When last we reported on the comedy Pierre Pierre, it had Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) attached to star and Larry Charles (Borat) on board to direct.  Now it looks as if Russell Brand (Get Him to the Greek) is in early talks to displace Carrey.  Pierre Pierre centers on an obnoxious Frenchman who steals the Mona Lisa and attempts to transport it to from Paris to London.  Along the way, he runs afoul of “French police inspector, a serial killer named Pigeonshit and his own brothel-owning mother.”  Hit the jump for more on Brand and Pierre Pierre.

Anyone can be offensive.  The skill comes with trying to get people to laugh at it.  Sacha Baron Cohen, the mind behind the semi-scripted comedies Borat and Bruno, has shown a great skill at getting audiences to laugh at light comic fodder like incest, rape, anti-Semitism, screaming dickholes, and carrying bags of shit to the dinner table.  He also tends to throw in a little social criticism for some spice.  The Dictator marks his first feature-length, fully-scripted film, and while the blade may be a bit more polished, the edge remains razor-sharp.  Despite a slapdash plot and a cop-out ending, The Dictator is brilliantly irreverent, juvenile, cartoonish, and it will have you laughing, feeling guilty about laughing, and then laughing even harder.

A new French trailer for the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator has gone online, and it reveals what looks to be the crux of the plot for the film. Though I’m fairly certain this plot twist will be unveiled in the next domestic trailer, I’ll keep things spoiler free here on the front page just in case. I’ll simply say that the twist shows huge comedic promise and I can’t wait to see where Cohen takes the rest of the film.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris, John C. Reilly and Megan Fox. The Dictator opens on May 11th. [Update: As expected, this was exactly the same as the new domestic trailer. It appears we're now getting an idea of the expanded plot and what to expect from the actual film. We've updated the article with the US version of the trailer, which is the same as the French one save for the subtitles.]

Back in 2010, we reported that Larry Charles (Borat) had signed on to direct the comedy Pierre, Pierre starring Jim Carrey.  Carrey plays an obnoxious Frenchman who steals the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in the hope of selling it so he can finally move out of his parents house.  The project was previously set up Fox, who paid $1 million for the spec script, but when previous director Jason Reitman dropped out, the movie was put into turn around.  Now, Screen Daily reports that the film has secured financing and will shoot this summer in Germany and other parts of Europe.  Screen Daily adds that the budget was boosted from $20 million to $30 million based off the strength of the supporting roles and the actors currently in talks for them.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s next film The Dictator is currently shooting in New York City.  For those who don’t know, Cohen plays “a heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.”  The film is inspired by the novel, Zabibah and The King, by Saddam Hussein.  The set photos we’ve seen so far make it look as nutty as Cohen’s previous films.  We have now learned of a new cameo in the film as well as how much a previously-announced actor will be in the film.

Hit the jump for more details.  The film, directed by Larry Charles (Borat) also stars Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, J.B. Smoove, John C. Reilly, and Megan Fox.  The Dictator opens May 11, 2012.

Some new set images have emerged from the new Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator. We got our first official look at Cohen in the titular role last week, and today’s set photos show that we’re in store for another very crazy character, as they capture him competing in a track race while utilizing a pistol to ensure that he’s the winner. The comedy “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.”

Hit the jump to check out the images. Directed by Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno), the film also stars Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, and Jason Mantzoukas.  The Dictator is set to open on May 11, 2012.

The first set photo has leaked from Sacha Baron Cohen’s next film The Dictator.  It’s Cohen’s first film where he’s not playing a character from Da Ali G Show, but it looks like it has the best premise since Borat:

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

Whether Cohen will be engaging in his candid camera antics or if this is a straight feature remains to be seen, but Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno) will once again be behind the camera.  The film is also set to star Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, and Jason Mantzoukas (The League).  Hit the jump to check out the photo of an All-American foreign dictator.  The Dictator is slated to open on May 11, 2012.

We have a few casting tidbits to bring you tonight. First up, Deadline reports that Anna Faris has been offered the female lead in director Larry Charles’ (Borat) comedy The Dictator. Already starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Kingsley, the film tells the story of a dictator who risks his life to keep democracy out of his finely oppressed country. Cohen will take on dual roles in the film as both the dictator and a goat herder whereas Faris’ character would be the owner of an organic food store who begins to turn around Cohen’s dictatorial outlook. You may remember that Faris faced competition in the form of Kristen Wiig and Gillian Jacobs for the role. The Dictator is scheduled to be released by Paramount on May 11th, 2012.

Next up, Variety confirms that both Greta Gerwig (Arthur) and Orlando Bloom are settling in for roles in the romantic comedy Lola Versus. Per the report, Gerwig has already accepted the starring role of a girl who is dumped only weeks before her wedding by her college sweetheart. Bloom is still in final negotiations to join the film for an unspecified role (perhaps Gerwig’s aforementioned college sweetheart?). Daryl Wein (Breaking Upwards) is set to direct the script he co-wrote with Zoe Lister-Jones. Production on the film is scheduled to begin in New York next month.

