Sacha Baron Cohen plans red carpet Oscar stunt in unwanted Academy drama
BY BILL ZWECKER February 22, 2012 8:38PM
Sacha Baron Cohen plays General Colonel Aladeen of the fictional republic of Wadiya in “The Dictator,” opening May 11.
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Updated: March 24, 2012 9:02AM
A s usual, there’s some intriguing behind-the-scenes drama leading up to Sunday’s Academy Awards:
† Wild card Sacha Baron Cohen is threatening to show up on the red carpet in costume (and character) as the ruthless tyrant from his new film “The Dictator” — obviously to promote it to one of the world’s biggest TV audiences. Academy bosses have let him know they’d frown on that, with a spokesman stating very clearly, “The red carpet is not about stunting. It’s not about putting on a zoo.” (The huge commercial complex housing the theater is located at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland.)
Cohen previously was asked to be a presenter in 2007, but when told he could not come as his outrageous Kazakhstani character Borat, he declined.
† Producers again will do the “Mominees” bit, started last year with the mothers of James Franco, Jeremy Renner, Mark Wahlberg and Mark Ruffalo tweeting and participating in the Oscars pre-show. Word has it, this year’s “Mominees” will include the mothers of George Clooney, Plainfield’s own Melissa McCarthy and Gary Oldman as part of the 2012 mix.
The Harvard-educated Lin is being very savvy about it all and wisely taking his time to sort through the wide range of possibilities, which supposedly include multi-million-dollar bids to boost a line of high-end watches and a wireless phone company. Since the Asian market is the biggest and fastest growth area for high-end luxury brands, it’s thought the Taiwanese-American athlete will ink big deals with brands popular in China, Japan and the rest of Asia, as well as the Middle East.
Ron Paul presidency.”
† Timing is everything. While everyone at “The View” was happy to welcome back Star Jones on Wednesday to share stories with Barbara Walters about their mutual heart ailments, some staffers were not happy it happened the day news broke about Jones’ Satan’s Sisters book being turned into a VH1 film.
That titillating tome was about a catty group of women hosting a daytime talk show — with one going rogue and writing a “tell-all.” “It just hit a bit too close to home,” said a longtime ‘View’ staffer, recalling Jones’ turbulent times co-hosting the show.
Bill Zwecker reports regularly on WFLD-Channel 32.
