Killer Queen
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I recently learned that Sacha Baron Cohen of Borat and Bruno fame is slated to play Freddy Mercury, yes you read that right. Apparently the news was released in September by iamRogue, and filming is set to start sometime this year. The screen play is set to be penned by Peter Morgan and the the surviving members of Queen -- guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon -- have given backers their permission for Queen's music to be used in the film.
I know that many people may be thinking that Cohen has played such wild and outrageous characters in the past, so will he even get serious enough to play such a demanding role as the persona of Freddy Mercury? Mercury was such a flamboyant, awe-inspiring and talented entertainer, that it will be hard to fill his shoes. If one looks beyond all the crude characters that Cohen has played, one has to wonder if somewhere in his acting abilities Cohen can surprise everyone and put out a fantastic performance that would pay homage to Mercury; who certainly deserves his life with Queen to be done in a respectful way.
There is a similarity between them, when you look at Cohen, you could actually see him dressed up as Mercury and imagine his outrageous performances onstage. However, other than the fact that they both can grow a mustache and that they both grew up with British accents,(Although Mercury was originally from Zanzibar) the fact remains that Freddy had a prominent over bite that Cohen will have to possibly use some kind of prosthetic to emulate
Hopefully Peter Morgan will do Mercury justice with his screen play and Cohen will rise to the occasion to perhaps star in a break out role for him. The movie is supposed to start out with Queen’s beginnings and go on to how Queen was formed and onto their part into the live Aid show which was basically stolen by Queen.
In my opinion, Queen is the greatest rock band ever assembled, and Freddy Mercury made it what it was. Freddy had such an incredible voice, from his tenor to his baritone, there was no limit to what his voice could achieve. Most of their songs were great as well as their albums, especially Night at The Opera which has been thought of as the best album ever by many, especially me. I was in the 8th grade when Bohemian Rhapsody was released and I remember my friend and I playing it over and over again, we couldn’t get enough of the song, we couldn’t get enough of Freddy, and we couldn’t get enough of Queen. They were mesmerizing to hear and look at. Freddy had a way of seducing everyone from the stage and you just wanted to be a part of him. He was incredible.
Unfortunately Freddy Died November 24, 1991 of bronchial pneumonia due to the Aids virus and when he died his beautiful voice died with him. There will never be another like Mercury, he was in a class all by himself such as Elvis, and the Beatles. It is too bad that he died so young, the world lost a beautiful music maker and a beautiful voice. I still get chills when I listen to Queen and I still miss Freddy and I guess I always will.
Rumor has it that Adam Lambert of American Idol fame was tapped to play Mercury, as well as Johnny Depp. I don’t really care for Lambert as I don’t think he is even closely in the same league as Mercury by any stretch of the imagination, but of course Depp can do anything, and he could probably pull it off as long as the music is of course dubbed. Which I hope will happen anyway, It would be a shame if someone tries to do this part and decide to use their own voice because the music has to be all Queen; Freddy’s music in the movie has to be all Freddy in order to be remotely successful. At any rate, I await the release of this movie and whoever happens to play Freddy Mercury, I hope with all my heart that they give the performance of their lifetime, because Freddy Mercury deserves that much.
Although Freddy Mercury was bisexual, he had been married before and considered his ex-wife to be his best friend. Many of the love songs that Freddy wrote were actually dedicated to her. He kept a close relationship with his ex-wife until the day he died, as a matter of fact she took care of him a lot of the time during his last days. He also left his beautiful London home to her much to the dissappointment of Freddie's family. Freddy also left much of his fortune to his ex-wife which took 8 years of legal issues to finally get the money. But she still lives in the enormous home that he left to her because he wanted it that way.
I have several Queen songs that are my favorite, and of course I cannot list them all here, but I have included my all time favorite Queen songs via the video’s and I hope you enjoy the performances as much as I did, and still do. Cheers.
