Bryan Singer’s production company, Bad Hat Harry, has reportedly departed with Twentieth Century Fox. The director had a three-year first look deal with the studio that ended on October 31st and was not renewed. He was allowed to remain on the lot while finishing the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Following Singer’s removal from the movie, the production company began closing their doors.
According to Deadline, Bryan Singer issued a statement regarding his removal from Bohemian Rhapsody. The director said he had asked Twentieth Century Fox to deal with health issues surrounding his sick mother but, the studio was unwilling to do that. That said, he also acknowledged problems with the movie’s leading actor, Rami Malek, but said they had managed to work their creative differences out.
“With fewer than three weeks to shoot remaining, I asked Fox for some time off so I could return to the U.S. to deal with pressing health matters concerning one of my parents. This was a very taxing experience, which ultimately took a serious toll on my own health. Unfortunately, the studio was unwilling to accommodate me and terminated my services. This was not my decision and it was beyond my control,” Singer said in the statement. “Rumors that my unexpected departure from the film was sparked by a dispute I had with Rami Malek are not true. While, at times, we did have creative differences on set, Rami and I successfully put those differences behind us and continued to work on the film together until just prior to Thanksgiving. I wanted nothing more than to be able to finish this project and help honor the legacy of Freddie Mercury and Queen, but Fox would not permit me to do so because I needed to temporarily put my health, and the health of my loved ones, first.”
It all started after Fox fired Bryan Singer from directing Bohemian Rhapsody after he failed to show up on set for three days last week when production was set to resume after Thanksgiving. Then rumors surfaced of Singer’s erratic behavior on set of the movie.
Deadline reports, Fox was looking for directors to replace Singer, even before production stopped. The movie has about two weeks left in filming, and the new director will have to oversee postproduction and possibly do some reshooting.
“Bryan Singer is no longer the director of Bohemian Rhapsody,” was the studio’s official statement today.
The studio fired Singer over the “pay-or-play” provision in his contract because of a string of behavior on set that made him reportedly “unreliable,” according to Deadline. The studio then felt it was best to drop him after he had differences with several people including the movie’s star, Rami Malek.
“Twentieth Century Fox Film has temporarily halted production on Bohemian Rhapsody due to the unexpected unavailability of Bryan Singer.”
