After achieving tremendous success in the music and television sides of the entertainment industry, Simon Cowell may be looking to conquer a final frontier: Hollywood. Rumor has it that last year’s smash box office hit and multiple Academy Award-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody is inspiring Simon Cowell to go after an Oscar.
This should be taken with a grain of salt, but according to The Daily Mail, Simon Cowell is looking to shake up his career and ensure the long-term viability of his brand. In order to do that, the 59-year-old apparently wants to make the jump from television to focus on feature films. Not just content to have a Hollywood career though, supposedly the music mogul wants to win an Oscar and has talked openly about his desire to do so.
Bohemian Rhapsody allegedly inspired Simon Cowell, and after seeing the critical, commercial and awards successes of the Freddie Mercury biopic, he is looking at music-related film projects to pursue with the specific goal of winning an Oscar. There is no word as of yet what music-related film projects Simon Cowell might be looking at for his big Oscar play, assuming this rumor is true, of course.
The iron is certainly hot for music films, as the genre is having something of a moment right now. It’s not just Bohemian Rhapsody either; all kinds of music films are doing well in some way or another, and thus there are plenty in the works. A Star is Born was a critical and commercial hit, and this year’s Rocketman enjoyed great reviews and has had modest box office success.
There’s also the acclaimed Yesterday now in theaters and the upcoming Blinded by the Light coming out in August. Not to mention Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis film and the David Bowie biopic Stardust. It would seem that Simon Cowell isn’t the only one that Bohemian Rhapsody inspired and he’ll have to get moving before all the best rock stars are taken, if he’s going the biopic route.
Unless he’s going to take up directing or become an actor, I think the assumption is that Simon Cowell would be going for an Oscar in some kind of producer role. So maybe he’s hoping for a Best Picture win as Executive Producer on a music film. That’s quite ambitious, but it’s nice to have goals and given his successes in other areas of entertainment. It might not be wise to bet against him.
Simon Cowell is best known to most people as the brutally critical and wisecracking British judge from music competition television shows like American Idol, The X Factor and America’s Got Talent. In addition to his roles as an onscreen judge and television producer, Simon Cowell is also an A&R executive with his own record label, Syco Music and he has signed talent like boy band One Direction.
So Simon Cowell definitely has an understanding of the music business that he would bring with him to any music-related film project in pursuit of an Oscar statue. Funnily enough, while Bohemian Rhapsody allegedly inspired Simon Cowell to go after an Oscar, he actually has a tangential connection to Queen.
Adam Lambert first rose to fame on American Idol, probably the singing show Simon Cowell is most well known for. Although he finished as runner-up on American Idol, Adam Lambert has went on to plenty of success. He now collaborates with Queen as lead vocalist and frontman, the role Freddie Mercury once held.
We’ll keep you updated if this rumor proves true and Simon Cowell attaches himself to any music-related feature film projects. In the meantime, check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see what’s headed to theaters this year.