These lyrics seem so sad to me
Who do you think would make a better Freddy Mercury?
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Cohen and Depp are so different but oddly enough, I think that both of them could portray Mercury very well…I am anxious to see who is chosen to take on this challenging role. Interesting hub.
This is a really interesting read. My vote goes for Cohen. It would be nice to see how this one turns out. Voted up.
Have a great day.
Sweet wishes Rhonda
breakfastpop thanks for visiting and I hope you are right. Cheers.
Genna thanks for reading Im pretty anxious to see this movie and if Cohen does play him I really hope he does a good job. Cheers.
Rhonda thanks for the compliment and I cant wait to see how it turns out as well. Thanks for stopping by. CHeers.
I agree with their choice of Cohen to portray Freddy Mercury, my second choice would be Johnny Depp even if he had to dub the music he would do a fantastic job, look at his swagger in The Pirates simply magnificent.
Although I admire Adam Lambert, he does not have enough experience as yet to qualify him for such a role. Although I believe he is soon to leave a mark in the music industry, he left a bit of a bad taste with some with one of his very provocative stage appearances at one of the music events.
However he will rebound and forge ahead I'm certain of that. So my vote is for Cohen or Johnny, both great talents, yet neither of them can carry a note like Freddy, he is simply one of a kind. Great hub, cheers
Saddlerider nice to see you. I guess I would have to agree with you about Cohen. Although he isn't one of my favorite actors he definitely has talent for the outrageous and I think if he takes this role seriously and doesn't make a mockery of Mercury then he would be awesome. Of course I just love love Depp, he makes my heart go pitter patter and he can play just about anything from a pirate to Dillinger, he's great. Adam Lambert Im not crazy about. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my hub. Cheers to you.
Omg I cant wait for that movie to come out, you know how much I love Queen I think Cohen could pull it off more than Depp or Lambert(blah) dont care too much for him. I think Cohen has played some crazy characters, but it would be nice to see him play such a different serious character. Great hub and I LOVE the videos, especially "Fat Bottom Girls" hehe love ya sis :) ge
I don't know why I'm surprised that Queen's your favorite rock band, but I am a little. I like them, too, but greatest rock band? You don't have to tip your hat to The Beatles on that one? Is the word "rock" a separate classification in your mind?
I actually think Cohen might make a great Freddie Mercury. We'll see. Either way, count me as someone totally opposed to Johnny Depp trying that out.
I think Cohen has the acting chops to portray Freddie and the film will be successful if the music is dubbed.
Smashing videos and a heartfelt hub, ladyjane. Freddie would be pleased.
Can't wait for the film to come out! For me Freddie was up there right beside Lennon.
As you have plainly said, the casting contest was over last September and Sasha will play Freddie. He's a brilliant choice for the part. Although Depp is a wonderful actor, I've had enough of his lame attempts at a British accent. The Mercury role will prove to be monumental step forward in Cohen's career. I have no doubt that he'll embrace this vehicle as a means to establish himself as a serious actor, in fact; I'm predicting an Oscar nomination for 2011! Great stuff LadyJane. I've shared this Hub with all the Freddie fans in my life!
geegee77 thanks for the read,Im glad you liked the hub. I know why you like fat bottom girls. Hehehe. Cheers.
Shogan thanks for reading and I did mention in my hub that Freddy Mercury was in a classification all by himself such as Elvis and the Beatles because I love them all. And I do consider the classic rock group Queen to be in a different category as The Beatles. The Beatles were to me the best old rock and roll band and Queen was the best classic rock band.....hope that straightens that out. Thanks again for stopping by. Cheers.
Drbj thanks for reading and I surely think that if Cohen really tries he can make this his best role ever. Cheers.
Green Lotus thank you so much you are sweet. I agree that Freddy Mercury is on the same level as John lennon Yessssss mammmm!!!!!!!
I love Queens performance at Live Aid--Freddy owned that crowd..he was a great showman as well as one of the greatest singers of all time..Rock or any other genre!
