...after rodeo stunt row

The director of Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film has reportedly quit after a run-in with the comic.

The row is thought to have been sparked after the Ali G creator nearly sparked a riot at a rodeo earlier this month.

Cohen had to flee the event after he posed as Kazakhstani immigrant Borat, caterwauled his way through the national anthem, then yelledto the crowd: “I hope you kill every man, woman and child in Iraq, down to the lizards, and may George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq,"

At the time it was thought this was another stunt for his TV show, but it appears it was actually the opening sequence of his new movie, a spoof documentary about the naïve foreigner coming to terms with American life.

But director Todd Phillips, whose previous films include Starsky & Hutch and Road Trip, is reportedly unhappy at the way the improvised caper turned out – so quit the project.

According to Hollywood trade paper Variety, Phillips left the film because of ‘creative differences’, and a replacement is being sought as soon as possible.

Published: 18 Jan 2005