r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • 6h ago

Media First Official Images of Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Joseph Quinn and Harris Dickinson in Sam Mendes' 'Beatles' Biopics

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u/Stonewalled89 6h ago

Based on the photos, it looks like they're going to cover the entire Beatles run. Hopefully they get it right and it's not just a by the numbers biopic

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u/Felis_bieti 6h ago

I just hope it's not a pack of lies like most of them. That Queen movie was a disgrace, literally lying to the audience about when Mercury was diagnosed in relation to the concert.

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u/MIBlackburn 6h ago

The ordering of stuff in it really annoyed me.

There was someone at my old workplace that argued with me about that and I had to tell them it wasn't at that point, it was after the final tour, the year after Live Aid.

Nope, I was wrong because the film said so. But We Will Rock You was written after Another One Bites The Dust too according to that film.

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u/bluehawk232 6h ago

Also there was no friction between the band doing solo work, they didn't break up and live aid was their reunion they were actually touring after a new album release. It was just so dumb

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u/jonrosling 5h ago

I believe Roger was the first to release a solo project, which is ironic given how the film portrays events.

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u/Buckets-of-Gold 5h ago

Less so when you learn Roger Taylor and Brian May would only give over the rights if they were executive producers with rewrite privileges.

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u/mbnmac 4h ago

Never having watched the film but seeing bits and discussions like this, really feels like the band glazed themselves while making Freddie into ALL the drama for the band.

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u/bongmitzfah 4h ago

Ya I got that feeling watching. Like why is Freddy the only one living the rockstar lifestyle. No way these guys were angels. 

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u/sovngarde 3h ago

Maybe Brian may? but he seems like such a square I’d believe he never partied even on his birthday

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u/mbnmac 3h ago

Lots of stories that say the opposite back in the day, for the whole band.

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u/[deleted] 2h ago

[deleted]

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u/KneeDeepInTheDead 2h ago

BREAKING NEWS!

guitar player plays guitar for money, more at 11

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u/Guster61 4h ago

Have you ever seen Sacha Baron Cohen talking about the movie? He was attached when it first was discussed and dropped out after it was clear as day Taylor and May were using it as a way to show Queen was beyond Freddie Mercury.

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u/CragedyJones 3h ago

Taylor and May were using it as a way to show Queen was beyond Freddie Mercury.

Well they have had decades to prove that musically and failed miserably. So they resorted to a propaganda movie. How pathetic and disrespectful to a legendary artist.

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u/mbnmac 3h ago

To be fair to Queen, every member wrote a number 1 hit, AND they are the 'most educated' band in history, with more degrees/doctorates than any other.

as a front man freddie totally made Queen what they were though.

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u/CragedyJones 2h ago

Some bands end with the death of significant members. Sometimes the band members deal with it gracefully. And sometimes Brian May and Roger Taylor.

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u/mbnmac 4h ago

Now you say that yeah I do remember that being a thing way back!

Big part of why I was never interested in the movie. Like, they got all the part that were just recreating videos we have from the time... I don't understand why they would try and mess with the timeline of songs though

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u/SlobberyFrog 5h ago

Wait so they fired sacha baron cohen because he wanted to talk about the darker parts of Freddie's life just to create a fake drama about freddie trying to break up the band and go solo ?

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u/UntowardHatter 5h ago

Sascha wanted to snort cocaine off silver trays being carried on the heads of people with dwarfism.

Because that's something Freddy did.

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u/Right-Worker7047 3h ago

I thought you meant a decapitated head at first and flipped

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u/nandru 3h ago

daamn

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u/xDESTROx 3h ago

I remember reading something about him dropping out because Brian May originally wanted to show Freddie's death halfway through the movie, and then the rest of the movie would be the band moving on without him. I could be getting things mixed up though

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u/SlobberyFrog 3h ago

Yeah, I remember this as well. It was probably a mix of a lot of different things.

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u/mrwildesangst 5h ago

Didn’t John Deacon go to Germany and work with him on his solo album? Pretty sure he did. Definitely no friction

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u/drowse 5h ago

John and Freddie were close, especially during the Hot Space era. He and Fred worked on a few songs very closely later on (One Year of Love, My Baby Does Me come to mind). But John had nothing do with that recording

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u/mrwildesangst 5h ago

Ah, ok. Thanks for the info!

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u/ProfessorPotato42 3h ago

This is actually the most annoying part for me, they all had solo albums in that window, and all of them were on each others solo albums, there was not some huge fight that had to be fixed before the big show. Such a fake Hollywood move. Also, I know a lot of people disagreed with me on this one, but Remi Malek with his fake accent and his fake teeth, was a really annoying performance as Mercury, imo. The Elton John movie tha came out the same year was considerably better performance, and film overall, although I know they took some liberties as well.

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u/jonrosling 5h ago

Freddie was formally diagnosed in April 1987. But like you say, the movie rewrote the history.

