Sacha Baron Cohen's 'The Dictator' to Open in May 2012

7:53 AM PST 1/20/2011 by Georg Szalai

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Larry Charles, who also worked on "Borat" and "Bruno," will direct the Paramount picture.

NEW YORK - Paramount Pictures has set a May 11, 2012 release date for Sacha Baron Cohen’s new comedy The Dictator and reunited him with the director of his previous movies.

The studio said Thursday that Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno) will once again direct.

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," according to the studio.

It is inspired by the novel Zabibah and The King by Saddam Hussein.

Producing alongside Baron Cohen are Scott Rudin, Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel.