Sacha Baron Cohen will bring his unique comic talents to world of fallen Iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein, in the film The Dictator.The story is inspired by the novel Zabibah and The King that was supposedly penned though said to have been overseen by the former leader. It served as a metaphor for all things related to King, country and war all wrapped up in a nice allegory.The book has Sadaam as the mighty king who shares a close relationship with a beautiful villager named Zabibah who’s cruel husband also rapes her. Hussein saw himself as the hero, Zabibah as the Iraqi people and the vicious husband as the U.S with the rapes as the Gulf war invasions.
Interestingly the artwork for the book was used without permission from Canadian artist Jonathon Earl Bowser who’s was not happy about the whole affair. The screenplay was written by ‘Seinfeld’ writers Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel who pitched the project with Baron Cohen to the studios last year.
Paramount reportedly loved the script and picked it up for $58 million with the funnyman set to make a cool $20 million. Paramount won the rights after they sent two goats wearing Paramount logo T-shirts to Cohen and his talent agency.
Larry Charles who hit box office gold with ‘Borat’ and to less extent ‘Bruno’ will direct ‘The Dictator’ which sees Baron Cohen playing dual roles; one as a goat herder and the other a deposed foreign dictator who gets lost in the United States.
Here’s the tagline:
The film tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed. It is inspired by the best selling novel, Zabibah and The King, by Saddam Hussein.
Scott Rudin will produce with executive producers Dan Mazer, Ant Hines and Peter Baynham and will reunite most of the award winning team from ‘Borat’. Todd Schulman will co-produce under Baron Cohen’s Four By Two Films banner.
‘The Dictator’ will be released worldwide on May 11, 2012. “Very nice!”
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