What would you say if I told you the world-famous car scene from 1992's Wayne's World almost didn’t feature Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" playing?
To be honest, we’d have said the same thing. But, it’s true: if Wayne's World producer Lorne Michaels had his way, Wayne and Garth would have been rocking out hard to a Guns N' Roses song in the movie instead.
This is according to actor-comedian Mike Myers who told director David O. Russell (The Fighter, Three Kings) about the musical crossroads at the first Netflix is a Joke festival in Los Angeles on May 4.
"Lorne kept putting under [my office door] the Billboard Hot 100 and it was all Guns N' Roses, Guns N' Roses, Guns N' Roses," Myers said in his conversation with Russell, as reported by Consequence. "I said, 'I love Guns N' Roses, [but] I don't have a joke for Guns N' Roses."
Queen singer Freddie Mercury saw an early cut of the car scene just before his passing 1991. Queen guitarist Brian May once remarked that Mercury loved the scene, adding that Mercury laughed quite a bit at the joke.
"I took it 'round to Freddie not long before he went," May told Myers in 2020 as part of a panel discussion. "[I] showed it to him because you (Myers) said you wanted to have that approval. And he loved it; he just laughed and laughed. He was very weak, but he just smiled and laughed. How wonderful is that?"
If you would like to relive what ultimately would come to epitomize the zeitgeist of the early 90s, you can watch the famous car scene below. Just try not to headbang too hard once the riff (you know what riff) comes in… and if you do, y'know. Try to move away from your desk.
