Picturehouse Cinemas have “no current plans” to show new Ali G film

Picturehouse Cinemas have said they have “no current plans” to screen Sacha Baron Cohen‘s forthcoming film Ali G: Who Iz I? READ MORE: The rise of Sacha Baron Cohen: from Hammersmith to Hollywood The movie is set to arrive in cinemas on October 23, marking the character’s first feature-length outing since 2002’s Ali G Indahouse. It will also be Baron Cohen’s feature directorial debut. However, Picturehouse – which operates 25 cinemas across the UK – has confirmed that it is not currently intending to show the film when it opens. “We currently do not have any plans to screen this film on its release,” the company told Metro in a statement. The response comes amid an online campaign led by the media-monitoring organisation NewsCord, which is calling on cinemas chains around the world, including Odeon, Cineworld, Vue, Everyman and Showcase, to decline to screen the film. They have accused Baron Cohen of using satire as “a cover for enforcing racist stereotypes”, claiming that his characters have perpetuated harmful depictions of marginalised communities. It describes Amazon MGM’s decision to revive Ali G as bringing back a “racist caricature”, and supporters of the campaign have repor...