Queen guitarist Brian May has updated fans on plans for the Freddie Mercury film project.
It was first revealed in the fall of 2010 that Sacha Baron Cohen – famous for playing “Borat,” “Bruno” and other characters - would step into music’s biggest shoes to play the legendary Queen frontman.
“Ah … I promised news of yesterday's Queen band meeting,” wrote Brian on his website Wednesday. “Well, it was just Roger [Taylor] and Jim Beach and myself … we are a small cottage industry !! Our main agenda was the Freddie film … which, I'm happy to tell you, is on course. Much of our discussion was about contractual things … it's pretty complex …. and determining who is responsible for what. The pieces are all falling into place, though we are now on a slightly later schedule - filming is now scheduled to start in the Spring, with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Freddie. The film should be ready for release early in 2014.”
The project has the cooperation of Mercury's estate and the three surviving members of Queen. May and Taylor will oversee the musical content of the film, which will feature both original Queen music and Mercury solo music.
The Mercury film will reportedly focus on 1980s-era Queen, leading up to the band’s appearance at Live Aid in 1985 – considered one of the greatest rock performances in history.
One of rock’s all-time greatest voices and frontmen, Mercury passed away in 1991 from complications arising from AIDS.
"Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live In Budapest" will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, 2CD+DVD Deluxe Edition and a 2CD+Blu-ray Deluxe Edition on November 6.
Originally filmed in 1986, this momentous concert movie has been re-mastered in high definition and superb 5.1 Surround Sound.
For more details, click here.
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