The LA Times should really know better than this, as we’re sure this is just one of a handful of projects percolating for the selective funny man Sacha Baron Cohen, but here we are anyway writing about it.
Cohen is currently shooting Martin Scorsese‘s “Hugo Cabret” after which he’ll transition to shooting “The Dictator” in early 2011. The film is a dual role comedy the actor shopped around town before Paramount forked over $20 million and guaranteed a 20% backend to the actor for the hotly buzzed project. In it, Cohen will play both a goat herder and a deposed foreign dictator who gets lost in the United States in a film described as a cross between “Trading Places” and “Coming To America.” So plenty to keep Cohen busy for now right? Well, if speculation is your game then this story is for you.
The LAT reports that Cohen might possibly maybe do a remake of the Spanish language comedy franchise smash, “Torrente.” Written, directed and starring Santiago Segura, the original series focuses on Jose Luis Torrente, a fired cop who still patrols the neighborhood administering his own brand of twisted justice. Cohen has apparently met more than once about the film with New Line, where the project is set up, and wants to set it in Spain. “Seinfeld” and “The Dictator” scribes Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel have been hired to pen the screenplay.
But before you start getting ready to chuckle as Cohen throws on another foreign accent and acts crazy, let’s pour some cold water all over this. Cohen is choosy and moreover, has been attached to multiple films in the past year or so which may or may not come back into play. There’s the Peter Morgan scribed Freddie Mercury biopic; the ambulance chasing lawyer comedy “Accidentes” set up at Universal; another untitled project picked up by Columbia last year; and he’s also toyed with “The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty” and “Men In Black 3” at various points in the past few months as well. So, is “Torrentes” on Cohen’s potential slate? Sure. Is it even close to being his next, next project. Hardly. More than likely he’ll wait to see a script before deciding if it’s something he wants to do.
