The Oscar bosses have surrendered to Sacha Baron Cohen.  After banning him from walking the red carpet as the character from his upcoming flick The Dictator, Admiral General Aladeen, he subsequently went on a PR blitz, creating a video in costume demanding his tickets and calling the Today show to make Ann Curry laugh awkwardly with jokes like “I paid Hilary Swank $2million to be my date and she will not refund a penny.”  Possibly realizing, that 1) Cohen would probably pull a stunt regardless, and 2) all the buzz he was drumming up could mean more viewers for the famously boring awards show, they are now back pedaling.

Having first stated that the red carpet was not to be used for PR stunts (paging Lady Gaga and her 2010 Grammy egg), Oscars producer Brian Grazer is now singing a different tune.  He told Extra that the actor will appear on the red carpet as his alter-ego from the film, stating 'We're thrilled to have him and he'll be on the red carpet dressed as The Dictator.”

Cohen is also slated to take part of the show, as himself, but he has a track record to uphold. In 2005 he showed up at the MTV Europe Music Awards as Borat, the 2009 Movie Awards as Bruno, and was lowered onto the face of Eminem who stormed out in a pre-planned move.  He also crashed the Agata Luiz della Prada show at Milan's 2008 fashion week.

We'll see what happens.