know. I don't know if we were ready for this. I remember coming up with the same thing in the musical. The musical originally, We Will Rock You, was gonna be a bio musical. It was gonna be about the history of Queen and stuff, you know, and history of Freddie, and we actually workshopped it that way, and then we just hated it. We just didn't think it felt comfortable to portray us on stage that way, so that's why We Will Rock You became about the future and kids in the future, and thank God for Ben Elton who had the vision to make it happen that way. 'Cause We Will Rock You's much much more interesting than a sort of biographic musical, I think, and it's a good story. You know, it's funny, it's satirical, but it has warmth to it, so I think when people come out from We Will Rock You they feel like they've kind of seen us and they know us in a strange way. And they feel like they've been on some kind of journey and they wanna do it again. That's why We Will Rock You's still there after 11 years.

They went as far as starting soft preproduction on a film that was skedded to begin shooting in the summer. I had heard that perhaps Sony was wavering, but the studio adamantly denies it. They hope to keep close to that start date and name a new helmer shortly. With the band’s songs part of the package, the pic will tell the formative coming-of-age story of the group, culminating in Queen headlining Live Aid in 1985 and not on Mercury’s death on November 24, 1991, of complications from AIDS. Script is by Peter Morgan and King’s producing with Tim Headington and Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal’s Tribeca Productions, and Queen Films. Among the tunes that are in the rights package are “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions,” “Another One Bites The Dust” and ”You’re My Best Friend.”

He said that, in response to enquiries about the progress on the Freddie feature film, that Sacha Baron Cohen had been re-engaged to write, produce, and direct the film, as well as starring in all four major roles ! I’m afraid some folks might have taken it seriously !

daga napisał(a):Brian prostuje:

He said that, in response to enquiries about the progress on the Freddie feature film, that Sacha Baron Cohen had been re-engaged to write, produce, and direct the film, as well as starring in all four major roles ! I’m afraid some folks might have taken it seriously !

Tylko, że żart ogólnie z Sachy czy, że zagra 4 rol (co oczywistym jest dowcipem, choć przy Boracie to ktoś mógł to wziąć na poważnie)...

Read some of the reactions from Sony’s regional execs to the film from late November, 2013:
BRAZIL:
I liked a lot.
It reminded me CAZUZA, a Brazilian movie we co-produced 10 years ago. Cazuza was a Brazilian rock star with a personal trajectory similar to that of Freddie Mercury.
It is very nice to show the situations in which the songs were created. I find this important in a biography of a rock star as Mercury.
Nothing too strong in terms of sex and drugs, but not afraid to touch the subject. Also important: this is a R movie.
The key issue is the actor. If the guy is good and hold on the wave … again, I thought of Cazuza. It is good that is not widely known, for we must remember Freddie, not the actor. [EDIT: This was a point made clear by Brian May from Queen]
The final show and how he dies, hearing about the holiday with Mary, may close the movie with that lump in my throat.

FRANCE:
I loved it. The script is sharp, full of energy and humor. It reflects the wonderful talent and personality of Freddy Mercury, and the music is always there to support the story and please the fans. The emotional ending is well made.
The director and the cast are not popular here, but I think the film can be successful here.

GERMANY:
Regarding Mercury I have to admit I really liked the script very much. It felt authentic, emotional and had all the elements you expect and want from a bio pic like that. I even played the Live Aid Concert on You Tube while reading the script and could see the excitement.
Queen and Freddy Mercury were quite popular in Germany and the fact that he lived and worked in Munich /Germany was known and should help us. Ben Wishaw would have not been my first choice – Sacha Baron Cohen would have been my preferred actor – nevertheless The Parfume and Skyfall should help him to get a higher profile and if he pulls it off he could turn out to be a good choice. Hopefully the production costs can deliver the big concert pictures.
Even though there is no love story like in Mama Mia or Walk the Line I think the film can do good business.

JAPAN:
Per Jeff’s mail below have read the script and surely loved it. The real story of a legend filled with songs all on the Hit albums.
It is a story of a legend/genius till his death which will surely capture the core audience.
Musicals such as ‘Will Rock You’ came to Jap, with great hit nationwide (key cities)
But demographics very high of late 40’s plus.
Scenes of smoking grass may result in R-18 though would not hurt core demos.
Similar comps could be WALK IN LINE about Johnny Cash but QUEEN is much bigger
Director not known.
Actor [Whishaw] only known/familiar who saw SKYFALL.

MEXICO:
What an enjoyable and well written script. I found myself hanging on every word. It felt gritty and real and can only imagine how incredible it will look and sound when it is all finished.
As many of us, I grew up on Queen and was actually at the New York concert mentioned in the script and felt the electricity that Freddy Mercury and Queen were capable of generating.
While this will be primarily a fan film I feel it has the potential to have cross generational appeal, much like their music.
It is a well written story that deals with many of the myths and modern day issues still relevant today.
Casting of Freddy Mercury is crucial. I loved the idea of Sacha Baron Cohen which I felt was in keeping with the irreverence of Freddy Mercury. I understand that Daniel Radcliff is a strong possibility. I don’t feel he will work, as good as he may be, for this role his Harry Potter image will be unshakeable in my opinion and will be negative in the positioning of this show. In the event Sacha Baron Cohen is out I would consider some fantastic actor who looks a lot like Freddy to pull it off whether or not he is a big name. The integrity of Freddy Mercury must prevail.
P:S
Noticed its gonna be Ben Whishaw. Excellent choice.

RUSSIA:
The general audience’s attitude to personality of Freddie is very controversial in Russia.
Unfortunately current legal/political circumstance in Russia makes me concerned that the movie will have the most strict censorship rating in Russia. It will minimize our ability to advertise the film and even to release it for broad audience theatrically in general.

UK:
Big disappointment for what should have been a fascinating, passionate story. Told in a very pedestrian fashion with no real insight into an incredibly complex character it was just a chronological puff piece full of those irritating lines dropped in for moments of character and exposition with no depth. The director and star do not suggest they could take this by the scruff of the neck and again the two feel like playing it safe. Nowhere Boy and Behind the Candelabra, both very well reviewed and awards contenders, ended at £1.3m and £3.4m respectively and I cannot see it bucking this low trend.
Feels like an OK TV movie. A real shame.
As per the above “pedestrian” comment, and your A happened then B it was pretty much a biographical list of his life. What I think audiences loved him for were his excesses and unconventional approach to music and life, the appeal still is to see behind that and perhaps even feel part of it. The film should not be scared of celebrating that persona despite the tragedy of the ending. His outlook of living life to the full is something that really doesn’t come across, and is in fact only hinted at, and it is that I feel audiences would respond to and embrace. Surprisingly unemotional, not just for the sadness of the end, but of laughing along with Mercury and the others at the outrageous nature of their lives and performances and the fact that they helped evolve music and its presentation (the fact that Bohemian Rhapsody invented the music video is about two lines).
Too shallow, too safe and the band deserves better.

RUSSIA:
The general audience’s attitude to personality of Freddie is very controversial in Russia.
Unfortunately current legal/political circumstance in Russia makes me concerned that the movie will have the most strict censorship rating in Russia. It will minimize our ability to advertise the film and even to release it for broad audience theatrically in general.