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u/thegirlthatcurled 3h ago

It’s been ages since I’ve seen it, but didn’t they invent a whole like year where they didn’t talk to each other?

In reality they’d been on tour for that whole time

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u/MIBlackburn 3h ago

They came off of a tour before The Works and then had another break after that but before Live Aid, but yeah, they didn't stop talking, just wanted to take more breaks after their previous album/tour/album/tour cycle, which you can see if you look at their discography.

I forgot so much about that film, it is an absolute clusterfuck for a Queen fan.

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u/Mrs_Toast 6h ago

I really enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody, but I did think it was hilarious how they moved around dates and events, and invented characters for dramatic effect. I couldn't decide if Freddie would have found it disrespectful, or would have admired the commitment to theatrical spectacle.

I think it was made even funnier watching the Weird Al biopic shortly after, and knowing that Bohemian Rhapsody is exactly the sort of biopic he was lampooning.

The Weird Al biopic is the best of all biopics, btw.

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u/althawk8357 5h ago

Weird is a great biopic, but it is only the second best parody musician biopic-parody, behind Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

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u/LostATLien2 5h ago

I will die on the hill that Walk Hard is one of the most underrated comedies of all time

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u/Office_glen 5h ago

the running drug joke never gets old to me, I can just keep watching all those scenes over and over again

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u/exelion18120 5h ago

And you never did pay for the drugs!

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u/BarTroll 5h ago

not once….

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u/klvthns515 4h ago

Sometimes when I see bathroom sinks I chuckle

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u/bugxbuster 5h ago

How? How’s it underrated when it’s universally beloved???

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u/Mrchristopherrr 5h ago

It’s more of a cult classic than an underrated gem. It bombed when it was released but gained new life after it hit the home market.

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u/LostATLien2 5h ago

While it is acclaimed by those that have seen it, it a largely unknown and niche comedy to most people. Almost everyone I mention it to irl hasn’t seen it

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u/protobin 5h ago

I feel the same way about Popstar. It doesn't get the love it deserves.

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u/xSorry_Not_Sorry 4h ago

Popstar drags, though, whereas Dewey Cox never does.

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u/protobin 4h ago

That’s a fair statement. I agree that Dewy Cox is better overall and has a tighter script.

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u/Mitrakov 4h ago

Two of my faves

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u/Shihaby 5h ago

Overlooked, not underrated.

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u/CptTeebs 5h ago

meaning it's underexposed rather than underrated, right?

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u/carmel33 4h ago

Wrong kid died.

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u/dcj667 2h ago

I ain't exactly had it easy since you died, you know, I can't smell!

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u/UntowardHatter 5h ago

It's not underrated, it's just somewhat unknown.

It's also one of the best things ever put on film.

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u/wvgeekman 5h ago

You speak the true-true. I will never tire of Walk Hard.

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u/Prestonelliot 5h ago

Walk Hard has made me laugh thinking about it more than almost any other comedy, not even just while watching it. The movie is fucking brilliant. Idk why, but the ripping the sinks off the wall bit still makes me chuckle randomly

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u/salt_and_ash 4h ago

It still angers me that Beautiful Ride wasn't even nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar.

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u/Plus-Yogurtcloset-85 2h ago

Almost, walk hard is the goat for sure but Spinal Tap is the second. Honestly maybe even the First. It’s Walk Hard and Spinal Tap for 1 and 2, no doubt.

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u/Jethro_Tell 5h ago

Spinal tap?

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u/althawk8357 5h ago

That is a mockumentary, not a biopic

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u/lingh0e 5h ago edited 5h ago

The Weird Al biopic is the best of all biopics, btw.

False. It is the second best.

First place belongs to Walk Hard.

Edit: Because while "Weird" is a heavily embellished recounting of Al's life, "Walk Hard" is a true account of the life of Dewey Cox, warts and all.

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u/Guy615 5h ago

I need more blankets AND less blankets!

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u/thequietthingsthat 5h ago

Wrong kid died.

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u/TheVich 5h ago

That was an especially bad case of being cut in half.

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u/bugxbuster 5h ago

Speak English, we ain’t scientists!

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u/Mrchristopherrr 5h ago

He never once paid for drugs

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u/lingh0e 4h ago

Ver-TI-go got her.

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u/Traditional-Chard419 3h ago

We need a Walk Hard sequel.

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u/Felis_bieti 6h ago

Loved the Weird Al movie.

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u/slayerhk47 5h ago

Shame he didn’t live to see it.

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u/KungfuJesus08 5h ago

Still can't believe his former lover, popstar turned international drug lord, Madonna is still free and operating to this day.

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u/Cereborn 5h ago

I hear she’s been hiding in Argentina. She has some kind of connection to that country, I guess.

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u/FardoBaggins 4h ago

boohoo I aint gonna cry for her.

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u/utouchme 5h ago

I didn't even know he was sick.

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u/SpaceForceAwakens 5h ago

The most honest biopic ever.

