Just a few days ago it was reported that Fox had postponed the Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, citing the “unexpected unavailability” of director Bryan Singer. That mysterious term has grown a little more sour, as Fox have now fired the director from the project entirely.
THR reports that difficulties between Singer and star Rami Malek had been mounting, and Singer simply no-showing the London-based set repeatedly was the final straw that led to his firing. In his absence, cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, who has been the DoP for Singer multiple times, was stepping in to direct.
Tom Hollander, who plays Queen manager Jim Beach and has over 80 film credits to his name, had briefly quit the film over Singer’s absences and behaviour, but was talked into returning. Malek also reported these issues to the studio in regards to Singer: “not being present on set, unreliability and unprofessionalism”.
Fox Chairman/SEO Stacey Snider and Vice Chairman/President Of Production Emma Watts had reportedly set a no-nonsense precedent with Singer before production began, but obviously that hasn’t seemed to work. Singer has claimed that “he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the tensions on the set”.
The film has two weeks of principal photography remaining and the studio is expected to name a new director soon. It would surely make the most sense to simply promote Sigel into full-time director. It would be his first feature film, but considering the bulk of the work is already done and he has worked on the film from the start, it would seem strange to bring in an outsider instead.
#Peace.Love.BohemianRhapsody
