Bryan Singer reportedly threw electrical equipment during a row with Rami Malek on the set of 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
Bryan Singer
The 53-year-old director was said to have been "up to his old tricks" on the set of the Freddie Mercury biopic, frequently being missing from the set or running late and an explosive argument with his lead star- who was described as "one of the nicest actors in the business" - let to Fox executives being sent to London to try and keep the peace.
A source told The Hollywood Reporter: "From the beginning, he was up to his old tricks. He would shoot, he'd be exhausted, [cinematographer] Tom Sigel would shoot."
But Bryan insisted his argument with Rami was "normal on a film set".
He said: "Any discussion about fights between myself and Rami Malek are simply an exaggeration of a few creative differences that were quickly resolved. This is normal on a film set. And I think the work speaks for itself."
Executives who flew to London deemed the director's conduct not actionable and, with principle photography two-thirds finished and the studio keen to power through, they decided to keep him on.
But the filmmaker was eventually fired due his long absences from the set.
He asked for production to be paused for several weeks around Thanksgiving and though Fox chairman Fox chairman Stacey Snider had told him not to get on a plane, he left anyway.
The source said: "He said he was exhausted and something got thrown in that his mom was not well."
Production was shut down on December 1 and Bryan was fired shortly after, replaced by Dexter Fletcher.
Bryan said: "I put over a year and a half of my life and passion into the film 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
"I'm also extremely proud of the finished product. There was a period at the end where I asked the studio to allow me to go home to deal with a parent who was sick. This was also affecting my own health.
"I felt we could finish up the few remaining days in January. The studio did not."
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