In the latest Weird F*ckin’ News, it broke over the weekend that Bryan Singer has vanished, abandoning production on the Queen movie,Bohemian Rhapsody. Fox, the studio behind the film, was forced to release a statement, saying,“Twentieth Century Fox Film has temporarily halted production on Bohemian Rhapsody due to the unexpected unavailability of Bryan Singer.”Apparently, Singer just never came back from a Thanksgiving break, and Fox has had to shut down production until, presumably, the new year. The Hollywood ReporteraddedthatBohemian Rhapsodyhas been a rocky production, with Singer arriving late to set and the cinematographer stepping in to direct when he failed to show once before. Rami Malek and the producers, which include former Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, are said to be annoyed, which is hilariously mildly put.
Arebuttalcame from Singer’s camp, via the BBC, which stated that Singer’s absence is due to a “personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family.” Okay but if he or someone close to him is really sick, why wouldn’t Fox just say that?Bohemian Rhapsodyis on hiatus while Bryan Singer addresses a private family concern, or some such. Remember that whenZack Snyder leftJustice League, there was total transparency, even though it involved a deeply personal family tragedy.
There is no transparency with Bryan Singer, which is why everyone’s bullsh*t detectors are blaring. That, and ever since the Weinstein scandal broke, we’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop with Singer. So has he skipped out on work before an expose drops? Maybe. But Singer has disappeared from productions before, pulling this vanishing act onX-Men: ApocalypseandSuperman Returns. (Why does someone so unreliable keep getting handed major studio projects?) And allegedly he’s already done it previously on this movie. So, hiding from an expose, or just another diva director who has never faced censure for bad behavior?
Singer, or someone around him, hastaken stepsto keep his name out of the spotlight during this ever-spreading scandal. Given the timing, given the previous precautions, his disappearance does, in that light, seem like a preemptive move. But Singer is also a flake, and maybe the only reason we’re hearing about it this time is because everyone IS waiting to hear his name next. They’re not mutually exclusive, he could be a flake AND an expose could drop. But it’s also possible Singer just returns to work and nothing happens. Or maybe Fox replaces him—there’s plenty ofrecent precedent—and then nothing happens. It seems like something is about to happen, but it also seems like Singer just isn’t reliable. This is a weird story with a major inconsistency, and an actual possibility that nothing will happen.
