Years before Rami Malek won an Oscar for playing Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” it was “Borat” mastermind Sacha Baron Cohen who was set to play the iconic Queen frontman on the big screen. A Freddie Mercury biopic was a long-gestating Baron Cohen passion project for years, and the comedian even got “The Crown” creator Peter Morgan to develop the screenplay. Several directors came and went in the early stages, from David Fincher to Tom Hooper, before Stephen Frears landed the job.
On the most recent episode of “The Director’s Cut” podcast (via The Playlist), current Oscar contenders Fincher (“Mank”) and Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) had a nearly one-hour discussion that touched upon their shared history with Baron Cohen. The comedian stars as Abbie Hoffman in “Chicago 7,” prompting the following response from Fincher: “At first I was really nervous [about the idea of Cohen playing Hoffman]. And then I found him to be so winning.
On the most recent episode of “The Director’s Cut” podcast (via The Playlist), current Oscar contenders Fincher (“Mank”) and Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) had a nearly one-hour discussion that touched upon their shared history with Baron Cohen. The comedian stars as Abbie Hoffman in “Chicago 7,” prompting the following response from Fincher: “At first I was really nervous [about the idea of Cohen playing Hoffman]. And then I found him to be so winning.
- 2/17/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
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