Sacha Baron Cohen To Play Freddie Mercury In Biopic

Exciting movie news:  Sacha Baron Cohen has just signed a deal to play Freddie Mercury in an upcoming biopic.  Although it should be easy for him to look the part(he could be a ringer with the right makeup), it is unclear whether Cohen will actually sing Freddie's songs during filming.

The picture received a green light and promise of intellectual support from the surviving members of Queen.  In fact, this is the first time that Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon have licensed songs and music publishing rights for a movie about the band.  The rights package includes the use of We Are the Champions, Another One Bites the Dust, You're My Best Friend, We Will Rock You and Bohemian Rhapsody.  Production is set to start sometime in 2011.

The picture is scripted to cover the early days of Queen through their Live Aid performance in 1985.  At this time, there is no plan to make Mercury's final days a subject of the film.  He died from complications of AIDS on November 24, 1991.  It was his death that helped remove the stigma of those suffering with the AIDS virus.