I just saw this, though it might be common news. I'm not quite sure what to think of it. What do others - particularly Alatar - think?
Sacha Baron Cohen Signs Up to Be Freddie Mercury in Queen Biopic
'Interesting' Choice to play Freddie Mercury
-
Voronwë the Faithful
- At the intersection of here and now
- Posts: 46144
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:41 am
- Contact:
'Interesting' Choice to play Freddie Mercury
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
-
Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
Can he sing?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
-
Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
It was a distinctive voice, but in bios of singers it seems to be the thing for the actor to actually sing, not lip-sync. Coal Miner's Daughter, and the movies about Johnny Cash and the Who come to mind. Authenticity would be hard to nail with lip-syncing, plus everyone knows that particular performance of the song down to the momentary breaths.
I'll admit it would be a lot harder to find someone who can convincingly sing like Freddie than one who can sing like Loretta Lynn.
I'll admit it would be a lot harder to find someone who can convincingly sing like Freddie than one who can sing like Loretta Lynn.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
-
Voronwë the Faithful
- At the intersection of here and now
- Posts: 46144
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:41 am
- Contact:
Or Johnnie Cash. The article says that it isn't clear which route they are going. I know Cohen's brother is musical, but I don't know whether he himself is.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
-
Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
Johnny Cash had a very distinctive voice, but not with the incredible vocal range and skill of Freddie Mercury. A good actor who "got" Cash and sounded like him did really well in the role. I don't know if there are any good actors who sound like Freddie Mercury. That's not just a sound, it's a rare gift. It'd be like trying to find someone to play Baryshnikov who can dance like Baryshnikov (which not even Baryshnikov can do any more). 
Just IMO, of course.
Just IMO, of course.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
I'm very much in two minds about it. I think Sasha Baron Cohen could possibly pull it off. I was discussing this with The Angel earlier today and we agreed that while Freddie was an extremely flamboyant character, SBC hides well behind extremely flamboyant persona's. Does that mean SBC will be able to invest himself in the persona of Freddie Mercury? Hard to know.
I think he has the acting chops and the looks to pull it off. It all depends whether he can become Freddie and not just imitate him. The thing is, as a Queen fan I actually know very little about Freddie beyond the biographical stuff. He was intensely private, so much so that nobody was every really sure he was gay. He was asked once in an interview and replied "Of course I am darling, I'm as gay as a daffodil!". Which of course didn't really answer the question and simply played into the larger than life persona.
Regarding the vocal performance, I would hope that they would try to blend the two together. As Prim said, finding someone who can sing like Freddie is no mean feat, and that's not the reason SBC was selected for this. He was selected because he's a pretty bankable star who bears a striking resemblance to Freddie and can sing a bit. The clever approach would be to layer Freddie's voice onto an SBC vocal. I expect a good sound engineer could work wonders with someone who could hit the basic notes and deliver a physical performance of the role, which I think is well within SBC's capabilities, based on Sweeney Todd.
What's more of concern to me is the story. They're talking about Queen's formative years up to and including the performance at Live Aid. The thing is, I don't see a very exciting movie getting made about a solid hard-working band spending 15-20 years honing their craft in the studio. Its not exactly the drug fuelled rock and roll story people expect. To the best of my knowledge there were no real tensions within the band apart from with their first manager who ripped them off. Hardly gripping Cinema. Also, they're avoiding the final years and Freddie's contraction of AIDS, so no tragedy to speak of either. So what exactly will be the story arc? Good band becomes great?
I think he has the acting chops and the looks to pull it off. It all depends whether he can become Freddie and not just imitate him. The thing is, as a Queen fan I actually know very little about Freddie beyond the biographical stuff. He was intensely private, so much so that nobody was every really sure he was gay. He was asked once in an interview and replied "Of course I am darling, I'm as gay as a daffodil!". Which of course didn't really answer the question and simply played into the larger than life persona.
Regarding the vocal performance, I would hope that they would try to blend the two together. As Prim said, finding someone who can sing like Freddie is no mean feat, and that's not the reason SBC was selected for this. He was selected because he's a pretty bankable star who bears a striking resemblance to Freddie and can sing a bit. The clever approach would be to layer Freddie's voice onto an SBC vocal. I expect a good sound engineer could work wonders with someone who could hit the basic notes and deliver a physical performance of the role, which I think is well within SBC's capabilities, based on Sweeney Todd.
What's more of concern to me is the story. They're talking about Queen's formative years up to and including the performance at Live Aid. The thing is, I don't see a very exciting movie getting made about a solid hard-working band spending 15-20 years honing their craft in the studio. Its not exactly the drug fuelled rock and roll story people expect. To the best of my knowledge there were no real tensions within the band apart from with their first manager who ripped them off. Hardly gripping Cinema. Also, they're avoiding the final years and Freddie's contraction of AIDS, so no tragedy to speak of either. So what exactly will be the story arc? Good band becomes great?
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
-
Old_Tom_Bombadil
- friend to badgers – namer of ponies
- Posts: 1980
- Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:56 pm
- Location: The Withywindle Valley
