British comic Sacha Baron Cohen looks set to star as 60s activist Abbie Hoffman in a fact-based drama for Steven Spielberg. The as-yet-untitled production will focus on the anti-Vietnam war protests that wrecked the 1968 Democratic national convention and the subsequent trial of the Chicago Seven, of which Hoffman was a leading member. The DreamWorks picture will be scripted by Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing.

The news of Baron Cohen's casting was reported in the Sunday Times newspaper, although Variety claims that Spielberg representatives have refused to confirm or deny the rumour. The Borat star can currently be seen in a supporting role as Signor Adolfo Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. He is also working on a feature-length comedy based on the antics of his character Bruno, an Austrian fashion reporter he devised for British television.

One of the most colourful and controversial figures of the 60s counter-culture, Hoffman was arrested following violent confrontations with police at the Democratic national convention in Chicago. He attracted further notoriety by arriving at his trial wearing judicial robes and raising his middle finger while being sworn in as a witness. His convictions for conspiracy and inciting a riot were later overturned by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Subsequently diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, Hoffman committed suicide in 1989 at the age of 52.