With the buzz surrounding BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY and Rami Malek this award season, I’ve been thinking about my Freddie Mercury episode of THE NEVERMORE CHRONICLES, “Any Way the Wind Blows” I wrote and directed and it stars Richard Lillard and Bill Mendieta. I’d like to share a few behind-the-scenes anecdotes with you, if I may.
THE NEVERMORE CHRONICLES is an anthology web-series, created by myself and Mike McClenahan (The Bow Tie Vet Guy), with TWILIGHT ZONE style episodes told in a few minutes. We have a hostess, Alexandria Nevermore (Sara Maraffino) who, from her magical theater, takes us on our journeys.
I had a vague idea about a Freddie Mercury episode after Kanye butchered Bohemian Rhapsody at Glastonbury (2015). Pro Tip: Don’t Google it, your ears will bleed. In the same way, “one does not simply walk into Mordor,” one does not write a Freddie Mercury episode without the perfect actor. You can fake a lot of things, but if one of your characters is Freddie Mercury, you need that special someone to play him. The notion rattled around in my head for weeks, unwritten.
We first met Richard Lillard at an event in Los Angeles in 2015. He was performing as Frank-N-Furter (from THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW). There was something very special about him and I wondered if he could channel Freddie. As it turned out, he had been bringing Freddie to life for some time. I was, quite simply, blown away.
I had my Freddie, now I could write the episode.
I found that the idea of writing Freddie Mercury was much easier than the actual doing of it. I was worried I’d get it wrong, that it would seem hokey, and that it wouldn’t ring true. I had a glimpse at Freddie’s public persona through Jim Hutton’s book and various interviews and clips, but I wondered if I was doing him any kind of justice or if I was just embarrassing myself. It was surprisingly stressful, but I pulled together a four page story.
Casting Bill Mendieta was a no-brainer. I’d worked with Bill on my short, A NIGHT AT THE ROOSEVELT and also in “Just One Man” for Nevermore. I wanted to bring back his character from Just One Man, and he graciously agreed to return.
The episode blocking is straight forward – two people across a table. We had one available wall and shot all the scenes against that wall starting with the two shot, then re-setting for the other angles. I wanted to use a practical light source on the table and found the bankers light gave a wonderful red/gold glow. It also lent itself to the idea that there was a negotiation, a deal, taking place.
Richard was riveting as Freddie. When he sat down at the table, in costume and make-up, we were mesmerized. Likewise, Bill never disappoints and his work is equal parts charming and creepy. Given the challenge of telling a story in about 4 minutes, Richard and Bill brought their A-game. I would not be as fond of this episode without these two fine actors.
I put Easter eggs in all my shows, but this episode doesn’t have very many. Freddie’s name on the document magically changes from Farrokh to Freddie after he declares his new name. Also, Bill’s character’s accent has changed from German (in his previous episode) to British here as he adapts to his “audience”.
For our music, we work with composer Craig McClenahan, who also did the Roosevelt music. We always use the same opening piece but often adapt our closing music to match the theme or time period of the show. For this episode, I asked Craig to channel Queen for our end-credits music. I love the way it turned out.
Finally, I added an end-credit scene. I had to say something about Kanye in response to his butchering of Bohemian Rhapsody. When you watch the episode, please stay to the end.
Here’s the episode, thanks for watching!