"Borat" star Sacha Baron Cohen and comedy writer Phil Johnston just sold a pitch for a spy-spoof project to Paramount for a figure in the high-six to low-seven range, reports Variety.
The pitch concerns a "Bond-like spy forced to go on the run with his long-lost brother, a moronic soccer hooligan."
And Paramount, currently the only studio to not cross the $1 billion mark internationally this year, are in need of a hit.
Perhaps the studio sees hope in Baron Cohen, whose 2006 film "Borat" earned $261,572,744 worldwide. Hopefully, the spy spoof will do better than the actor's latest film "The Dictator," which had a production budget of $65 million but grossed barely $60 million domestically.
No word yet on whether Baron Cohen would play the spy, the brother or even both in the film, as the actor did have a dual role in May's "The Dictator." But both spy spoof roles appear to lend themselves to British actors, and if he decides to play just one, it would be fun to see Baron Cohen play against his Borat/Bruno-type as a suave spy.
Johnston, who has previously written screenplays for "Cedar Rapids" and the upcoming Alexander Payne movie "Nebraska," will now work with Baron Cohen to pen the full script for Paramount.
