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Fox fired the Bohemian Rhapsody director with two weeks of shooting left
The studio replaced its director mid-shoot, then the film went on to pass $900 million and win four Oscars.
20th Century Fox · 2017-12-04
What happened
On 4 December 2017 Fox announced that Bryan Singer was no longer directing Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen biopic that had been in production since September. The studio had shut down shooting on 1 December, initially citing the director's 'unexpected unavailability'; with roughly two weeks of principal photography remaining, Fox terminated him under his pay-or-play contract.
Dexter Fletcher took over and finished the film, receiving an executive producer credit rather than a director credit — under DGA rules only one director could be named, and Singer, who had hired the cast and crew and shot most of the film, kept sole director credit.
Bohemian Rhapsody was released in late 2018, passed $910 million worldwide and won four Oscars, including Best Actor for Rami Malek — the film the studio had salvaged mid-production became one of the most profitable pictures of its year.
Why it happened
- A film with a fixed release date has no spare weeks: with two weeks of shooting left, the studio's options were to replace the director or lose the date.
- The pay-or-play contract priced the decision in advance: termination was a contractual step, announced in a statement that gave no reason beyond the production shutdown.
- The gamble paid off on screen: the replacement finished the film uncredited, the original director kept the credit, and the movie passed $900 million.
The lesson
When a production has a release date, the studio cannot wait for its director: it terminated the contract, the replacement finished the film uncredited, and the movie won four Oscars.
Aftermath
Bohemian Rhapsody was released in the UK on 24 October 2018 and in the US on 2 November 2018, grossing about $910.8 million worldwide and winning four Oscars, including Best Actor for Rami Malek. Fletcher received an executive producer credit; Singer retained the sole director credit under DGA rules.
Sources
- Bryan Singer Fired From Directing Queen Biopic After Set Chaos — The Hollywood Reporter, 4 December 2017
- Bryan Singer sacked from Queen biopic — BBC News, 4 December 2017
- Bohemian Rhapsody Passes $900 Million at the Box Office — IndieWire, February 2019
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