Thanks to Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen is used to being on the receiving end of lawsuits. Now, he'll be filing them.
The comic actor is set to produce and star in Accidentes, a comedy for Fox Atomic about an ambulance-chasing personal injury attorney.
According to Variety, Accidentes will allow Cohen to once again to invent a new character along the lines of those he created for his HBO cult series, Da Ali G Show.
This time out he'll essay a lawyer of Latin descent who gives up his ambulance-chasing ways to help an immigrant win a court case against his wealthy employer after a landscaping accident.
Cohen recently wrapped production on Bruno, about his gay fashionista alter ego, due in theaters next summer. He has two other films in the pipeline, playing Sherlock Holmes to Will Ferrell's Watson in a comedy for Columbia Pictures and the comedy Dinner for Schmucks for DreamWorks. No word which movie he'll do first.
Meanwhile, Natalie Portman has been tapped to be a judge on this week's episode of Bravo's Project Runway. The Oscar nominee will critique eco-friendly designs from the remaining 15 aspiring designers. Heidi Klum's reality TV competition kicked off last week.
In other casting tidbits:
Former Alias star Michael Vartan and Arrested Development's David Cross are joining forces for Demoted, a comedy about two tire store salesmen whose rivalry comes to a head after their boss' sudden death. Shooting begins Sept. 2 in Michigan with J.B. Rogers (American Pie 2) at the helm.
American Idol also-ran Diana DeGarmo will topline a new Broadway production of the seminal '70s rock musical Godspell. Previews for the revival will begin on Sept. 29 and the curtain will officially go up Oct. 23.
Grammy-nominated R&B star Chris Brown has been tapped to guest star as himself on the Aug. 9 episode of the Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. The story will find the title characters grounded and forbidden to leave their suite only to sneak out of the hotel.
Stand-up comedian Bill Burr is heading for Purgatory, a pilot for Comedy Central in which he'll offer up opinionated, comedic rants about the day's news in the vein of Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olberman. The show will also feature sketches and digital shorts as well.
Image:© 2008, , Ash Knotek/ZUMAPress.com, Lisa O'Co
