Mike Myers Almost Quit “Wayne’s World” Over the “Bohemian Rhapsody” Scene
One of the most iconic movie scenes of all time was almost RADICALLY different. And if that happened, it probably wouldn't have been anywhere NEAR as iconic.
Mike Myers has a reputation for being difficult to work with, and he addressed that recently on comedian Mark Maron's "WTF Podcast". One of the cases where Mike dug his heels in against the man was totally warranted.
It was during the making of "Wayne's World". Mike wanted to use Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" for the car sing-along scene. But this was 1992. Queen really wasn't moving the needle.
So Paramount was against the idea. THEY wanted something by Guns N' Roses, who were still hot at the time. Mike didn't say WHICH song, just something by GnR. So Mike butted heads with them HARD.
He threatened to walk, and once the studio realized he was serious, they gave in. The rest is, obviously, movie history.
Here's that famous scene:
(Listen to the podcast here. Mike talks about being "difficult" at about an hour and four minutes in. WARNING!!! The audio contains some UNBLEEPED PROFANITY.)