Freddie Mercury biopic stalled over script problems?
Production of a planned Freddie Mercury biopic has reportedly stalled over script problems.
James Bond actor Ben Whishaw – who signed on to star in the film last year – has admitted that he is unsure if the project is still going ahead.
He told Time Out London: “Actually, I don’t know what’s happening, it seems to be on the back-burner.
“It was going, then there were problems getting the script working.”
The film was initially set to feature Sasha Baron Cohen, but he pulled out of the project in July 2013, after clashing with the Queen star’s former bandmates.
Director Dexter Fletcher also quit the film in March, citing “creative differences” with producers.
Queen guitarist Brian May had claimed that Baron Cohen was replaced because he would have been “distracting” in the lead role, but reports suggested he had clashed with producers over the film’s selective approach to Mercury’s life
The screenplay – written by Peter Morgan and backed by the band – focuses on the period up to Live Aid 1985 and is unlikely to focus on the AIDS crisis.
Mercury died of AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia in 1991.
