Bryan Singer has accused Fox of refusing to give him time off to deal with health issues of one of his parents, which is why he says he was fired from Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The director made the statement Monday evening through his attorney Andrew B. Brettler, several hours after Fox announced that he’d been terminated.
“‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a passion project of mine,” Singer said. “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 also said that rumors that his departure was sparked by a dispute with Rami Malek, who portrays Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the film, were untrue.
“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,” Singer said. “I wanted nothing more than to be able to finish this project and help honor the legacy of 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.”
Fox had no comment on the statement. The studio had issued a terse statement Monday afternoon, saying, “Bryan Singer is no longer the director of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’”
The studio terminated Singer under the “pay or play” provision of his contract, sources indicated, due to his repeated failures to show up on the set. A new director has not been named.
Filming has been taking place in London. New Regency and GK Films are the production companies. The producers are Graham King, Singer, and Jim Beach, Queen’s longtime manager. Denis O’Sullivan, Arnon Milchan, and Jane Rosenthal are the executive producers.
Sources said Monday that as a result of Singer’s absences, the cinematographer Thomas Newton Sigel had to step in to direct on some of the days while Singer was missing. Sources said Malek had complained about what he perceived as Singer’s lack of professionalism.
Fox had given a similarly terse statement on Dec. 1 when it announced, “Twentieth Century Fox Film has temporarily halted production on Bohemian Rhapsody due to the unexpected unavailability of Bryan Singer.”
At that point, a representative for the director said that the halt was due to “a personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family. Bryan hopes to get back to work on the film soon after the holidays.”
A source also said that Tom Hollander, who plays Jim Beach, departed the film due to Singer’s behavior, but was persuaded to return. Another source said that about two weeks of shooting remain to complete the movie, which may result in the studio turning to a member of the current crew such as Sigel to complete the film rather than bringing in a new director from the outside.
Singer, who is 52, has directed films including “The Usual Suspects,” four X-Men movies including last year’s “X-Men: Apocalypse,” “Jack the Giant Slayer,” and “Superman Returns.”
A rep for Fox confirmed Monday night that Singer’s production company Bad Hat Harry, is leaving the Twentieth Century Fox lot. The director had a three-year first look deal with the studio that ended Oct. 31 and was not renewed. Singer was allowed to remain on the lot while he finished “Bohemian Rhapsody” but that arrangement ended Monday following his firing from the movie.
Theresa May is under pressure to get an agreement from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on the status of the Irish border when the UK leaves the EU.
The prime minister pulled out of a deal with Brussels that would have kick-started trade talks after meeting fierce resistance from the DUP.
The party said it would not accept a deal which saw Northern Ireland treated differently from the rest of the UK.
Mrs May is due to update ministers at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.
Former Brexit minister David Jones described Monday as a “very difficult day” and said the prime minister now had “a lot of talking to do” with DUP leader Arlene Foster.
He believed the DUP had been spoken to beforehand about what was being proposed, but that the precise wording had not been explained and the Northern Ireland party “clearly thought twice”.
Mr Jones, one of the Eurosceptic MPs on the Conservative benches, said he too was not happy with the key phrase the DUP objected to in the draft agreement, which apparently guaranteed “regulatory alignment” between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The prime minister needs the support of the DUP, which is Northern Ireland’s largest party and has 10 MPs at Westminster, because she does not have a majority to win votes in the House of Commons.
Former top Foreign Office official Lord Ricketts said the row was “damaging” for Mrs May, adding that it was “pretty extraordinary that this wasn’t all stitched up with the DUP beforehand”.
“We’re used to prime ministers going to Brussels and having a row with the EU and coming back without an agreement, but to go to agree with the EU and then have a row on your own side is inconvenient,” he said.
The UK is due to leave the EU in March 2019 having voted for Brexit in last year’s referendum.
Mrs May wants to begin drawing up a deal on post-Brexit trade relations between the UK and the EU but first needs to get an agreement on “divorce” issues before European leaders meet on 14 December.
The three issues that need to be resolved are the Northern Ireland border, citizens’ rights and the amount of money the UK will pay as it leaves.
She will return to Brussels as early as Wednesday to try again.
Talks with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker broke up without agreement on Monday, although both sides said they were hopeful of getting a deal by the end of the week.
Mrs May had been expecting to make a major statement to MPs about a breakthrough in Brexit talks on Tuesday, but that has now been cancelled.
Instead, it is thought she will hold meetings with the DUP, as she attempts to get them to support her.
Media captionThe DUP’s Arlene Foster accused Dublin of trying to change the Good Friday agreement unilaterally
Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is understood to have insisted on the clause to prevent the return of a “hard border” on the island of Ireland, amid concern it could undermine the 1998 peace treaty – the Good Friday Agreement that brought an end to 30 years of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.
Media captionIrish PM Leo Varadkar said he was “surprised and disappointed”
But the DUP says it would prevent Northern Ireland from leaving the EU “on the same terms” as the rest of the UK.
Northern Ireland would effectively have remained in the EU’s customs union and single market in all but name.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that if Northern Ireland was allowed to operate under different rules there was “surely no good practical reason” why other parts of the UK could not do the same – a message echoed by Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Leo Veradkar said he had been “surprised and disappointed” by the failure to get a deal on Monday and claimed the UK had changed its mind at the last minute after the DUP raised objections.
Downing Street has not responded to Mr Varadkar’s claim.
But it said the border was not the only outstanding problem and disagreement remains over the role of the European Court of Justice in overseeing EU citizens’ rights in the UK after Brexit.
Media captionTheresa May said she is “confident we will conclude this positively”
The prime minister is expected back in Brussels for further talks before the end of the week.
Sources declined to confirm reports that she would meet Mr Juncker and chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Wednesday.
The government’s chief whip, Julian Smith, is understood to have held talks with his DUP opposite number, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, on Monday evening, as efforts began to get the party on side.
