By John Carucci
NEW YORK (AP) --Rami Malek says he identified with the immigrant side of Freddie Mercury while tackling the role of the legendary Queen frontman.
The first-generation American spoke about his starring role at the New York premiere of "Bohemian Rhapsody" on Tuesday. The "Mr. Robot" star connected with Mercury's outsider passion for success.
"I set out to be an actor some, I don't know, over a decade ago. I think something was possibly burning inside the both of us. We had aspirations to live our dream. And I'm getting a chance to do that right now in this very moment," Malek said.
While many aspects defined Mercury, including being one of the best vocalists to front a rock band, his flamboyant presence and a penchant for taking chances, Malek felt like he had to dig deeper to find the beating heart of the Tanzania-born Mercury, who arrived in London at 18.
"In some way he became the Freddie Mercury superstar that overcame every obstacle imaginable to be the guy that we all know can command the stage, and hold us in the palm of his hand like no other," Malek said. "My family is from Egypt. I'm a first-generation American. And somehow I thought there were strings that I could tether together with him."
Malek's performance has more than impressed fans; it has impressed members of the band too. Current Queen lead singer Adam Lambert even feels the resemblance between the two is uncanny.
"I love the heart that he brings to the role, the sensitivity. I love that the music of this band affects people in a way. And I know it firsthand, you know, being on tour with them for the past six years," Lambert said.
"You play one of these hit songs and just watching the audience light up and go through all their nostalgia and all of their memories that they've shared over this piece of music and they knew every word and they're laughing and they're crying and they're dancing. That's what you want, it really unites people. So I think the film is going to have that power as well," Lambert said.
And Malek has also captivated guitarist Brian May, who says the actor's performance, "suspends disbelief."
"You believe he's Freddie," May said.
Mike Meyer, known for head-banging to "Bohemian Rhapsody" in his own film "Wayne's World," has an ironic cameo playing a record executive who tries to tell the band nobody will play the song on the radio.
"I spent so hard fighting to get 'Bohemian Rhapsody' into 'Wayne's World' that I thought there was unbelievable irony, and such a crazy honor," Meyers said.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More