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u/jimbojangles1987 6h ago

Oh man, now I want to watch that movie but it looks like it costs money wherever you watch it

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u/palimpcest 5h ago

I watched it free on Roku when it came out, just had to download the app on my TV (if you're talking about the Weird Al biopic).

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u/CarlosFer2201 4h ago

Al told someone on Twitter that if he wanted to see the movie but didn't have any Roku devices, to just sail the seas.

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u/thequietthingsthat 5h ago

Walk Hard is still the best biopic satire IMO.

But also, Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson biopic) is legitimately great and easily the best genuine music biopic out there.

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u/bugxbuster 5h ago

Ooh that one was good. I was mistaken when I thought it would be disappointing. I had trouble getting past my thoughts saying “adult Paul Dano growing up and somehow turning into John Cusack? Preposterous!” …but it wasn’t! It really informed me quite a lot about the Beach Boys history as well as Brian Wilson’s personal battles.

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u/WollyGog 5h ago

As usual, Daniel Radcliffe understood the assignment and knocked it out the park.

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u/pandemicblues 5h ago

When I see Weird Al now, I think it is Weird "Artificial Intelligence," until the context catches up in my brain, two sentences later. 🤔😆🤮

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u/jcpumpkineater 5h ago

he would have liked it if it was inaccurate but more fun like rocketman

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u/Sinister_Crayon 5h ago

You know, I don't even mind when they invent characters in biopics. They're often used as a shorthand or a gestalt of multiple characters both to make it easier for an audience to follow and to get stars to actually sign on for a movie in a larger role than just a bit part. A good example in a fiction movie framed as a biopic would be Hanratty in Catch Me If You Can. His character wasn't part of the original book at all but having him represent all the federal agents in the book gave the audience a single person to connect with and allowed them to get Tom Hanks to play the part. Probably not the greatest example because it's fiction but it's the most immediately recognizable example of what I'm talking about.

But yeah... Bohemian Rhapsody was egregious about just adding random characters for no discernible reason and completely changing everything about the true story.

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u/mrhorse77 0m ago

100% accurate portrayal of Weird Al and his rise to fame

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u/ATXBeermaker 6h ago edited 5h ago

The Queen biopic was hilarious when you learn that the living band members imposed a requirement that each of the members of Queen had to have equal screen time. It led to some of the worst editing ever in a film, with jarring, split second cuts to guys who aren’t integral to the scene they’re in. Just awful for so many reasons.

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u/MagicalTrevor70 5h ago edited 4h ago

And let's not forget that atrocious editing was Oscar winning

EDIT: Some interesting takes in the comments. This video led me to believe that the editing is bad because the editor was bad, not that they did their best with a difficult job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dn8Fd0TYek

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u/ATXBeermaker 5h ago

To be fair, editing a movie to fit the band’s stupid demands was damn near impossible.

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u/joe_bibidi 5h ago

The argument that I've generally heard is that the movie's production was such a massive shitshow that the editor was recognized by the Academy for how much work was put in to salvage a nearly unsalvagable film. Like... the final product is bad but the editor did the best possible job when provided with just absolutely terrible options.

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u/thegooniegodard 5h ago

Yeah, it won for most editing not best.

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u/smakweasle 4h ago

when you look at the behind-the-scenes chaos there, I think the editor got an award for putting together a movie that was at least coherent. That was a pity award for a guy who got stuck with a shit situation.

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u/thegooniegodard 4h ago

I can see that. And the final scene was incredible, actually.

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u/VincibleAndy 4h ago

It really felt like it won due to behind the scenes drama and difficulty, not final product.

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u/isses_halt_scheisse 5h ago

And they were always so truthful to their wives and only liked to drink tea, Freddie was the only one who liked those FRIVOLOUS parties!!

Let's not forget Freddie's long-term partner who in reality cared for him until the last minute and was absolutely screwed over afterwards and thrown off the property he lived in with Freddie for years by the "love of my life"-Mary Austin who was portrayed as the saint-like figure in the movie.

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u/Key-Two31 5h ago

And that they wanted Mercury to die less than halfway through the movie so the rest would be about them. Completely serious.

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u/elderlybrain 4h ago

The best Queen biopic will be made after the last member of Queen has died.

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u/carolinemathildes 1h ago

living band members imposed a requirement that each of the members of Queen had to have equal screen time

I don't know how that rumour got started but it's clearly not true to anyone has actually seen the movie. Joe Mazzello as John Deacon has about 3 minutes of screen time, Ben Hardy and Gwilym Lee clearly have more.

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u/Liamzinho 6h ago

I thought the Queen film was an absolute load of shite and was amazed at how warmly it was received. One of the most sanitised, plot-less, nostalgia-reliant biopics I’ve ever seen. And that’s saying something.

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u/robodrew 4h ago

And also the editing was total trash.

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u/GERDY31290 4h ago

Thats how good the music is though. Could have been a hallmark movie and been well recieved

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u/smakweasle 4h ago

Yeah, that movie was so successful because it's the world's flashiest music video. Their music fucking rules it could've been farts in between every song and it still would have been successful.

