Sacha Baron Cohen to Star as Freddie Mercury in New Movie

After a lot of speculation as to who would star in the biopic movie about flamboyant "Queen" front man Freddie Mercury, a press release on Queen Online states Golden Globe award winning actor Sacha Baron Cohen, who was also nominated for an Academy Award for his adaptation of "Borat," has been cast in the starring role. No worries. This will be a serious role and I'm confident Cohen will pull it off without a hitch.

Freddie Mercury Movie Has Been Highly Anticpated by Fans Everywhere:

"Queen" fans from all over the world have been anticipating word on this movie since it was first brought up when it was thought actor Johnny Depp would be up for the role of Freddie Mercury. Although Depp would have been a great Freddie, fans know it takes a certain over-the-top approach to play this complex man and bring Freddie to life on the big screen. Anything less would be disappointing.

Sacha Baron Cohen Has What it Takes to Portray Freddie Mercury:

Cohen, who is over-the-top himself, could very well do Mercury justice in this movie. It should come as no surprise for anyone who has seen any of his movies ("Borat" or "Bruno") that the potential to play up Mercury's flamboyancy is definitely there.

Production of the movie, which has not yet been titled, is scheduled to begin shooting in 2011 and will focus on the years leading up to Queen's 1985 Live Aid concert. There are no plans to include Mercury's illness or death in the movie. Academy Award nominated screenwriter Peter Morgan ("The Queen" and "Frost/Nixon") is currently hard at work on the script.

GK Films in partnership with Robert De Niro's and Jane Rosenthal's Tribeca Productions and Queen Films will produce the movie.

"Queen is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and a music brand all unto itself. Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer, so with Sacha in the starring role coupled with Peter's screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success," Graham King of GK Films said.

Sacha Baron Cohen is a busy man. He is currently starring in "Hugo Cabret," a Martin Scorsese film and is writing a feature film he plans to star in for Paramount Pictures that is not yet titled.

Freddie Mercury, along with fellow "Queen" band members Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon, shot to international superstardom in the 1970s with hits like "We Will Rock You," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Another One Bites the Dust," and "Fat Bottom Girls," to name but a few. Queen has sold more than 170 million albums and scored numerous number one albums and singles.

Sadly, Freddie died from an AIDS-related illness on November 24, 1991 at his home in London, making him the first major rock star to die under these circumstances.

Sources:
Lifelong 'Queen' Fan
Queen Online >Official News Archive
Celebrities Who Have Died from AIDS - Kenzy England