Sacha Baron Cohen walks from Freddie Mercury biopic
Reports suggest he wanted an R-rated take on the singer, but the band did not.
Sacha Baron Cohen has reportedly quit the forthcoming biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
The ‘Borat’ and ‘Les Mis’ star is said to have clashed with both the filmmakers and the band over the tone of the planned movie, and its proposed certificate.
Deadline is reporting that Cohen was only keen to play the role of the legendary singer if the portrayal of Mercury was an R-rated ‘adult and gritty’ take on his life and work.
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However, it seems that the film’s producers – and the band, who have final say on both the script and the director – have something less confrontational in mind.
Among the directors who have been linked to the film have been David Fincher and Stephen Frears, while Peter Morgan, who rather appropriately wrote ‘The Queen’, was set to pen the script.
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It was initially slated for a Spring 2013 release, but obviously that slot passed some time ago.
It’s not yet known who might succeed the potentially perfect casting of Baron Cohen in the lead role.
