Fall movie preview: "Bohemian Rhapsody" buzz and "First Man's" flag controversy
The highly-anticipated movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" about the years leading up to Queen's legendary performance at Live Aid in 1985 doesn't debut until this fall, but it is already getting Oscar buzz. It stars Rami Malek as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
"The story here is Rami Malek. He is already being predicted as a best actor frontrunner," Fandango editor Erik Davis told "CBS This Morning" on Monday. "This is a film that Queen fans have wanted to see for a very long time, it's a movie that took a long time to come to fruition, and so I think there are a lot of people excited to see it."
Davis said both "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "A Star Is Born" -- a remake of the iconic movie about the simultaneous rise of one singer and the downfall of another -- falls in line with a trend in movies that aren't necessarily musicals but are very much driven by their music. "A Star Is Born" stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, who also makes his directorial debut with the film.
Another film expected to make a big impact at the box office this fall is "First Man." It follows Neil Armstrong as he prepares and embarks on his pioneering journey to the moon. The film is director Damien Chazelle's first since his Oscar-winning "La La Land" and stars Ryan Gosling as Armstrong.
"First Man" premiered at the Venice Film Festival last week and though it was almost universally adored by critics, its premiere was overshadowed by controversy over the film's omission of the planting of the American flag on the moon. Davis, who spoke with a number of people who saw the film, said there's "American flags all over this movie" and cautions people against judging it before they see it.
"I think it's important to see this movie and to see the context of how it's being framed," Davis said. "This movie is very much told from the point of view of Neil Armstrong. It's a very personal movie. It's about his journey leading up to that mission to the moon….It's about his family, what he was going through. So I think when he gets to the moon, when he takes those steps, they're looking at what's going through his mind in those moments."
According to Davis the movie attacks a lot of the "personal demons" Armstrong was going through at the time. He also pointed out that many of the people criticizing it have yet to see it.
"It played at the Venice Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival. Only a small group of people have seen this movie and everyone who has seen this movie has kind of said, 'You know what, see the context of the film.'"
