Sacha Baron Cohen Cast In Steven Spielberg's The Trial Of The Chicago Seven

The UK's Sunday Times is reporting that Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) has been "persuaded by Steven Spielberg" to play Abbie Hoffman, in the upcoming film The Trial of the Chicago Seven.

Written by Aaron Sorkin, and based on the true story of the seven defendants charged with conspiracy and inciting to riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Hoffman was a self-identified Jewish Road Warrior and communo-anarchist. Hoffman became a symbol of youth rebellion and radical activism during the 1970's. He later committed suicide in 1989. Cohen will reportedly get around $6 million for the film.

Last year at the Sundance Film Festival, I watched a documentary on the subject called Chicago 10. And while I don't know a lot about Abbie, I'm pretty convinced from the limited archival footage I've seen, that Cohen is the perfect person for the role. Who knows when Spielberg will find time to shoot this project, as his plate is pretty full already with post on Indy 4, Tintin, Lincoln and Interstellar.