'Borat,' 'Brüno' creator will star in comedy about former Iraqi president.
By Aly Semigran
Sacha Baron Cohen
Photo: Charley Gallay/ Getty Images
Sacha Baron Cohen will star in an upcoming comedy that's, yet again, bound to stir up some controversy. Only this time, the character he'll be playing won't be one from his cult series "Da Ali G Show."
Paramount Pictures has announced that the 39-year-old actor, best known for his work in "Borat" and "Brüno," will play former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in a comedy called "The Dictator."
The film — slated for a May 11, 2012, worldwide release — will be loosely based on Hussein's 2000 novel "Zabibah and the King," which tells the story of a dictator who, despite the risks, made sure that democracy would never come to his country.
Baron Cohen will co-produce and co-write the film, alongside Alec Berg, David Mandel, Scott Rudin and Jeff Schaffer. Todd Schulman is also co-producing under Baron Cohen's Four by Two Films. Meanwhile, writer/producer/director Larry Charles ("Borat," "Brüno," "Seinfeld," "Curb Your Enthusiasm") will direct the project.
According to Deadline.com, the studio will pay Baron Cohen $20 million and the picture itself is budgeted at $58 million. The site also claims that, "Four studios chased the project when it was first shopped, but when it got down to two studios, Paramount made its serious intentions known by dispatching two goats (wearing Paramount logo T-shorts) to visit both Baron Cohen and his WME reps."
Baron Cohen will join the few actors who have taken on the task of playing the controversial figure. In 2008, Yigal Naor starred as Hussein in HBO's Emmy-winning miniseries "House of Saddam."
In addition to his onscreen interpretation of Hussein, Baron Cohen will also get to work on another real-life person, this time for a biopic. In September, it was confirmed that the Golden Globe winner would take on the role of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991 from AIDS.
Are you excited to see Sacha Baron Cohen in "The Dictator"? Tell us in the comments below!
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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1656331/Sacha-baron-cohen-the-dictator-saddam-hussein.jhtml
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