After firing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ director Bryan Singer, Fox is putting him in Oscar race

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• Fox’s “For Your Consideration” Oscar-campaign website
  includes Bryan Singer for Best Director for “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
• Fox fired Singer late into production on the film and
  replaced him with Dexter Fletcher because he was repeatedly
  absent from set.

Most critics agree that Rami Malek’s portrayal of Queen frontman
Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody” lands him in the Oscar
race. But Fox, the studio behind the movie, is also pushing
director Bryan Singer, despite firing him before the movie was
finished.

Fox’s “For Your Consideration”
Oscar-campaign website lists Bryan Singer for Best
Director among the categories it’s hoping for “Bohemian Rhapsody”
to be nominated in. The movie’s best shot at a nomination in any
of the major categories is Malek, as the film has received
backlash for its historical inaccuracies and
portrayal of Mercury’s legacy, on top of subpar reviews (it
has a 60% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes).

Fox did not respond to a request for comment.

Fox

The movie came to theaters this month after a troubled
production, in which Singer was regularly absent from set to the
point where Fox had to replace him with Dexter Fletcher
late into filming.

However, Singer was still credited as the sole director of
the movie. Director’s Guild of America rules stipulate that
a movie must have one director or
director-team credit, and Fletcher said that he did not want
to be credited.

On top of the controversy surrounding the film, Singer is
also facing a lawsuit that claims he sexually
assaulted a 17 year old at a party in 2003. He has denied
it. Singer also responded to a
yet-to-be published Esquire article last month that he
claimed would “attempt to rehash false accusations and bogus
lawsuits.”

With all of this mind, it’s curious why Fox would include
Singer in its “Bohemian Rhapsody” Oscar campaign.