Pop singer Katy Perry and 'Twilight' star Kristen Stewart are reportedly fighting over a plum role in an upcoming movie about the life of flamboyant Queen front man Freddie Mercury. According to a recent article, the pair are both vying against Lady Gaga for the role of Mary Austin, Mercury's lifelong best friend and confidante with whom he had a romantic relationship in the '70s.

Mercury lived with Austin in the early '70s before beginning a relationship with a male record company executive, and even after that, the pair were best friends for the rest of his life. He was the godfather to her oldest son, and when he died in 1991, he left his London home to Austin instead of his partner, Jim Hutton.

“Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Kristen Stewart are on the short list for Mary, who played a huge role in Freddie’s life," a source reportedly told Star magazine (quote via Popcrush). "They all desperately want the part, and it’s getting ugly!”

Sacha Baron Cohen is slated to play Mercury in the biopic, and he reportedly has the final say in choosing his leading lady. The women apparently aren't doing themselves any favors with their catty behavior. “With the girls fighting like this, it’s just hurting their chances of getting the part,” the source adds. “It’s unprofessional, and Sacha is tired of the back-and-forth — he wants to choose one of them and be done with it.”

Screenwriter Peter Morgan says he has had to tread carefully in dealing with the three surviving members of Queen for the film, which has no title or projected release date as yet. ‘Queen are sensitive because it will show rancour and disagreements in the collaborative process," he tells Time Out. "In a way, the film, for me, reflects my own experience of film making as a collaborative process. Just as a film is never the result of one person, so the band doesn’t like the idea of Queen being 'a band by Freddie Mercury' – and they’re right. It won't just be about Freddie Mercury."

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