The Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was the champion at Sunday night’s Golden Globes, winning two big awards including Best Picture - Drama.
The film, which has earned mixed reviews from critics and Queen fans alike, has so far grossed $744 million (U.S.) at the worldwide box office, making it the most successful music biopic ever.
Rami Malek, who portrayed the late frontman Freddie Mercury, was named Best Actor.
“Thank you to Freddie Mercury for giving me the joy of a lifetime,” Malek said during his acceptance speech. “I love you, you beautiful man. This is for and because of you, gorgeous.”
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Malek also praised Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor – who were in attendance – for “ensuring that authenticity and inclusivity exist in the music and in the world and in all of us.”
Later, in the press room, May admitted he Taylor were initially reluctant to turn their story into a film.
“We had this feeling that if we didn’t do it and we didn’t do it with the right people that it would get done wrong by somebody and it wouldn’t do Freddie justice,” he explained. “In the interest of portraying Freddie as he deserves to be portrayed, we got into it.”
May blamed early poor reviews on critics who reviewed the trailer instead of the full film and “jumped to conclusions.”
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Both May and producer Graham King declined to say if they share the award with Bryan Singer, who was fired from the project with only weeks of filming remaining. (Dexter Fletcher, who took over as director, is credited as an executive producer.)
Malek stepped up to put an end to questions about Singer. “There’s only one thing we needed to do and that was to celebrate Freddie Mercury in this film,” he told reporters. “Nothing was going to compromise us giving him the love, celebration and adulation he deserves.”
Canada’s Mike Myers – who gave new life to “Bohemian Rhapsody” in his 1992 movie Wayne’s World and plays a record company executive in Bohemian Rhapsody – talked about listening to the song “in the suburbs of Toronto.”
Myers gushed about being able to stand with May and Taylor. “These are gods that walk as men and I can’t believe I’m here,” he said.