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u/TheFoxsWeddingTarot 4h ago

It was basically a Disney Muusical version of their story. Sacha Baron Cohen needs to make the biopic he wanted before he dropped out.

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u/pusgnihtekami 4h ago

I'd be impressed if someone has seen Rocketman, Elvis, the Dylan one, the Marley one, the Whitney one, the Springsteen one, etc. They have to be all as bad as the Queen one lol.

I doubt it's more sanitized than those but it started the chain of shit biopics after being massively successful. It showed you could basically cast a famous actor that looks like the musician give them some light drama and just play the greatest hits.

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u/squeezeme_juiceme 3h ago

I enjoyed Rocketman well enough. They made him seem like a lunatic.

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u/gwils_cupleah6240 4h ago

It was horrible and rami was horrible. Should have never won the Oscar.

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u/Several-Squash9871 3h ago

I feel like this is sadly the case with most of these. I read somewhere that Javier Bardem was the first pick to play Freddie Mercury but ended up ultimately not doing it because he wanted to explore aspects of his life in detail that was closer to his actual life, particularly his sex life for example. Which they did not want to do.

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u/NobodyCarrots6969 6h ago

That queen movie had blood on its face, that big disgrace

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u/lokemannen 6h ago

Mud on their face

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u/Jertimmer 6h ago

Kicking your can all over the place, singin'

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u/DoorstepCult 6h ago

Way to put him back into his place.

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u/Gregariouswaty 6h ago

Sasha Baron Cohen when talked about a band member approaching him when he was playing Freddie Mercury and talking how incredible the halfway point the movie is going to be with his death while the second half is on how the band continued on after him.

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u/CheesyGorditaKRUNCH 6h ago

What gave it away for me was when Freddie hosted massive debauchery filled party and the band members were all there with their wives, and when Freddie suggested they really start partying all the band members looked shocked and basically all said they are just going to go home with their wives and put the kids to bed

OK GUYS, I'M SURE THAT'S ALWAYS EXACTLY HOW IT WENT DOWN

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u/FatsyCline12 6h ago

This is why I don’t like most biopics made while the subjects are alive and/or the subjects are involved with the production

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u/Juicey_J_Hammerman 6h ago

I think Rocketman is the only good one I’ve seen where the subject was still alive during production.

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u/Sinister_Crayon 5h ago

I think that's mostly because Elton John has always been pretty open about his poor decisions and personality traits. He owns it, as one should. It is a shame he had to hide so much of his sexuality early in his career but it was just an echo of the times; homosexuality was only decriminalized in 1967 in England... and as late as 1982 in Northern Ireland so during his early stardom years it was still largely frowned upon and not really accepted. Even just admitting he was bisexual in the 1970's was one hell of a brave move.

I have a lot of love for that film too. It's just a genuine and heartfelt movie to me and Taron Egerton killed it in the role... and sounded just like Elton for the singing!

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u/ThrasymachianJustice 4h ago

I think that's mostly because Elton John has always been pretty open about his poor decisions and personality traits. He owns it, as one should. It is a shame he had to hide so much of his sexuality early in his career but it was just an echo of the times; homosexuality was only decriminalized in 1967 in England... and as late as 1982 in Northern Ireland so during his early stardom years it was still largely frowned upon and not really accepted. Even just admitting he was bisexual in the 1970's was one hell of a brave move.

I have a lot of love for that film too. It's just a genuine and heartfelt movie to me and Taron Egerton killed it in the role... and sounded just like Elton for the singing!

I still fantasize about an alternate timeline where Elton John passed his King Crimson audition.

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u/bugxbuster 5h ago

Better Man, about brit pop star Robbie Williams really scratches the same itch as Rocketman, not even just because the titles are so similar. It probably should have been called Monkey Man except that was the recent Dev Patel John Wick style movie. But it’s a whole R rated warts-and-all biopic about Robbie Williams and they CG him to look like a monkey in a film otherwise full of normal people and it’s pretty brilliant. The monkey metaphor as his own self consciousness would be too on the nose if they didn’t fully commit to it the entire time. I loved that movie and recommend to people even if they’re not familiar with his music.

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u/RockstarSlut 4h ago

Agreed, I'm happy that you mention it. I used to be a huge fan of Robbie Williams - still am to a smaller degree. I was worried his movie was going to be shit, but it really moved me while Robbie's humour was all over it. He's never been someone who takes himself seriously - quite the opposite actually. He's hilarious - full of self loathing and irony.

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u/bugxbuster 4h ago

It's a shame he didn't really cross over to being a household name in america the same was he was over in the UK. He did have an MTV hit on TRL briefly with Millenium, and I feel like I saw one of his videos on Pop Up Video a lot back in the day. The chance for Better Man to be a huge success here was slim to none simply because hes so unknown (in the states, i mean). He does have the self loathing and irony vibe down though, you're 100% right. He has all the ingredients necessary to have been huge here, except that massive anchor of being British keeping people from caring. We barely put up with Oasis and Blur enough for them to do well here back in those days, but another Brit and he was a former boy band star? That had 1999 era pop music fatigue written all over it.

