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Sacha Baron Cohen said the United Nations denied filming permission at its headquarters after its protocol committee reviewed the 2012 comedy’s script
The production rebuilt the General Assembly set, which Cohen said added about $15 million to the budget
Cohen claimed the UN rejected filming because the movie was “anti-dictatorship”
Sacha Baron Cohen has claimed that the United Nations (UN) rejected permission for The Dictator to film at its headquarters, which caused the movie to go $15 million over budget.
The actor, 55, appeared in conversation with Happy Sad Confused’s Josh Horowitz at the 92NY in New York City on Wednesday, Oct. 21, where the pair discussed his iconic role of Admiral General Aladeen in the movie.
During the talk, Cohen revealed that the team went to the UN to get permission to film a scene at the General Assembly in Manhattan, but was denied by the protocol committee.
Sacha Baron Cohen in ‘The Dictator’
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
“Driving over here, we drove past the United Nations and that movie … There’s a massive scene in the United Nations. And so we met up with the committee there, the protocol committee, and we gave them the script. They were interested. They read the whole script, and eventually they came back, and they said, ‘You are not allowed to shoot inside the United Nations,’ ” Cohen said.
When asked why, Cohen claimed the UN said the movie, which was released in 2012, was “anti-dictatorship.”
“We’re like, ‘What?’ And again [they said,] ‘Well, we represent dictatorships and democracies and we don’t really take a side.’ We ended up rebuilding the General Assembly.”
He claimed The Dictator ended up going $15 million over budget because they had to rebuild the set.
The UN did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Sacha Baron Cohen
Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty
Cohen spoke with Horowitz ahead of the release of his new movie in which he is bringing back one of his most provocative characters to the big screen — Ali G.
The British comedian explained why his feature directorial debut Ali G: Who Iz I? speaks to modern times in a new cover essay for Time.
“The fact that Ali G is outdated and problematic is the very reason I resurrected him,” wrote the filmmaker. “The world he’s returned to is, in many ways, worse than the one he left 20 years ago. All the prejudices my characters are designed to expose haven’t just lingered — they’ve metastasized.”
Cohen first introduced the outrageous alter ego, a rude-boy poseur from England known for interviewing unsuspecting subjects, in his Channel 4 and HBO hit Da Ali G Show.
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Ali G has made public appearances since Da Ali G Show aired more than 20 years ago, including at the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards, where he appeared in a video alongside another one of Cohen’s characters, Borat, and Cohen himself.
Ali G: Who Iz I?, which Cohen co-wrote, directed, produced and stars in, is in theaters now.
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