Just yesterday it was reported that a number of actresses were under consideration for a leading female role in the next Sacha Baron Cohen film The Dictator, including Kristen Wiig, Gillian Jacobs and Anna Faris. Now, it looks like Hugo Cabret costar Ben Kingsley will be reteaming with Cohen in the Borat-esque flick. Variety reports that Kingsley will play one of two Middle Eastern characters in the film, with Jason Mantzoukas (The League) in talks to play the other.

Directed by Larry Charles, The Dictator 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,” with Cohen playing dual roles as the dictator and a goat herder. Filming is set to begin in May, which explains why casting seems to be heating up at the moment. Expect more announcements sooner rather than later for the comedy. The Dictator is slated for a May 11^th, 2012 release

Casting for the next Sacha Baron Cohen film The Dictator is heating up, with producers looking to fill the part of the female lead. Kristen Wiig, Anna Faris and Gillian Jacobs (Community) are among the frontrunners to play opposite Baron Cohen in the Borat-esque comedy. Larry Charles, who also helmed Borat and Bruno, is directing the film which 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,” with Cohen playing a dictator who gets lost in the US.

THR reports that Jason Mantzoukas (The League) is already attached to play Cohen’s sidekick in the film. Producers are looking for actors with very strong improvisational skills, and understandably so given the unscripted nature of Borat and Bruno. The report stresses that Cohen and Co. are still looking to fill the female lead role, and it could very well end up going to someone other than Wiig, Faris or Jacobs. Filming is set to begin in May in New York and Morocco for a May 11^th, 2012 release date.

Last we heard, Sacha Baron Cohen was teaming up with Borat and Bruno director Larry Charles on a new film called The Dictator, and every studio in town was vying for the project. Well, Paramount ultimately snatched it up, and now has set a release date and an official logline for the film. The plot 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. It is inspired by the best selling novel, Zabibah and The King, by Saddam Hussein.”

Baron Cohen’s films are nothing if not controversial, and this one seems to be no exception. He will purportedly be playing dual roles in the film: that of said dictator, and the other being a goat herder. Paramount executives apparently “love the script” and have budgeted the film at $58 million. No word on how this effects the reported filming of Baron Cohen’s Freddie Mercury biopic slated to begin shooting later this year. The Dictator will be released on May 11, 2012. “Very nice!” [Updated: We've been sent the press release and have updated the article with the full press release after the jump]

Freakonomics makes its way to DVD on January 18^th after a run in theaters and various On Demand outlets ranging from cable TV to iTunes. The big-screen adaptation of the runaway 2005 bestseller features the work of six of the highest-profile directors working in documentary film.  They include: Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady (2007 Oscar nominees for Jesus Camp), Alex Gibney (2008 Oscar winner for Taxi To The Dark Side & a 2011 Oscar short-lister for Best Documentary with Client 9: The Rise And Fall Of Eliot Spitzer), Seth Gordon (The King Of Kong), Eugene Jarecki (2005 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner for Why We Fight) and Morgan Spurlock (2005 Oscar Nominee for Super Size Me which is, as of today, still the most popular rental for any documentary on iTunes).

Collider caught up with the film’s producer Chad Troutwine.  Hit the jump for the audio and transcription of our interview, including great stories about how the idea came about and which high-profile directors almost took part.

Larry Charles is set to direct Sacha Baron Cohen’s newest film The Dictator. The film is written by Cohen and Curb Your Enthusiasm writers Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel.

This will be Charles’ third directorial outing on a Cohen project, having previously hit box office gold with the hilarious Borat, and the less hilarious Bruno. According to 24 Frames, the film will be Cohen’s next project after Martin Scorsese’s Hugo Cabret. Hit the jump for my thoughts and more info on the film.

Larry Charles has signed on to direct Pierre Pierre, an upcoming comedy with Jim Carrey attached to star as an obnoxious Frenchman transporting a painting from Paris to London.  Charles recently directed the comparable antics of Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat and Bruno, and will take over the project from Jason Reitman (Juno), who was previously attached to the project before he dropped out.  Deadline reports that Edwin Cannistraci and Frederick Seton sold the script for $1 million two years ago, but following Reitman’s departure from the project and the collapse of Fox Atomic, the project went into turnaround.  Now that Larry Charles has signed on to direct the $20 million film, producers Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Brian Sher will shop Pierre Pierre to studios once again.

A post-Sopranos HBO set the golden standard for original series on pay cable, Showtime got in the game with their flagship drama Dexter, and Starz recently gained ground with the successful first season of Spartacus: Blood and Sand.  Upstart premium channel Epix has recently jumpstarted efforts to get in on the original content market with projects in development from Chris Offutt (Weeds) and Larry Charles (Curb Your Enthusiasm).  Now the channel has signed Oscar-winner Oliver Stone and Bruce Wagner to a development deal which will immediately result an adaptation of the Wagner novel Still Holding, a satire of Hollywood excess.

Stone remarked on the union, “I’m interested in the possibilities in television. When a company like EPIX comes along, it’s a chance to break new ground.”

Hit the jump for the full press release.