It looks like funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen and knighted, respected actor Ben Kingsley got along smashingly on the set of Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo Cabret” as the duo are set to follow that up with another film together.
Variety reports that Ben Kingsley is set to star in “The Dictator,” another new character from Cohen. Previously described as a cross between “Coming to America” and “Trading Places” the film will find Cohen playing both a goat herder and a deposed foreign dictator who gets lost in the United States. Earlier this year, the “The Dictator” got a pretty amusing logline that read: “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.”
Casting seems to be moving quickly on the film. Just yesterday, Kristen Wiig, Anna Faris, and “Community” star Gillian Jacobs were reported to be in the mix for the female lead role of a supermarket worker, with a talent for improvisation being a requirement for whoever lands the role. Kingsley will play a Middle Eastern character that will factor alongside the sidekick part tipped for Jason Mantzoukas yesterday.
Filming starts next month with “Bruno” and “Borat” director Larry Charles behind the camera. It will hit theaters on May 11, 2012. As for “Hugo Cabret,” it’s pulling together for a November 23rd release and Kingsley recently told the U.K. press, “It’s his 3D examination of the early days of cinema. It couldn’t get better than that!” Sounds pretty rad.