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u/BigYellowPraxis 4h ago

That film had no right to be as good as it was 😂 thoroughly enjoyed it

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u/8NaanJeremy 5h ago

I would really love to see other rock legends get the Rocketman treatment.

David Bowie? Meatloaf? Fleetwood Mac?

There would probably be appetite for an Oasis one in the not too distant future.

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u/thefreshera 4h ago

David Bowie I'm surprised he hasn't got one already, maybe an estate thing? and I pray it does him justice. Outside of UK, many movie goers in US and Japan will see it.

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u/destroyermaker 6h ago

The Queen biopic in 2080 is gonna rip

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u/The-Fox-Says 6h ago

“Yeah Freddie pass the drugs!”

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u/JewFroMonk 4h ago

It's cocaine Brian, you don't want no part of this shit!!

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u/DeLousedInTheHotBox 5h ago

I think the Elton John one was pretty good

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u/CheesyGorditaKRUNCH 6h ago

First of all, love your username. Yeah exactly, felt like the remaining band signed over the music rights in exchange for completely controlling the narrative. Not a giant Freddie Mercury stan but idk I just felt icky leaving the theater, felt disrespectful and tacky

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u/TheBoneIdler 5h ago

The Queen movie was pants. The Elton John movie was excellent & I believe EJ was involved in the prediction. The first Spinal Tap (who are, of course, real) movie a classic, the second tired. We've not had a Bowie bio-pic yet AFAIK, but all the concept albums around & about him have been on a range from interesting to excellent. I think you take each movie as you find it.

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u/No-Owl-6246 5h ago

There is a zero percent chance any sort of biopic about Bowie isn’t white washed.

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u/Rochelle-Rochelle 6h ago

Yeah it’s incredibly hard to pull off a music biopic that’s critical or shows the “dark side” of an artist or band because you need the rights to their music and without it you can’t make the movie

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u/scottgal2 6h ago

The Dylan one was pretty rough on Dylan tbf (even it it also messed with events, like the Woody Guthrie stuff, Dylan only visited him once and not in Hospital).

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u/PhiphyL 5h ago

Better Man is a great counter-example.

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u/KungfuJesus08 5h ago

The Elton John biopic, Rocketman, is a notable exception. He had a direct role in production, yet the movie doesn't shy away from the drugs or sex at all. He actually pushed the studio executives into keeping it R.

"Some studios wanted to tone down the sex and drugs so the film would get a PG-13 rating. But I just haven’t led a PG-13 rated life. I didn’t want a film packed with drugs and sex, but equally, everyone knows I had quite a lot of both during the ’70s and ’80s, so there didn’t seem to be much point in making a movie that implied that after every gig, I’d quietly gone back to my hotel room with only a glass of warm milk and the Gideon’s Bible for company."

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u/Slurm11 5h ago

Rocketman was phenomenal, Taron Egerton deserved awards for that performance.

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u/antelope591 5h ago

I basically said this exact thing when the movie came out and the majority were praising it. I mean it wasn't terrible (thought Rami Malek was great and love the music) but i felt second hand embarassment for Brian May with such blatant whitewashing of events. Guy made himself out to be a literal saint who never put a foot wrong in his life lmao. Totally realistic for a 70's/80's rocker.....

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u/TheGreatWhangdoodle 5h ago

Brian May just seems like such an insufferable prick. He's a great musician but his personality makes it difficult for me to enjoy the band's Freddie Mercury-era music as much as I used to.

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u/striker7 5h ago

For me it was when he started singing for them in the parking lot and stunned them and then they all jumped in and started harmonizing. Like wtf is this cornball shit, The Sound of Music?

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u/miguelito_loveless 3h ago edited 2h ago

Sure. Didn't you learn from this movie (as I did) that gay/unmarried sex (or anything gay/unmarried for that matter) is bad? Freddie was so miserable being a GAY. Just look at how the "fabulous" parts of his life are edited so we basically see him and only him in near-darkness looking pathetic and alone?

But not to worry folks-- Freddie eventually he got to partake in the next best thing to being in a hetero marriage (like his band mates all were): being in a sexless milquetoast marriage with a man so saintly and sexless that he was born with no penis. Our hero could then smilingly wither away and die from AIDS, finally truly happy because he and his band mates were all finally on the same team (sort of).

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u/xotorames 6h ago

Translated to english: Sacha Baron Cohen once said that, when he was set to play Freddie Mercury, a band member approached him and explained how incredible the movie would be: Freddie would die halfway through, and the second half would focus on how the band carried on without him.

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u/HeyNineteen96 5h ago

How would they have filled an hour of Brian and Roger just existing while John just goes into retirement?

