Sacha Baron Cohen to Adapt Saddam Hussein?

You have to hand it to him - Sacha Baron Cohen knows how to stir up controversy.

The man who has captured more Americans at their worst than reality TV with the films "Borat" and "Bruno" has a new film slated for release in May of 2012. According to Deadline, it's called "The Dictator" and it was inspired by the novel "Zabibah and the King" by...Saddam Hussein.

Now, we should probably take the "inspired by" concept by its loosest possible definition, but just the idea that the words "Based on the Book by Saddam Hussein" might appear in a multiplex near you is too good to pass up. Which is exactly what Cohen and producer Larry Charles are banking on.

Deadline goes on to claim that the logline for "The Dictator" is as follows: '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."

Cohen has been attached to several projects - most notably a biopic of the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury - but nothing concrete has been reported about that for some time.

Paramount snapped up the right to "The Dictator", and have reportedly set a release date of May 11, 2012.

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