I admit to being a bit cheeky in that headline, since Sacha Baron Cohen has certainly proved he’s got acting chops beyond his trademark character. Scorsese doesn’t cast you for nothin’. So it’s not a major surprise that Variety is reporting on his final negotiations to join Django Unchained, the slave-revenge film from Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds).
The film’s script is available online if you really want to seek it out, just as Basterds was, and who knows whether it’s a controlled leak to spur anticipation or just an ironic accident. Regardless, those who’ve read it can attest that Cohen’s role of Scotty is, while minor, essential to the whole tone of the movie, and I’m pretty encouraged by the choice.
The flick has one hell of a cast, with Jamie Foxx as the titular Django and Leonardo DiCaprio as the film’s villain*. The stars as joined by QT regulars Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Christoph Waltz and newcomer Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Django Unchained hits theaters on December 25th, 2012.
* After the abysmal reviews of J.Edgar (my own will be coming shortly) DiCaprio must be really glad he has this next on his plate.