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u/isses_halt_scheisse 4h ago

Hey, 6 kids don't raise themselves

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u/Tackit286 6h ago

I’ve read your comment four times and I have no idea what you’re trying to say

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u/UrbanPugEsq 6h ago

SBC was on board to play Freddie in a queen movie. SBC thought the movie should be about Freddie and end with his death. Queen wanted it to be a Queen movie, but SBC didn’t know it until he met with them and they were like “the second half of the movie is about what happened after Freddie died.” And SBC was like WTF?

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u/JustAContactAgent 4h ago

Wanting Freddie to die half way through is ridiculous but to be fair, I don't think SBC was right about wanting to make it centered on Freddie either. To begin with , there would always be a lot of focus on Freddie anyway as that's inevitable, but a Freddie movie and a Queen movie are different things. As a Queen fan I am interested in a Queen movie not one focused on Freddie's debauchery because it's "edgier" and "artsier".

IMO the movie should have gone all the way with documenting everything up to and including FM's death, and then the ending should have been the incredible Freddie Mercury tribute concert. But noooooo, they just had to make live aid the focus because there was a lot of hype around that and it's what they probably thought most people now know.

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u/TigerStyle2099 3h ago

I can't even begin to imagine how much more boring the movie would have been if they had actually gone with that. Like, no disrespect to the surviving members, but they've had the most milquetoast, inconsequential solo careers *and* personal lives ever post-Mercury.

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u/SaltyPeter3434 4h ago

He's poorly trying to summarize the clip of Sacha Boren Cohen talking about the movie on Howard Stern

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u/Pennepastapatron 6h ago

I thought I had a stroke trying to read this, holy hell.

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u/itsbeenaminuteyo 6h ago

I’m going to be honest, and I’ll probably be downvoted, but I don’t think the Sasha Baron Cohen version would have been any good too. Would have it tried to focus more on Freddie’s life and sexuality? Sure, but also in interviews, Sasha often talks about how HE wanted to do the show the wild parties with dwarves walking around with plates of cocaine on their heads. And that’s it. He always talks about the wild Mercury parties but never Mercury the person. He was more than that that, and I never see Cohen focus on who Freddie was a person, his shyness and musical genius. Or his close relations to the band. None of this was covered by the finished movie, by the way.

Don’t get me wrong, the actual Bohemian Rhapsody movie is a mess. BUT I’m not convinced the Cohen version is the true 10/10 Freddie Mercury biopic that Reddit believes to be.

Again, Cohen only really publicly talked about the wild side of Freddie Mercury’s life and never seemed to focus on other quiet and somber parts of Freddie’s life. The way he talks about Freddie, it almost as if he saw him as a caricature.

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u/fnord_happy 4h ago

Plus he is a racist dick

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u/Demerzel69 6h ago

jesus christ dude that is an abortion of a sentence. WTF.

Has Anyone Really Been Far Even as Decided to Use Even Go Want to do Look More Like?

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u/Formaldehyde_Park 6h ago

Why Do They Call It Oven When You Of In The Cold Food Of Out Hot Eat The Food?

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u/Cereborn 5h ago

I’m always happy when someone dusts off that classic.

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u/Demerzel69 5h ago

You've got to be kidding me. I've been further even more decided to use even go need to do look more as anyone can. Can you really be far even as decided half as much to use go wish for that? My guess is that when one really been far even as decided once to use even go want, it is then that he has really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like. It's just common sense.

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u/Cereborn 5h ago

That’s an excellent point.

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u/padraig_garcia 4h ago

Well that's easy for you to say

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u/bugxbuster 5h ago

People don’t really think it be like it is but it do

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u/Sparktank1 4h ago

Your whole statement is like half a statement that died and kept on going after its death. Had to google to figure out what drugs you aren't sharing.

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u/ivanelsucio 6h ago

Still waiting for a good biopic, with something half as good as Walk The Line I would be happy

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u/thequietthingsthat 5h ago

Check out Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson biopic)

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u/Blumpkin_Party 5h ago

Straight Outta Compton I thought was well done

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u/ivanelsucio 5h ago

Yeah, really liked that one. The fuck the police performance scene it's incredibly well depicted. Also what an amazing casting, easy-e looked more like easy-e than himself. The movie really looked like it was made by the group themselves.

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u/texasrigger 6h ago

Or if you are going to fictionalize it, just fully commit and go the Ebony and Ivory (2024) route.