PR Morgan thanks for reading and I completely agree with you. Freddy owned any crowd and he always gave his all in every performance. Cheers.
So happy that Cohen will be playing Freddy!! It should be a fantastic tribute to a great artist that left us way before we were ready to say good-bye. Thanks again ladyjane for another great hub!
Actually, I little bit worried about Cohen, his shows are too slapstick.
Queens is my most favorite rock band and first love into rock and metal 25 years ago. I'm agree with your opinion that Freddy was in a class all by himself, he just not sing but act as well, some character that hard to find now.
Queen's song “I want to break free” made a deep impression on me. My ex played it over and over and over while he was in love with someone else. By way of variety he played “Man in the Moon” and that song about the woman in blue jeans.
At this stage of my life I find these memories extremely amusing. While I almost died of sadness while I was in that situation. Anyway, Lady Jane, this well-written hub of yours brought back some memories I thought I’ve forgotten. It is really wonderful to remember without feeling any pain. Thumbs UP for this one too!
Hey LadyJane1,
I voted for Johnny Depp, but I believe Cohen will be great. He really is a talented actor.
Hey, what about "Another one Bites The Dust"? That song was great. Okay, it was not with Queen, but it was Freddy, and this is about Freddy? LOL. Just joking. I loved that song so much. I just did. Sorry. LOL.
My son likes to sing "We Will Rock You" while listening to my iPod. LOL.
Thanks for sharing this ... because I will be looking out for this movie ... hopefully soon.
Take Care,
N.E.
LJ,
Nifty hub- Not a big Queen or freddy merc fan nor do I like SBC-BUT I think he would do a good job on it no offense Depp couldn;t pull off the dead squirrel on his lip like SBC could, so be still your pitter pattering heart Johnny will be back///
TH
I miss Freddy too, he really was a "queen" LOL.
As for Cohen, he's only really played characters he created for himself. It'll be interesting to see him play the role of an icon... I know he'll either bomb or nail it. He's never really been satisfactory.
It's great to see your style of writing for entertainment topics L.J. You really are a natural!
Peace :)
MPC
I would hate to typecast Cohen like some are doing here. We really don't know what he's capable of in this kind of role. If the producer and director think he can hack it, he probably can. Cohen is not Borat. Whoever they get, I hope they nail it as well as Jamie Fox did Ray Charles, or Mr. Phoenix in his role as Johnny Cash... Those two movies alone have raised the bar very high. If they get in that range, the movie should be spectacular. If not, they will face the wrath of millions of Queen fans like me. Great hub.
azure Im sure that the performance will be amazing and I cannot wait for it to come out. Thanks for reading. Cheers.
Ign thanks for reading and this is why I wrote this hub because it concerned me about Cohen playing Mercury as I
didn't want him to ridicule Mercury in anyway or just downplay his performance and not take this role seriously. Freddy deserved more than that. Cheers.
Martie there are so many songs that I love and I didn't even come close to putting them on here there is only so many on youtube that I could find of the actual band. Thanks for reading and Im glad you enjoyed this hub. Cheers.
N.E yes I love those songs as well but like I said there was just too many to mention. These particular songs that I placed on the hub were personal favorites for various reasons. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.
Tom glad to see you on my hub. I am not a big Cohen fan actually because he is a little too over the top for me. I am hoping though that he will take this part seriously. Thanks for your comments.
M.P.Cooper great to see you, thanks for visitng and thanks for the compliment. I agree with you and we shall have to wait and see how it goes with the movie. Cheers to you.
Stan great to see you pal. Yea I agree that we don't know what Cohen is actually capable of and he may surprise everyone. I was kind of surprised when Joaquin Phoenix was set to play Cash and I was pleasantly surprised when he played him so well. Hopefully that will happen again. Thanks for reading, Im sure it will be great, just having Queen's music alone already makes it a must see. Cheers to you Stan.
