According to Variety Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno) is in final negotiations to join Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, making him one of the last major players to join the cast. His role is said to be a small one, a gambler who buys Django’s wife, but “Tarantino was very particular on who he wanted to play it, given the character’s importance to the story.”

In the movie Django (Jamie Foxx) is a freed slave, who, under the tutelage of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) becomes a bad-ass bounty hunter himself, and after assisting Waltz in taking down some bad guys for profit, is helped by Waltz in tracking down his slave wife (Kerry Washington) and liberating her from an evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). Samuel L. Jackson will play DiCario’s slave, Stephen, while Kurt Russell will play the sadistic trainer Ace Woody, who forces male slaves to fight to entertain the white patrons of Candyland.

Tarantino plans to start shooting Django Unchained in New Orleans in January, and The Weinstein Company will release it on December 25, 2012.

Sacha Baron Cohen will next be seen in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, and will star in his next Bruno/Borat-style movie The Dictator next May alongside Megan Fox, Sir Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas, and Anna Faris.

Read similar posts to Sacha Baron Cohen joins Django Unchained on Filmonic

Paramount Picture have released the first trailer for Martin Scorsese’s upcoming 3D family adventure Hugo (formally The Invention of Hugo Cabret). It looks to be new territory for the director, who has directed serious thrillers such as The Departed and Shutter Island over recent years.

The film, based on Brian Selznick’s bestselling children’s book, stars Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, Emily Mortimer, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Ray Winstone, Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour and Michael Stuhlbarg.

You can watch the trailer below:

‘Hugo’ tells the story of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. With the help of an eccentric girl, he searches for the answer to a mystery linking the father he recently lost, the ill-tempered toy shop owner living below him and a heart shaped lock, seemingly without a key. Based on Brian Selznick’s award winning and imaginative New York Times bestseller, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” this magical tale is Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D.

Hugo is released on 2D/3D screens across the US from November 23rd and the UK from December 2nd.

Read similar posts to Trailer for Martin Scorsese’s Hugo on Filmonic

We got our first look at Sacha Baron Cohen in his next Bruno/Borat-style movie The Dictator two weeks ago, and now THR has word that both Megan Fox and John C. Reilly will be joining the cast. No further details on their roles were given, but they are said to be making cameo appearances so it’s probably best we stay in the dark.

In the film Sacha Baron Cohen plays a ruthless dictator who heads to the U.S. for a meeting at the United Nations and finds that his number two has replaced him with an unsuspecting sheepherder lookalike. As the dictator wanders the city, he meets the owner of an organic food store. She turns around his dictatorial thinking, and there’s a little romance in it as well.

Cohen has re-teamed with Borat and Bruno director Larry Charles, and will also be joined on-screen by Sir Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas, and Anna Faris.

Read similar posts to Megan Fox and John C. Reilly join The Dictator on Filmonic

Bruno may not have been as successful as Borat, but that didn’t stop Paramount giving Sacha Baron Cohen the chance to make another movie with another one of his weird and wonderful characters. The Dictator is currently filming and won’t be released until May 2012, but the studio has today released our first official look at Cohen in character.

Here’s the full look:

In the film Sacha Baron Cohen plays a ruthless dictator who heads to the U.S. for a meeting at the United Nations and finds that his number two has replaced him with an unsuspecting sheepherder lookalike. As the dictator wanders the city, he meets the owner of an organic food store. She turns around his dictatorial thinking, and there’s a little romance in it as well.

Cohen has re-teamed with Borat and Bruno director Larry Charles, and will be joined on-screen by Sir Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas, and Anna Faris.

Read similar posts to First look at Sacha Baron Cohen in The Dictator on Filmonic

In September it was announced that Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno) had signed up to play Freddie Mercury, who was the lead vocalist of rock band Queen. The movie was said to focus on the band’s formative years and lead up to Queen’s appearance at Live Aid in 1985 which is considered one of rock’s all-time great live concert performances.

Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) was hired to write the script and he recently revealed how he got involved with the movie, and the direction he is taking it.

From CinemaBlend:

“Sacha was the one who asked me to write it. He was the guy who rang me up.”

“I didn’t want to write an AIDS movie, to be honest with you. And then, I just looked at the period– It’s sort of where he rejects [the other members of Queen] and comes back to them. It’s sort of like a family movie. It’s sort of like I hate my family, I want to be independent, and then I come back.”

The surviving members of Queen– Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon– are collaborating on the project as producers, and though Morgan said he would use their input to recreate the history of the band, it wasn’t going to be a puff piece or even necessarily show them in a good light:

“I’m not sure how much they’ll like what I write. I think they’ll recognize the truth in it, but it’s a series of painful memories for them. I’m essentially writing about the most painful time in the band’s history.”

Sacha Baron Cohen’s casting is still perfect even though he came up with the idea himself. The Academy loves movies based on iconic musicians (Jamie Foxx in Ray, Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, Walk the Line, Dreamgirls) so this movie could easily be an Oscar contender in the future, especially with Peter Morgan involved.

GK Films (The Tourist, The Town) are producing, and the aim is to begin filming next year.

Read similar posts to Peter Morgan talks about his Freddie Mercury biopic on Filmonic

Well this is interesting casting. According to Deadline Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno) has signed up to play Freddie Mercury, who was the lead vocalist of rock band Queen. The movie will be made by GK Films (The Tourist, The Town) and focuses on the band’s formative years, leading up to Queen’s appearance at Live Aid in 1985. Queen’s performance is considered one of rock’s all-time great live concert performances.

Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) is working on the script and the aim is to begin filming next year.

A rights package has been set that includes the band’s tunes, including Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions , Another One Bites The Dust and You’re My Best Friend. It is unclear whether Baron Cohen will sing—I’m told he can sing—or whether Mercury’s vocals will be used. Nobody sang like Mercury, so trying to replicate him would be a tall order. These decisions will be made as a director gets hired.

GK’s King confirmed the Queen deal: “Queen is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and a music brand all unto itself,” he said in a statement. “Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer, so with Sacha in the starring role coupled with Peter’s screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success.”

Mercury died November 24, 1991 of complications from AIDS. Though his death helped to remove the stigma of AIDS sufferers prevalent at that time and particularly in the rock music industry, Mercury’s last days won’t be the subject of the film.

While he is most known for his comedy work in Borat, Bruno and Talladega Nights Cohen can do non-comedy films, and will be seen in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo Cabret next year.

This may be premature, but this could easily be Sacha Baron Cohen’s shot at an Oscar. The Academy loves movies based on iconic musicians (Jamie Foxx in Ray, Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, Walk the Line, Dreamgirls) so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some awards buzz for this movie.

Read similar posts to Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury on Filmonic

A couple of months ago it was announced that Martin Scorsese’s next film would be an adaptation of Brian Selznick’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, filmed from a script by John Logan (Gladiator). Deadline now has the news that Scorsese is now in talks with two actors for this project: Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Kingsley.

Baron Cohen would reportedly play the station inspector, who I believe acts as some sort of antagonist to the main character, a 12 year-old orphan living in a Parisian train station in the 1930s. Baron Cohen hasn’t appeared in much apart from his characters Ali G, Borat and Brüno, so I guess it’ll be interesting to see him in a less outrageous role, in a more narrative-based film.

Kingsley is in discussion to portray George Méliès, the real-life film director (who worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries), and a central character in the story. I haven’t read the book yet, but this seems like spot-on casting – it’s not hard to picture him as the old director, building things in his workshop.

It was also recently suggested in a Variety article that Scorsese is interested in filming Hugo Cabret in 3D. The visuals should be unique at least, if they stick closely to the book, so let’s hope that this casting is as good as it sounds, and that the intriguing premise of the plot holds up too.

Read similar posts to Cohen and Kingsley in talks to join Scorsese’s Hugo Cabret on Filmonic

Earlier this week we heard that the producers of this years Oscar ceremony had pulled the plug on a skit by Sasha Baron Cohen so as not to offend James Cameron. In the skit Cohen planned to appear onstage as a female Na’vi, with Ben Stiller translating “her” interplanetary speech. As the skit went on Cohen would grow ever more upset. At its climax, an infuriated Baron Cohen would pull open “her” evening gown to reveal that s/he was pregnant with Cameron’s love child, and would go on to confront her baby daddy as if s/he were on Jerry Springer.

Well E! Online spoke to Cameron about the now scrapped plans, and he said he wouldn’t have had a problem with it.

Cameron said he wasn’t aware that a proposed Avatar sketch involving Ben Stiller and Sacha Baron Cohen had been cut from the show, presumably to avoid upsetting the director.

“I don’t know anything about that…I don’t produce the Oscars. If they want to poke fun at Avatar Sunday, that’s OK by me,” said Cameron, “I’m sure we’ll laugh.”

As far as he’s concerned, he told me, jokes are just another element of Hollywood’s big night. And he’s fine with it.

“The Oscars are a celebration of movies…even the gaffes and out-of-bounds stuff are all part of the fun.”

Maybe the producers have time to put it back in? Although as Cameron and most of the internet know what will happen it probably won’t be as funny. Damn the producers for being too sensitive!

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will take place on Sunday March 7th, 2010

Read similar posts to James Cameron would have been cool with Sasha Baron Cohen skit on Filmonic

Sasha Baron Cohen, the guy behind Bruno and Borat, was due to present an award at next week’s Oscar ceremony, however his name has now be removed from the list. Why is this, you ask? Apparently the producers didn’t want Cohen to annoy Avatar director James Cameron.

An insider familiar with the Oscar telecast tells Vulture that an Avatar sketch planned by Baron Cohen and Ben Stiller was nixed yesterday by show producer Bill Mechanic, who worried that Cameron would be so offended by it that he might even walk out of the Oscar broadcast on live TV.

Our insider informs us that Baron Cohen planned to appear onstage as a blue-skinned, female Na’vi, with Stiller translating “her” interplanetary speech. As the skit went on, though, it would become clear that Stiller wasn’t translating properly, because Cohen would grow ever more upset. At its climax, an infuriated Baron Cohen would pull open “her” evening gown to reveal that s/he was pregnant, knocked up with Cameron’s love child, and would go on to confront her baby daddy as if s/he were on Jerry Springer.

I would have loved to have seen this. I can’t say I know Cameron, but I’m sure he’s a guy who can take a joke. I guess the producers just didn’t want to risk a potential best director winner walking out of the ceremony, even though it would have been one of those ‘Oscar moments’ people would remember for years to come.

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will take place on Sunday March 7th, 2010

Read similar posts to Oscar producers decide against Sasha Baron Cohen Avatar skit on Filmonic

Did you know that Bruno is like Transformers, but not as gay? That’s the revelation Bruno made when he made an appearance on the David Letterman show recently. Watch 9 other reasons go to and see the film below!

You can read Dave’s review of Bruno by clicking here!

Read similar posts to Here are 10 reasons to go and see Bruno on Filmonic