Queen rocker Brian May only decided to green-light a movie portraying his late bandmate Freddie Mercury after Sacha Baron Cohen spent years 'pushing' the guitarist to agree.
- April 27, 2011
AceShowbiz - Last year it was announced the "Borat" star, Sacha Baron Cohen will play the tragic rock icon in the upcoming film, penned by acclaimed screenwriter Peter Morgan.
Brian May admits the band Queen has spent years avoiding taking on the project, but after a lot of pestering from Sacha Baron Cohen they gave in and have now started developing the film.
He tells Britain's Daily Record, "It is a project which is taking up a lot of time even though it is in the preparatory stages. It is a bit early to say how we feel about it. Obviously, we go into it with a great amount of enthusiasm but also a certain amount of caution because Freddie's legacy is very precious and we have a great responsibility not to mess it up. It is more about Freddie than it is about us and that is deliberately so."
"We have resisted making this film for a long time and it is only now we feel we have the right people that we have given it the OK. Sacha does seem perfect. If it hadn't been for Sacha pushing and pushing, we wouldn't be at this point. We didn't choose him. He chose us. He is passionate about playing Freddie. For years, he's been saying he is going to do it."