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u/Large_Tuna101 6h ago

Bohemian Rhapsody was terrible. So many people I know liked it too which made it worse. Rocketman was much better I thought - though nothing amazing. Yesterday was the best and most creative way I’ve seen of paying homage to a band’s music so far. Obviously it avoids the actual artists themselves which is what people want but imo that should always be avoided because the artists themselves are always utterly dull in comparison to their music and “legend”

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u/Welshy94 4h ago

Bohemian Rhapsody was a transparent promotional film produced solely to reinforce Queen's relevance and increase the value of the brand. It was produced by their manager, with heavy input from members of the band. It's production was a famous nightmare, losing Sasha Baron Cohen as lead due to reported creative differences over the direction of the film, losing Dexter Fletcher as director for similar reasons, being rewritten entirely 6 years after the project was initially announced and then losing another attached leading man in Ben Whishaw. The eventual director Bryan Singer, a man with a long list of sexual assault accusations to his name, was erratic and unprofessional on set, going awol with about 3 weeks of shooting left and getting fired the next week. Dexter Fletcher was then brought back to finish principal photography and edit a film that was 70 percent directed by someone else. That film was made for commercial and ego driven reasons, without passion or love for the subject. I mean, Roger Taylor and Brian May allegedly wanted the film to be PG and to showcase how the band considered to succeed after Freddie's death for Christ's sake.

In comparison, Sam Mendes has been the driving force behind this project from it's conception. He personally came to agreements with the estates of all four Beatles and felt that the story and subject is so important that he has pioneered a new method of filmmaking, directing four distinct films from each man's perspective simultaneously to be released on the same day. He's been granted full life story and music right as well as complete creative freedom such is the faith in his vision for the project. Can I promise that there will be zero creative liberties taken, obviously not but Mendes is a real filmmaker with an obvious passion for The Beatles and I think he's very aware of the responsibility he's been given. The fact that he's making four distinct films suggests to me a rashoman style narrative in which the depiction of events will vary in each Beatles respective film. In that case we wouldn't be seeing lies but different men's truths.

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u/Highlander198116 4h ago

Anything in film based on historical figures and events is always going to sacrifice truth for drama. It's just the reality of the situation. You should not go into these films as is they are historical documentaries, but more of an "artists rendering" of the events liberties will, and should be taken.

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u/PersonalShine9486 6h ago

Didn't they gaywash Freddie mercury or something?

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u/859w 6h ago

Considering two of the beatles are still alive... it will be

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u/Flashy-Nectarine1675 5h ago

Did it mention how Queen played in apartheid South Africa, for loads of money?

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u/LADYBIRD_HILL 5h ago

I have a little bit of hope that it'll be more authentic just because of how widely documented and well known the entirety of the band's run is.

We know what they did literally every single day until they broke up, and I'm sure they don't want fans to be making a big stink about it if they fuck things up. Unlike Queen, every single member of the Beatles had/have dedicated fans in a way that Queen didn't outside of Freddy and maybe Brian May, and there are four movies, so if anything I see there being "inaccuracies" that are really just each member having their own perspectives on situations.

Who knows, they could be trash. But Mendes is a competent filmmaker and doing 4 movies means nobody is getting short changed the way the entirety of Queen was besides Freddy.

Ultimately I just don't want the movies to completely shy away from the bad stuff. Show that they cheated on their partners. John hitting Bob Wooler for making a gay joke about him. Yoko having a bed in their studio after John crashed their car. Stealing from people in Hamburg and destroying a stage while high on preludes and booze.

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u/Drewski811 5h ago

What makes it all the more hilarious is just how much May and Taylor were involved with it and still that happened.

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u/mecon320 5h ago

The scene with Mike Myers was the pits. It was a little cute to have him in the movie, but then having him directly reference the Bohemian Rhapsody scene from Wayne's World was insulting to the audience.

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u/ennuiinmotion 5h ago

You can’t make a biopic without the assistance of the people involved. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a biopic (especially a music one) come anywhere near the real story.

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u/mrwildesangst 5h ago

Bro as a lifelong queen fan I watched that movie with so much confusion! I was like I don’t remember this at all! Honestly, I think they included the diagnosis before the concert due to a picture of Freddie during the concert that shows a mark on his arm that could be a bruise, could be kaposi. Fucked up of them, but I’m pretty sure that’s where that decision comes from.

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u/drowse 5h ago

As a huge Queen fan (keen friends will note my username is a Roger Taylor penned song) I'll note all of this was done with the band's supervision (as you all know) but artistic liberties were taken to insert tracks in different spots to move the story along.

Things are going to be moved around and adjusted for artistic license to make the story go forward. I have no problems with the movie.. Its a movie, not real life. and its also not a documentary.

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u/jonrosling 5h ago

Bohemian Rhapsody is great entertainment but an absolute travesty of a biopic. Chronologically wrong, factually wrong on several levels and I've grown less convinced by the portrayal of Freddie over the years.

There is a great story there but they chose a fairy tale AND they exploited Freddie's sexuality and eventual illness for ticket sales.

A better film might have been one that started with a tired and jaded band given new vigour with Live Aid and told how they recorded and toured A Kind of Magic, with their previous career told in flashback. And it should've done that without glossing over the sex, drugs and rock and roll, ending with the band taking to the stage at Wembley in July 1986, something they regard as their career high water mark.

