Bryan Singer was quickly “up to his old tricks,†on the set of the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. Fox was apprehensive about hiring the director at the start, and star Rami Malek complained to the studio after the two got into a heated argument. “Tensions escalated into an on-set altercation between Singer and his star (by all accounts, one of the nicest actors in the business),†the magazine reports. “With reports of a piece of electrical equipment thrown by Singer (though not at anyone), a complaint — apparently from Malek — prompted Fox to dispatch several execs to London.â€
Sources told THR that executives were apprehensive about hiring Singer at the start, but had a sit-down with Singer and producer Graham King about how he should behave. Early on in the production, a source says, Singer would have his cinematographer shoot the movie himself.
Singer was fired last year for long, unexplained absences from the set. To THR, Singer repeated his explanations that he had to leave the set to care for a parent, but said he was proud of the final movie, finished by Dexter Fletcher. “I put over a year and a half of my life and passion into the film Bohemian Rhapsody. I’m also extremely proud of the finished product. There was a period at the end where I asked the studio to allow me to go home to deal with a parent who was sick. This was also affecting my own health. I felt we could finish up the few remaining days in January. The studio did not,†Singer told THR. “Any discussion about fights between myself and Rami Malek are simply an exaggeration of a few creative differences that were quickly resolved. This is normal on a film set. And I think the work speaks for itself.â€