Can He Pull Off Mercury?

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I think this is very interesting casting. Honestly, I can't think of another known performer who could do it. All of Cohen's comedy stuff aside, I think he could very well be up to this. Here's hoping!

Producer Graham King Says Sacha Baron Cohen May Sing Queen Songs in Upcoming Freddie Mercury Biopic

by Brendan Bettinger Posted:November 22nd, 2011 at 8:05 am

http://collider.com/graham-king-freddie-mercury-movie-jersey-boys-interview/127837/

With director Marin Scorsese‘s Hugo getting released tomorrow, Steve got the chance to sit down with producer Graham King over the weekend. That interview produced a Sunday article with updates on the Tomb Raider reboot. King has several promising projects in the works, though, so today we wanted to pass along what he had to say on two other films set up at his production company GK Films.

The first is the Queen movie, in which Sacha Baron Cohen will play Freddie Mercury. King suggests Cohen may even sing the classic Queen songs. Currently, there is no director attached and the script is still in development because King knows with a subject so iconic, “You’ve got to get it right.” King also talked about his adaptation of the Broadway musical Jersey Boys. That script is also in development, and while there will be some changes in the translation from stage to screen, the “DNA of the movie is going to be the same.” Hit the jump for the full interview.



The part that really intrigues me is the possibility of Cohen singing the songs. Said King


“We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. You know, Freddie’s got such a distinctive voice. Sacha sang Sweeney Todd. That was his voice. And he’s got a fantastic voice as well. We haven’t quite put them together yet to see the match.”

I generally prefer an actor to sing their own songs rather than lip synch, if possible. But Mercury is a once-in-a-generation voice. Cohen is a decent singer, but I don’t know that he can hit those patented Mercury high notes. (I’ve embedded a clip of Cohen’s singing “The Contest” in Sweeney Todd if you’d like to judge for yourself.)
Totally. Is Sacha going to sing? Or is it going to be Freddie’s voice?

KING: We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. You know, Freddie’s got such a distinctive voice. Sacha sang Sweeney Todd. That was his voice. And he’s got a fantastic voice as well. We haven’t quite put them together yet to see the match.

He does look the part, though.

KING: Oh, there’s no doubt. He’s Freddie Mercury, right? Yeah, it’ll be fantastic. That was obviously a big reason. I was making Hugo, and Sacha and I were talking about it, and I was like, “Well, who has the rights? Well, no one has them yet.” And I went after the rights. And this is what comes, for me anyway, about building relationships when you make movies. Making Gangs of New York and sitting with Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time, and talking

Final question on the Queen project: do you guys have a director yet?

KING: No, we don’t. Until we don’t get a script, I don’t want to put a director on.

dunno bout it being an oscar winning performance but i think he'll definitely make it as realistic as he can. he just needs to nail the voice, his eccentric behaviour should be easy for a guy like sacha to master

when i say voice i just mean the talking voice, doubt he should try to sing like him as i dont think any one will ever be able to sing exactly like him!

Innit

You are correct. I have never heard anyone sing like Freddie Mercury. Freddie also had a very posh English accent. Even in his songs you can hear the distinct accent. So it will be interesting to see if Sacha can nail Freddie's speaking voice.

It doesn't matter now because it looks like it isn't going to happen.