I gotta level with you, I find Cohen repugnant. And anything this guy has done has been a steaming pile including Borat.I just hope he does Freddie Mercury justice.
I clearly remember the first time I heard Bohemian Rhapsody, back when I was in the 11th grade: I was lying in bed on a Saturday night, listening to the top 40 countdown with Casey Kasem on the radio. It blew me away, and I've been a Queen fan ever since. Good tribute!
tony thanks for reading and there are a lot of people that feel this way about Cohen and then there are so many people that just love his humor. This particular role to get to play Freddy Mercury in a movie is just too good to want to mess up by making a mockery out of Freddy, I just hope that doesn't happen and I hope that Cohen can be serious enough to want to put out a good performance. Thanks again for stopping by. Cheers.
Joyus thanks for the compliment and thanks for reading. Yes I remember those Casey Kasem countdowns, they were great and yes Queen was incredible and Freddy was awesome. Cheers.
Very interesting!
Thanks Jon!
Another one bites the dust is my fav queen song...I was 12 years old when I first discovered queen...sitting on the floor of my cousins bedroom playing monopoly..I think we played the tape about 15 times that day....another one bites the dust hey hey....oh yeah..!!! THE MEMORIES!! and my vote is for johnny depp...
I think Cohen definately has the ability to pull off a Freddie Mercury - he's produced some convincing characters over time, and FM is just another character for him.
Whether he can do it full justice remains to be seen, but I hope so! Will he be singing the songs or miming?
freshlaundry71 I love that song too. There are just too many to mention...and I would say that Johnny Depp may play Freddy but honestly I think he may be too pretty to play him...although I bet he would do a good job. Thanks for reading..cheers.
SimeyC hello there thanks for reading. I am really looking forward to this performance by Cohen and whether he is going to lipsink or not is anyone's guess but like I said in my hub Queen's music is too good to not have the real thing be heard in the movie. Thanks for your thoughts CHeers.
J. Depp could def pull it off, he never ceases to amaze with his ability to fully take on a character like no other actor can, truly I feel Johnny Depp would be the best to do the role of Freddy Mercury and do him proud. If Freddy could pick he would pick Depp. Love all the videos, I always wondered who sung fat bottom girls and some of the other songs in the videos. Big Queen fan just born today. WOW they were, are and will always be great! Thanks for sharing Queen and the Freddy Mercury with us. :) Katie
Katiem2 thanks for reading and I want to agree with you about Depp he has done some amazing charactors and is not afraid to delve into odd charactors such as Edward Scissorhands and the Mad hatter so you may have something there. Glad you enjoyed the videos I love Freddy he truly rocked. Cheers.
Awesome you did a great job. Love the music.
Thanks sis I appreciate ya even though I don't think that you really like Queen lol. Cheers.
"Bicycle" is my favorite.
No no she doesn't lol :) ge
Micky why am I not surprised? Thanks for reading cheers.
geegee I know girlie I know our sister too well...LOve
Truly enjoyed the hub!!!
Rock on hub. Love it. GBY.
sunshine625 and stars439 Rock on!!! Cheers.
Great article. Queen was one of the many bands of my youth. I saw them live back in the early 80s in New York. Great show. I cannot wait for the movie
Queen is one of my favorite classic rock acts. I just love the uniqueness of Freddie Mercury's voice as well as his stage presence. But I agree that Sacha Baron Cohen is a very good choice to play him simply because I think he can bring out the detailed nuances in his performances. Very cool hub!
I'm excited for this film, though i do need to correct you none detail. Freddie was never married, though Mary Austin was considered by him to be his greatest love and common law wife.
I just released a HUB on Freddie. i'll be linking yours to it. if you'd like to return the favor, let me know! Thanks for writing this!
breakfastpop Level 8 Commenter 15 months ago
I don't doubt for one minute that Cohen can pull this off.