Freddie Mercury lives again in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Turns out ‘Showman’ was great
LAS VEGAS – At last, the Freddie Mercury project Bohemian Rhapsody is coming to theaters.
Rami Malek, who portrays the iconic lead singer of the British rock band Queen, rolled out the first view of the film (in theaters Nov. 2) last week at CinemaCon, the national convention of theater owners.
When Malek found out he had earned the role, “I thought, ‘Oh, my God, it could be career-defining,’ ” he said. “And two minutes later, I thought, ‘This could be a career-killer.’ ”
That shows the pressure of portraying a pop culture marvel like Mercury, who died of AIDS in 1991 at age 45.
“You don’t get this right, and it’s trouble. He is, without a doubt in my mind, the greatest performer that has existed,” said Malek, star of TV’s Mr. Robot.
The Rhapsody footage depicted Mercury in 1970, joining the band with Brian May and Roger Taylor (producers of the film) and working their way from small clubs to the heights of the Live Aid performance of 1985. The film has been in the works for the better part of 10 years.
Malek said he got the greatest compli- ment he could have hoped for. “Brian May emailed and was saying how moved to tears he was. And if Freddie were here today, he would not and could not be prouder. And I will take that to the grave.”
Other highlights from the 20th Century Fox presentation, the final preview before the studio’s merger with Disney:
‘Deadpool 2’ steals the show
Ryan Reynolds wasn’t even there for CinemaCon, and yet he managed to be a major talking point. The Fox program began with a line of chorus girls singing and dancing to the song One from A Chorus Line. The song was dedicated to Reynold’s Deadpool, who appeared onscreen, supposedly video-calling in from a party-destroyed room upstairs at Caesars Palace, with a passed-out man next to him. While most stars kiss up to theater owners during these videos and apologize for not being there, Deadpool said he wouldn’t be coming to the “self-congratulatory orgy.” Frequent Reynolds foil Hugh Jackman then appeared brushing his teeth in a bathrobe. The passed-out man turned out to be Fox exec Chris Aronson, who rushed from the room to get to the stage. Deadpool told the crowd to use the rest of the CinemaCon “to cheat on your spouse on the company dime.” Then he and Jackman exited “to get pancakes or something.” Classic.
Fox chairman Stacey Snider paid tribute to Jackman’s The Greatest Showman, unveiled at last year’s CinemaCon with high hopes only to falter and be panned by critics when it opened in December. The musical has “defied the rules of gravity” and continued in theaters to become “the biggest live-action musical of all time,” said Snyder, earning nearly $430 million worldwide.