Sacha Baron Cohen To Play Freddie

Sacha Baron Cohen will play Freddie Mercury in an upcoming biopic.

The film, which will focus on the period leading up to Live Aid in 1985, will begin shooting next year. "I think we'll try and keep ourselves out of it as much as we can," Queen guitarist Brian May said. Baron Cohen had been "on this project since we started talking about it seriously with Peter Morgan a couple of years ago," he added. May and Queen drummer Roger Taylor will oversee music featured in the film, which will include songs by the band and by Mercury as a solo performer. Graham King, of GK Films, which is co-producing the movie along with Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal's production company Tribeca, said Queen was "a music brand all unto itself". "Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer so with Sacha in the starring role, coupled with Peter's screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success."

Good casting? I'm not sure...