LIVING UP TO LIVE AID

For “Bohemian Rhapsody’s” climactic sequence, the production restaged one of the most memorable music events of the last century: Live Aid, the concert to raise money to end famine in Africa. Held simultaneously at London’s Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia’s John F. Kennedy Stadium on July 13, 1985, the lineup featured such acts as David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Madonna and U2.

But it was Queen’s 20-minute twilight set that has endured — in a 2005 poll, it was voted the greatest live rock performance ever. The idea of re-creating it was daunting for the film’s cast and crew. Complicating matters? It was the first sequence they shot. “There just wasn’t any time to consider failure,” says actor Rami Malek, who portrays Freddie Mercury.

For the sequence, a to-scale reproduction of the Live Aid stage was constructed at Bobbington airfield outside London where filming took place over seven days. For the crowd, 900 extras were hired — their numbers multiplied later through visual effects to replicate the 90,000 people who attended the Wembley concert.

Malek estimates that he watched footage of the performance “thousands” of times. “I was still finding it and still learning the steps,” the actor says. “I remember some of the producers were on set on Day One, and they were watching me still watching it while we were performing. I think they were very worried.”

“Bohemian Rhapsody” cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel also studied the concert. Wembley’s architecture and the time of day afforded some cinematic opportunities, he says.

“By the time Queen came on, the sun had dipped below the roofline, and the light on the crowd had a soft, warm ambience,” Sigel says. “As the 20-minute set went on, the ambient light in the stadium got darker and darker, so the stage light had more of an impact. It was subtle, but for me, it was a wonderful little arc.”

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