Directed by Larry Charles (Bruno, Borat, Religulous, Curb Your Enthusiasm), The Dictator stars kosher British Jew Sacha Baron Cohen as the leader of a fictional Middle Eastern country who “risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.”

It was reportedly based on Zabibah and the King, a romance novel believed to have been written by Saddam Hussein. Now, when a movie stars a guy who acted flamboyantly gay on a hunting trip with real-life, gun-toting rednecks in Alabama, uses as its source material a book written by a delusional dictator who was murdered by his people (with our peoples’ help, of course), and was directed by a guy who’s now spent half his career baiting homophobes and religious types, you expect a certain, ground-breakingly ballsy kind of comedy (YOU BROKE MY GROUND WITH YOUR BALLS!). What you get, according to the trailer is…

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While I’m all sorts of giddy for his upcoming portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, Sacha Baron Cohen will first tackle the role of Saddam Hussein in The Dictator, which is based on the book “Zabibah and the King.” It isn’t apparent that this will be a comedic take on the former Iraqi President’s life, but the press release from Paramount claims that 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” so there’s a decent chance that it’s a comedy. Also, it’s being directed by Larry Charles, so who am I kidding?

Fingers crossed that he plays it super gay and changes the name to “Weapons of Sass Destruction”. But make me into a Zabibah belieber, Time News Feed…

The Dictator is set for release in May 2012 but what of the source text, which was originally published anonymously in 2000? A look on Amazon reveals that Zabibah and the King is the “allegorical love story between a mighty king (Saddam) and a simple, yet beautiful commoner named Zabibah (the Iraqi people). Zabibah is married to a cruel and unloving husband (the United States) who forces himself upon her against her will.” The book was set in mid to late 600 AD, but it’s unknown if the movie is going to be a modern retelling or not.

Amazon? Are we too lazy to check Wikipedia today? I kid, I kid, I checked Wikipedia and the only additional info that it provided was that Zabibah’s husband regularly raped her. Haha, stop Wikipedia, you’re getting me all bothered! Saddam originally added his name to the book as if he wrote it, but it is believed that he didn’t have anything to do with it. I say we kill him again just to be sure.

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Jim Carrey, whose recent Twitter rants about prescription drugs and “suppressive personalities” have fueled speculation that he’s become a Scientologist (wouldn’t that be a nice, easy explanation for why he stopped being funny), is set to play a French art thief in a film from Borat/Bruno director Larry Charles.  Suckre Bleu, they could call it.  Mercury taint my vaccines, Deadline:

Charles has signed on to direct Pierre Pierre, a comedy that has Carrey playing the role of a Frenchman who transports a stolen painting from Paris to London, behaving more obnoxiously than any waiter you’ve ever encountered at Cannes.
[Added the reporter, "La di da, the south of France is so passé these days, don't you think?" Then cut a robust fart and inhaled deeply. -Ed.]
This project is moving forward again after weathering some serious setbacks. Two years ago, the script by then-unknowns Edwin Cannistraci and Frederick Seton [make that "still-unknowns"] made the Black List and sold for $1 million, with Carrey to star and Juno‘s Jason Reitman attached to direct. Fox Atomic’s Debbie Liebling and Peter Rice won the bidding battle over three others. Then: Reitman dropped out; Fox Atomic imploded; Liebling moved to Universal; Rice moved up in the Fox hierarchy. Sans champion, Pierre Pierre fell into turnaround. With Charles aboard, the comedy will be shopped again by its producers, Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch, and Category 5′s Brian Sher. They plan to make the movie for just over $20 million.

I’ve said it before, but what happens to Black List scripts is one of the best examples of how Hollywood ruins good things.  Scripts make the Black List mainly for being funny and/or original.  Producers then buy these funny, original scripts, and usually attach big stars like Jim Carrey (who’ve already burned us three or four or six times in a row) to attract funding. Then the studios hire someone to “polish” that good, original script for the big star, and suddenly it looks a lot like his three previous movies that sucked.   Shampoo, Rinse, Record Scratch, Repeat. They should just combine this with the Knight and Day sequel and call it Knight and Day and Jim Carrey and Farts.

On Friday I reported that Universal had cut a scene from Brüno featuring LaToya Jackson a few hours before the Brüno premiere in LA.  At the time it was unclear whether the scene would make it into the theatrical version.  They’ve since confirmed that it won’t be.

The studio confirmed the scene would be out of the theatrical version of the movie, and said removing it won’t be expensive because the prints have not yet been made or shipped.

Sacha Baron Cohen interviews an unsuspecting LaToya Jackson about a number of topics, including her brother. Among the gags is a joke about the King of Pop’s high-pitched voice, as well as a reference to his trademark white glove, all done in Baron Cohen’s characteristically absurdist tone. [THR]

Oh no, not his voice or his glove!  Too far, you guys. That’s the Ronald Reagan of pop you’re talking about.  Lot of people think you can make fun of dead people, but really, that’s the best time to make fun of them.  For one they can’t chase you and for another you can dress them in silly outfits.  Haha, why you hittin yourself, Billy Mays?

• I’d love to see a truth-in-advertising campaign for the Biffy Bidet.  “Biffy: It cleans the poop off your butthole.” [via Videogum]
• Borat/Bruno director Larry Charles next project will take on the topic of old people having sex. I say “take on” because it’s the kind of thing you don’t want to approach without a knife or a pool cue. [ScreenJunkie]
• Since I know many of you will be excited about this, Eastbound & Down has been renewed for another season. ..And that is why I am the BEST PERSON in THE WORLD.  So kiss my ass and suck my di- *please turn over to side two* [WarmingGlow]
• The only thing that would make HolyTaco’s tribute to girls cleaning cars better is if it were about girls cleaning my house.  [HolyTaco]
• Year One was given an R rating by the MPAA despite an appeal for leniency from Judd Apatow and director Harold Ramis.  Said Ramis following the ruling, “Yeah, well all those mother effing C essers can go eff themselves in the B.  Buncha jerks.” [THR]
• Al Pacino is set to play Napoleon in Betsy & the Emperor. Meanwhile, short Italian guys everywhere have been playing the part of Napoleon for years. In related news, Napoleon Bonerpart would be a sweet porn name. [Empire]

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