‘Wayne’s World’: Mike Myers and the hard fight to get ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
It’s impossible to imagine Wayne’s World without ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, with the comedy favourite and the Queen classic having been intertwined for more than 30 years.
It was a mutually beneficial relationship, too, with the song enjoying a huge uptick in popularity following the release of the feature-length Saturday Night Live adaptation, which introduced a track that had mostly been relegated to radio play on classic rock stations back into the cultural spotlight.
Freddie Mercury approved of its usage, with Wayne’s World releasing just three months after the iconic frontman’s death in November 1991, giving rise to one of the most iconic scenes in mainstream Hollywood comedy that breathed new life into not only ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ but the band who recorded it, to the point it reached second place on the Stateside charts.
And yet, it could have turned out very differently and altered the trajectory of not only Mike Myers’ breakthrough movie as a comedic movie star, but Queen’s popularity in America. The group always had their fans, sure, but they were far from being a relevant cultural force outside their native United Kingdom at the time.
As the star and co-writer revealed to Rolling Stone, not only was that part of why he wanted ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in the first place, but it was also one of the reasons why he experienced pushback. “I fought very, very hard for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’,” he said. “At that time, the public had kind of forgotten about Queen a little bit.”
Producer and SNL creator Lorne Michaels wanted another act to capitalise on their name value, but Myers wouldn’t budge. “Lorne was suggesting Guns N’ Roses – I don’t even remember the song – because at the time, Guns N’ Roses had a number one song,” he continued. “I said, ‘I hear you. I think that’s really smart’, but I didn’t have any jokes for a Guns N’ Roses song. I had lots of jokes for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. It’s just inherently comedic.”
Director Penelope Spheeris didn’t recall the disagreements, but she did admit she “was probably pushing for Guns N’ Roses.” As a result, Myers threatened to drop Wayne’s World altogether and walk away if he didn’t get his wish, which, in hindsight, turned out to be the wisest move, looking at the indelible link between the film and the song.
“At one point I said to everybody, ‘I’m out. I don’t want to make this movie if it’s not ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,'” was the ultimatum issued, with Myers flat-out refusing to carry on with the project if anything else was going to be foisted upon him against his better judgement. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and an unforgettable scene was born.
