Ninety-nine percent of the time, having one of the greatest bands of all time give their input on a former member’s biopic would be a total blessing. The other one percent of the time, it’s a film on Freddie Mercury, and Queen want him to die of AIDS smack-bang in the middle of it.
At least, that’s what Sacha Baron Cohen told Howard Stern in an interview overnight. He said the legendary act’s forbearance into the project eventually led to Baron Cohen packing up his leotards and strutting away from the leading role in 2013, after three years of development.
The actor gave a pretty obvious response to the concept of the film’s iconic protagonist ending his screen-time halfway through: utter incredulity. He elaborated on his conversation with an unnamed member of the band, saying:
“I go ‘oh right, so you mean it’s a bit like Pulp Fiction? Like, the end is the middle, the middle is the end.’ I go, ‘alright, that’s really, that’s a wild movie. Alright, that’s interesting, I never thought about it that way.’”
“He goes ‘oh no, normal movie… in the second half of the movie we, you know, see how the band carries on from strength to strength.’”
The band’s apparent insistence on veering away from Mercury’s wilder times – including a story involving little people, head-mounted platters and a smattering of cocaine – was also a contributor to the swarthy gentleman backing out.
Have a listen to the whole chat here, if the news doesn’t make you want to ride your bicycle straight into the fucking sun.
Source: Entertainment Weekly.
Photo: Dave Hogan / Cindy Ord / Getty.