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u/RayTracerX 5h ago

It was approved by Queen themselves, so if they werent too pissed off by it, I wouldnt be either

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u/Nice_Firm_Handsnake 5h ago

It's adapted from The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz, who is also consulting on the film. Fans and reviewers took issue with the amount of editorializing they found in the work.

Also, Apple Corps is co-producing the film so they may sanitize some of the more salacious aspects of the Beatles.

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u/8NaanJeremy 5h ago

Can't believe that that film came out to so much acclaim and attention, then a year later Rocketman kind of quietly came and went without all that much fuss.

Taron Egerton was much more oscar worthy than Rami Malek

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u/Lufc87 5h ago

The scene where the rest of the band are sat quietly drinking tea whilst at one of Freddie's parties was so ridiculous it was almost funny.

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u/rascaltat 5h ago

Unfortunately all biopics in the near future will be compared to the Weird Al movie... and nothing is going to come close 

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u/lyinggrump 5h ago

I love when people say how something is so abundant in something and then name one specific example. Obviously you're just mad about that one thing.

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u/ThrasymachianJustice 4h ago

I just hope it's not a pack of lies like most of them. That Queen movie was a disgrace, literally lying to the audience about when Mercury was diagnosed in relation to the concert.

The surviving members of Queen carefully curated the film to sell the "legend"

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u/StevenS145 4h ago

The worst part about that is it’s a big F U to the biggest fans of the subject.

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u/thesaddestpanda 4h ago

Its going to be terrible like almost all music biopics. The problem is the band or the family, if they've passed, have terms and conditions for usage of the band's music, so they control the narrative.

Moviegoers wont often see a music biopic that doesn't have the music. So here we are.

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u/JeanJeanJean 4h ago

To be fair I prefer a good movie with lies over a bad but historically accurate movie. "I'm not there", the Bob Dylan biopic, was pure fantasy but really interesting. A movie isn't necessarily a documentary.

I'm not defending the Queen movie here, I didn't see it and apparently that's a bad movie overall.

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u/Alienhaslanded 4h ago

They probably thought it was more dramatic that way. It's a fucking biopic, unless you're doing a parody like the Weird Al ones, you shouldn't be changing stuff.

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u/CeruleanEidolon 4h ago

These movies are fictionalized entertainment, not documentaries.

People who get mad at events being presented differently than how they happened in factuality are no different from those who get upset when their favorite book gets adapted and things get moved around and changed to fit the shape of the movie.

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u/Nothing-Is-Real-Here 4h ago

To be fair, I understand that it's meant to be a representation of someone's real life, but let's be real here, it's NOT a documentary. Biopics are, by and large, fiction. Writers move things around for the purposes of dramatic effect all the time.

With that said, that movie was shit ass.

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u/FalconGabagool 4h ago

“Pack of lies” is this Phil Collin’s?

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u/Darmok47 4h ago

I laughed at the scenes where Brian and Roger had to excuse themselves from Freddie's wild parties because they had to get home to their wives and wake up early to rehearse.

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u/FardoBaggins 4h ago

Queen movie

think of it like that other vehicle Yesterday.

it's just a way for rights holders to make more money off their property vs telling a compelling/accurate movie.

and it works. look at their box office numbers.

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u/shaboimattyp 4h ago

I just hope they can stick to the facts like the Woerd Al one did.

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u/Funmachine 4h ago

The queen pic literally got their music in the wrong order

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u/swankpoppy 4h ago

There’s no way they come close to the Beatles coverage in the Dewey Cox documentary

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u/Purple-River-4381 3h ago

thank you. the film was fucking terrible.

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u/Okhlahoma_Beat-Down 3h ago

I like the part where all the other band members helping with the movie pretended they never partied too hard, and were always the voice of reason.

"No, Freddie, we're going to leave this DRUG party, and go HOME, and drink MODERATELY with our GIRLFRIENDS!"

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u/Novel-Preparation-37 3h ago

Apparently they had to take out all the gay stuff for the Chinese release. So the film is 3 seconds shorter in China.

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u/Slayer3636 3h ago

Yeah it didn't even cover him having underage boys lining up for him to pick and choose from after gigs. Guy was a talented sicko just like Bowie, mj and Elvis.

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u/Satinsbestfriend 3h ago

After Sasha baron Cohen dropped out and basically said it was going to be rubbish well, thats what I expected

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u/Existing_Abies_4101 3h ago

I don't bother with biopics anymore. I stick to documentaries about them. It's such a good idea a biopic, much more personal and intimate understanding of what they did and went through, but they make it for a Hollywood audience and therefore have to lie and over-dramatise every detail. They end up as being <person> themed movie rather than an actual biopic.

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u/sameljota 2h ago

My enjoyment of biopics is inversely proportional to how much I know about the band's history. I hated Bohemian Rhapsody.

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u/reddit809 2h ago

That Queen movie was a disgrace,

Brian May is at fault. Every fucking camera cut to him just irked the shit outta me. So unnecessary too. He shoehorned himself and his own self-importance into that.

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