Monday, June 20, 2011

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Dictator parades through the Big Apple on a hump-back


hey said a dictator would never march in America.
But Sacha Baron Cohen proved them wrong when he paraded through the streets of New York on top of a camel yesterday.
But there was no need for anyone to get the hump, as the funnyman was in character for his upcoming film The Dictator.
Hail: Sacha Baron Cohen salutes the crowd as he filmed upcoming movie The Dictator in New York yesterday
Hail: Sacha Baron Cohen salutes the crowd as he filmed upcoming movie The Dictator in New York yesterday
Sacha plays a Middle Eastern Dictator who comes to America and goes undercover in exile.
Action! Sacha plays a Middle Eastern Dictator who comes to America and goes undercover in exile
The 39-year-old comedian wore a Saddam Hussein-inspired costume and gave one-handed salutes as he rode.
An onlooker said: 'Even by the standards of New York, that is not something you see every day.
'The only thing more impressive than the camel was Baron Cohen’s ridiculous beard.
ZZ Top man: Baron Cohen's beard drew admiring glances
ZZ Top man: Baron Cohen's beard drew admiring glances
'The whole get up was hilarious, and we are all looking forward to seeing how the film turns out.’ 
The Dictator shares more than a few similarities with classic Charlie Chaplin 1940 movie The Great Dictator, which was a biting satire on Nazi Germany.
In Chaplin’s movie, a Jewish barber who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Hitler pastiche Phooey Hynkel, ends up being mistaken for the Fuhrer.
Old: Charlie Chaplin satirised Adolf Hitler in 1940's The Great Dictator
Old: Charlie Chaplin satirised Adolf Hitler in 1940's classic The Great Dictator
New: Sacha Baron Cohen's dictator is based on notorious Iraq leader Saddam Hussain
New: Sacha Baron Cohen's dictator is based on notorious Iraq leader Saddam Hussain
It is unclear if Baron Cohen’s movie will have such serious undertones though.
He plays a Hussein-like dictator who is secretly replaced by a lookalike goat herder and must rebuild his life in New York City.
It is directed by Larry Charles, who also helmed Bruno and Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
Touchdown: The dictator gets ready to dismount
Touchdown: The dictator gets ready to dismount
The Dictator also co-stars Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley and Jason Mantzoukas.
The book that the film's screenplay is loosely based on is an allegorical romance novel published anonymously in 2000.
The CIA believes it was written by ghost-writers with the direct influence of Hussein and the simple plot is laden with hidden meanings.
The protagonist of the novel is named Arab, who represents Hussein, and the story follows him as he becomes King and rules over Iraq.
Camel-cade: Sacha is followed by the camera as he films in the centre of New York City
Camel-cade: Sacha is followed by the camera as he films in the centre of New York City

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