I'm making plans to see the sing-along version of Bohemian Rhapsody, because despite its flaws, and even disdain, I want to have fun with the music again.
But it's not without a skeptic's eye, for while the band's music continues to please, the praise is a bit perplexing to some. Insider considers Bohemian Rhapsody to be among the 12 least deserving Oscar noms, and allegations on its director are coming out in full.
"To even begin to argue over whether or not Bohemian Rhapsody deserves its best picture nomination you have to ignore the Bryan Singer sexual assault allegations (it's worth noting he was let go from the project but still took credit for its Golden Globe win on Instagram) and the accusations of straight-washing and lack of conversation around Freddie Mercury's death from AIDS, which Rami Malek admits is a problem."
"Great King Rat was a dirty old man"
What's not very Queen is the now-re-announced multiple accusations of sexual assault against (85%) Director Bryan Singer. The Atlantic says the director "has been trailed by accusations of sexual misconduct for 20 years. Here, his alleged victims tell their stories."
According to multiple sources, Fox had no idea that the Sanchez-Guzman lawsuit was coming when the studio fired Singer. Still, Sanchez-Guzman’s claims shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. Almost from the moment his star began to rise, Singer, who is now 53, has been trailed by allegations of sexual misconduct. These allegations were so well known that 4,000 students, faculty members, and alumni at the University of Southern California had signed a petition asking the school to take Singer’s name off one of its programs, the Bryan Singer Division of Cinema and Media Studies—which the school did immediately after Sanchez-Guzman filed his suit. As one prominent actor told us, “After the Harvey Weinstein news came out, everyone thought Bryan Singer would be next.”Other publications are catching up to what many have known for years, like this expose in Vanity Fair, which puts Bohemian Rhapsody's producers and stars in a sticky situation; little if any mention has been made to Singer through the Golden Globe wins (albeit a cryptic tweet), and the upcoming Oscar rite could endure the same mendacity. Make jokes about convicted Cosby and harpooned Harvey, but Singer's mum because why ... because you knew?
Singer's response, according to IndieWire, is that the accusations and article are nothing but "homophobic attacks" against the film's success. That's hardly valid, considering that the alleged sexual assaults go back years. Is it 'homophobic' to treat a gay alleged sex predator the same as a straight one?
But GLAAD isn't waiting for a court of law, and has snubbed Bohemian Rhapsody from its lauded roster, Variety reports in their statement issued two days after the Atlantic article and other articles were published. GLAAD won't be tossing their usual lucite awards to straight actors playing gay this time, despite its rather sympathetic, if not clichéd, depiction of Mercury's life.
“In light of the latest allegations against director Bryan Singer, GLAAD has made the difficult decision to remove ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ from contention for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Film – Wide Release category this year. This week’s story in The Atlantic documenting unspeakable harms endured by young men and teenage boys brought to light a reality that cannot be ignored or even tacitly rewarded.”
And while most of the straight fan-mania ignores this, or has no clue, elation continues among the band's larger fandom ("I've seen it six times!" they crow online). New young fans exclaim their devotion, having only been born decades after his death.
Lives have changed. The face of AIDS is almost lost to myth to them, except fan groups obsessed with Jim Hutton's later years, hinted at on-screen in the film, but more in home movies and memoirs that document what happened after Live Aid. Freddie's other life scenes were left unshot.
Who Wants to Live Forever
I chose instead to share their entire lives.
Is that why it's struggling to find readers? The fact that it won a (tiny) book award didn't gain me any attention (So, my advise; don't bother with those).
As for the Lambda Literary Awards? My publisher submitted it, as did publishers of more than 70 other submissions. Not very good odds this year.
One of the questions I have about the lack of attention my book is getting is in the Romance area. Because of the story, and the strictures of that genre that did me well the last two times with Every Time I Think of You and Message of Love, it's not categorizable as a romance, which is too bad, because it is romantic.
And I don't see how a sequel to a largely ignored work, despite being among my best, could find more material. It's complete. What does it take for you to decide to read a book watch a film, more than once?
Whether you think the film Bohemian Rhapsody "completes" you, or you think it's a complete mess, or even boycott-worthy (which, after $800 million in box office, is rather a moot point), it's now stamped into the legacy of tragic gay male celebrity death Oscar-bait that.
And rumors of a sequel threaten more of what one critic, Indiewire's David Ehrlich, who panned the movie, wrote: "Queen's music may have been unclassifiable, but their movie is as trite and textbook as it gets." Oh, and don't hire a potential felon to the crew. How 'bout that?
That's one critique I'll never receive. Personal attacks have been few, but dismissal, sometimes based only on a book cover, are inane, and still on Goodreads!
But I really told a good story in Now I'm Here.
It's gotten nothing but praise, mostly from a select few, men who lived through the 1970s and/or '80s.
Yet, despite doing everything, and I mean every little thing to promote it (except paying the $500 for a BookList or PW review) . . .- finished a 20-year Queen-inspired novel completed months before a major film about the band
- new website with SEO out the ass
- sweet book trailer, full-song and short version
- fabulous reading events
- podcasts and radio shows
- music playlists
- Facebook page updates ($10, 8K clicks, 2% click-thru)
- Instagram updates (#hashtagged to filth, but who cares?)
- Twittercisms and a $50 paid Tweet that got 3800 views).
- a friggin' live concert with the music of Queen!
... and I still sold only a few hundred books.
I don't know why.
I also don't know WTF is going on with these Google analytics search results. This is how randos find me? WTF with the dia... no, don't type the word, or I'll get more! Okay, I may not know the interwebs anymore.
I do know that you should read my books. Share them with friends. Review them.
Tell someone. I don't have a million-dollar campaign or a trendy social media anything, apparently. Freddie's making bank (the Zanzibar currency above is also on sale on eBay), years after his death.
The Show Must Go On
But that unanswered question of what kind of music he might have created is the reason for AIDS-inclusive art; to remember what is forgotten, the hundreds of thousands, or, in the case of Now I'm Here, a few close friends.
I know that despite this inexplicable sales slump (Perhaps the problem of a rage-filled shut-down tyrannical MAGA-thug government's making people distracted?), this story will find its readers, one by one. I'm not saying it as an inspiration, but a statistical fact.
He is now an aspiring concert pianist. Sonnbend's legacy began early:
"He started writing the list in 1984, six years after he first suspected there was something wrong, that patients were suffering symptoms with no explicable cause. He tried to raise the alarm in 1979, two years before anything was reported in the press. He was ignored."
"Sonnabend was one of the very first physicians to spot the early warning signs of what would become the AIDS pandemic. He had no idea what was about to hit."
I'd like to hear him play, just as I would the many others lost in the past, including some of my characters.
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