Brian May Denies Sacha Baron Cohens Queen Biopic Claims

Sacha Baron Cohen, who at one point was cast to portray Freddie Mercury in a since-stalled Queenbiopic, recently revealed the hugecreative differencesbehind his exitfrom the project. A month after Cohen told his side of the story, Queen guitarist Brian May has contradicted the actors allegations in a new interview with The Daily Mail.

Sacha became an arse, May said. We had some nice times with Sacha kicking around ideas, but he went off and told untruths about what happened.

According to Cohen, from the onset, both sides had disagreements over the direction of the biopic: Cohen wanted to make a truthful, salaciousfilm that focused on the amazing stories of Mercurys extreme lifestyle, while the surviving members of Queen had a different idea entirely.

A member of the band, I wont say who, he said, This is such a great movie because its got such an amazing thing that happens in the middle of the movie,' Cohen told Howard Stern Show in March. I go, What happens in the middle of the movie? He goes, Freddie dies,' with the remainder of the film focusing on Queens resiliency following Mercurys death in 1991.

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However, May denied Cohens allegations. Why would he go away and say that we didnt want to make a gritty film, the guitarist said. Are we the kind of people who have ever ducked from the truth? I dont think so. May also stood by the biopics decision to part ways with Cohen for very good reasons, which will become apparent if you watch what hes done recently, a knock on the actors latest comedy The Brothers Grimsby.

In November, when the Queen biopic was revived with a new screenwriter, it was rumored that producers sought actor Ben Whishaw to play Mercury in the film. May confirmed the bands interest in casting Whishaw, calling him a real actor compared to Cohen. May added that producers still havent lined up a director to helm the biopic.