Allegations Against Bryan Singer Could Affect 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Oscar Chances | THR News - video Dailymotion

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Does scandal hurt or help when it comes to the Oscars? Fox's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' will prove a test case following a widely publicized Jan. 23 article in 'The Atlantic.'

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00:00Bohemian Rhapsody may not have received the greatest reviews when it debuted, but the

00:04Queen biopic became an almost instant hit at the box office and has earned over $800

00:08million globally to date. Not to mention, the film picked up two Golden Globes and a

00:13SAG award and is now nominated for five Academy Awards. However, there hangs a cloud

00:18over the success of the film in the shape of its former director Bryan Singer, who was

00:22fired from his duties just weeks before the production wrapped due to frequent

00:25absences from the set. Now, with the Oscars less than a month away, the film has

00:29faced more turmoil as an exposé published in The Atlantic detailed various allegations of

00:34sexual assault by Singer on underage boys. So, will the scandal help or hinder Rhapsody's

00:40chances of taking home a statuette on the big night? The GLAAD Media Awards have already

00:44made what they called the difficult decision to remove the film from its list of

00:48contenders after Singer accused The Atlantic of homophobia. However, the Academy has

00:53tended to be more forgiving in the past, with Roman Polanski being named Best Director

00:57for 2002's The Pianist and Woody Allen being nominated most recently in 2014 for Blue Jasmine

01:03screenplay, despite molestation allegations and criticism of his marriage to Soon-Yi

01:08Previn, who was the adopted daughter of his ex-partner Mia Farrow. The times, they are a

01:12changin' though, with disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein being expelled from the Academy

01:17when a wave of allegations of sexual harassment and assault engulfed the once-all-powerful

01:21mogul. Additionally, other organizations like GLAAD have signaled disapproval of Singer in a way

01:26that may influence the Academy. Currently, it is unclear whether BAFTA will follow GLAAD's lead

01:32and take Rhapsody out of the running. The movie has seven BAFTA noms and is a genuine contender

01:37in the outstanding British film category, even though the favorite remains the title to beat.

01:42When it comes to the Best Picture category at the Oscars, in which Rhapsody is nominated,

01:46very few believe the film had a chance of winning even before The Atlantic article.

01:50But what about the other categories? Rami Malek was nominated for Best Actor and has already won

01:54a Globe and a SAG Award for his performance. John Ottman has been nominated for Editor,

01:59and the sound editing and sound mixing teams also got nominations. Malek has said he was

02:04unaware of allegations involving Singer before he signed on and it is common knowledge that he had

02:09multiple run-ins with the director during filming, so he should be safe from any fallout.

02:14On the flip side, all the scandal could pay off instead. The one thing you have to remember,

02:19says a veteran campaigner, is scandal helps because it generates sympathy. Back in the day with A

02:24Beautiful Mind, campaigners made up the story, we're being smeared, because that was a positive,

02:29a badge of honor. A Beautiful Mind ended up winning four Oscars in 2002, including Best Picture.

02:36The scandal may be particularly beneficial for Ottman, who edited the picture under producer

02:40Graham King's supervision without Singer, and the biopic ultimately became a box office bonanza.

02:45He's a hero, says the campaigner. Everyone thought this movie would be a disaster and he ended up

02:51turning it into a massive success, which outweighs the fact that the director ended up being even

02:55more of an asshole than everyone already thought. To read more on this story, head to THR.com.

03:01For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.

Allegations Against Bryan Singer Could Affect 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Oscar Chances | THR News

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