SACHA BARON COHEN is set to star in Sir Ridley Scott’s Bee Gees musical biopic.
I can reveal that the pair have been locked in a series of secret meetings in London to sign up the Borat and Ali G actor.
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Film director Scott, who recently finished Gladiator II, is now turning his attention to the film You Should Be Dancing about the Brothers Gibb, which will start filming in London and Miami next year.
Barry Gibb, the only surviving member of the legendary band, is set to act as executive producer.
A source said: “Sacha is perfect for this project and is really excited about getting his teeth stuck into something new. He is ready to throw himself into the role.”
It’s been a tough few years to navigate for Sacha Baron Cohen after he split with his wife Isla Fisher and was accused of unprofessional behaviour by former co-star Rebel Wilson in her book.
The film will follow the major chart success of the three Gibb brothers, who achieved mega-stardom with their album Saturday Night Fever in 1977.
It featured disco classics Stayin’ Alive and More Than A Woman.
It’s not the first time Sacha has been linked to a biopic — he was originally destined to play Freddie Mercury the Queen movie Bohemian Rhapsody.
But the collab fell apart when band members Brian May and Roger Taylor had creative differences with Sacha, who was eventually replaced by Remi Malek.
There was no love lost though, as Roger later revealed in an interview: “I think he would have been utter s**t.
“Sacha is pushy, if nothing else. He’s also six inches too tall.
“But I watched his last five films and came to the conclusion he’s not a very good actor.
“I might be wrong. I thought he was an utterly brilliant subversive comedian, that’s what he’s great at.
“Anyway, Rami did a brilliant job in an almost impossible role.”
Hopefully, this flick goes a little better.
MEGHAN SLEIGHS JINGLE BELL BALL
IT turns out Kiss FM’s Jingle Bell Ball US is a great exclusive to take your clothes off.
Meghan Trainor performed in a white fluffy number, while Madison Beer sang in festive green velvet and Tate McRae danced on stage in red PVC.
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Paris Hilton donned her signature sequins, while Meghan cosied up to pal Benson Boone, who showed off his abs on the red carpet at Intuit Dome, LA, California.
It comes as Meghan recently opened up about her botched Botox job.
She said: “I messed up. I’ve had Botox a handful of times… just my forehead.
“Someone convinced me with my little lips that if you did a lip flip – you put filler right above your upper lip – you could have a beautiful flip on your upper lip.
“And I could have one for the first time in my whole 30 years of living – it was not true.”
But now she has confessed that she is unable to smile properly, adding: “I cannot smile anymore.”
At least she seems to be grinning and bearing it . . .
ZOE NAILS TINA ROLE
ZOE BIRKETT has given a glimpse into starring as Tina Turner in the West End musical.
The British actress revealed that she even has multiple nail colour changes throughout the hit stage show.
Speaking at the Women in Film and TV Awards, she said: “We have about 30 changes on stage with wigs and make-up as well.
“I never get a rest for three hours, even in the interval break – during that time, I am redoing my whole make-up with a new wig, costume and nails.
“There is so much that goes on (behind the scenes) to create Tina.”
EM’S IN CONTROL
EMELI SANDE refuses to let music industry bigwigs make her feel like a “silly woman” – and has taken control of her own music.
The Read All About It hitmaker has set up her own independent label, Venus Records, following her 2020 split from Virgin Records, which she had been signed to for a decade.
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Asked if she experienced misogyny while working for big labels, Emeli said: “It is hard to know because I don’t think a lot really (filters down) to you.
“From the things that are said behind your back, it’s just that feeling of, ‘Oh, you know, a silly woman doesn’t quite know what she’s talking about. Let’s tell her what’s best’.
“Your opinion doesn’t make it to the boardroom.
“It is a bit of a weird situation to be in when you’ve made the music, but then you get told, ‘This is the best song’.
“But my music is something that really comes from my soul. So even if I can’t do the big moves that some of these execs can do, I want to be in control of what’s happening to the end.”
Emeli says new single Roots, released via Venus Records, is a nod to how she has enjoyed a “big mix of different cultures”.
She went on: “I’ve had my mum’s English heritage, I was born in Sunderland, my dad’s Zambian, then we moved to Scotland.
“I’ve always had all these different parts of me going on and sometimes I felt like I had to select one and be like, ‘I’m just that or just this’.
“Now I just feel like, you know what? I am who I am.”
SOLO JADE’S FLYING HIGH
LITTLE MIX star Jade Thirlwall is ploughing ahead with her solo projects.
I can reveal that the singer has filmed her FOURTH music video for FYFN (F**k You For Now), which is set in a cinema.
A source said: “The lyrics are salty and will have people guessing who they’re about.”
Jade has also been speaking about her career away from Little Mix bandmates Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock in the most recent issue of Rolling Stone magazine.
She said: “I always associated Little Mix with my womanhood as I spent my whole adult life with the girls.
“I didn’t know how to be a woman in my own right. When we first stopped, I was lost because I was like, ‘F**k, every decision I’ve made over the past decade hasn’t been my own’. It took me a minute to get my independence back.”
AL: ON TOUR IS HARD LIFE
BLUR faced a host of problems during their comeback shows last year, bassist Alex James has revealed.
He told how Damon Albarn performed despite having food poisoning and drummer Dave Rowntree injured his knee.
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Writing in his book, Over The Rainbow: Tales From An Unexpected Year, he said: “Damo had food poisoning. It was a miracle he got through the full two hours.
“I thought about Dave being pushed to the stage in a wheelchair at Wembley.
“I thought about playing in Porto with Covid. The band getting back together had brought many gifts, but the most precious had been enjoying their company. They’re my oldest friends.”
ROCKETMAN star Taron Egerton shows off his new buzzcut hair style as he is spotted taking a stroll in Hollywood.
The British actor is starring in a new Netflix Christmas airport thriller called Carry On, but has fielded comparisons to Die Hard.
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He said: “This film made me feel very Christmassy — that’s what I would love for it to do. Die Hard is a Christmas movie. This is a Christmas movie. I hope audiences love it.”