Larry Charles to direct Borat movie

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deej.. (deej..), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:15 (seventeen years ago) link

Tuomos, he didn't try to sexually assault her he [censored to avoid ruining the ending]

Oh? If you were the woman in question, how would you interpret it? Few attacks by random men towards women are not sexual in nature.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:16 (seventeen years ago) link

Which is why I can only find some humor in the scene if I knew Pamela was in on the joke.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:17 (seventeen years ago) link

she must have been in on the joke -- why else would she have RUN AROUND THE STORE like that?

gbx (skowly), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:17 (seventeen years ago) link

because a man was chasing her?

deej.. (deej..), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:18 (seventeen years ago) link

Borat & his producer would argue in hebrew, right?

kingfish prætor (kingfish 2.0), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:19 (seventeen years ago) link

I mean, it's a tight rope Cohen is walking in the film. Obviously we're supposed to be critical of his character, but making him a sympathetic fellow we're also kind of rooting for him.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:19 (seventeen years ago) link

Which is why the TV series works better in this aspect, because his character isn't built there, he doesn't have a story of his own.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:20 (seventeen years ago) link

Ali G. ruins Pam Anderson's dog wedding
By Lila Holland - TV.com
[b]August 25, 2005 at 04:55:00 PM[/b] | more stories by this author

A beautiful commitment ceremony between Pamela Anderson's two dogs was rudely interrupted when Ali G. star Sacha Baron Cohen--who is engaged to Wedding Crashers actress Isla Fisher--arrived uninvited at the event.

A surprise visit from Borat Sagdiyev temporarily halted the wedding of Star and Luca Pamela Anderson's two canine companions were about to pledge their undying devotion on a sunny Malibu beach last Wednesday, August 17, when a strange sea-craft was sighted just offshore. Chihuahua Luca, golden retriever Star, and gathered friends and loved ones eyed the vessel with suspicion until Sacha Baron Cohen emerged from the surf astride an inflatable turtle, calling to mind the frothy romance of Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus."

Cohen, in character as Kazakhstani TV reporter Borat, wore shorts with a leather jacket and cap and brandished a white keytar. Once ashore, the oft-reviled comedian sprinted toward Anderson and felled her with a perfectly executed rugby tackle, causing her to drop the beloved Luca. The Stacked actress struggled to her feet and brushed sand off of her long white gown as her loyal bodyguards seized the interloper, dragged him back to the shore, and dunked him in the hungry waves. The wedding party quickly composed itself, and the ceremony continued without further incident.

This disturbance was just the latest in a string of ill-received pranks orchestrated by Da Ali G. Show's Cohen, whose fame has made it increasingly difficult for him to avoid being recognized while "working." Early this year, Cohen (as Borat) was booted from a rodeo in Salem, Virginia, after he butchered the national anthem, made disturbingly violent antiterrorist statements, and suggested that President George W. Bush drink the blood of "every man, woman, and child" killed in Iraq. Last month, "Borat" dined at a Mississippi plantation house on the pretense of learning about Southern culture, but implied that his host's family was racist and supportive of slavery.

Cohen recently lent his voice to the DreamWorks movie Madagascar, in which he played an animated lemur. He is now working on his own Borat: The Movie and a NASCAR comedy in which he'll star opposite Will Ferrell.

deej.. (deej..), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:31 (seventeen years ago) link

yeah, we gotta go back thru the other borat threads for all those newsbits from last year when he was filming.

kingfish prætor (kingfish 2.0), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:33 (seventeen years ago) link

Anderson must have been in on it (at least somewhat.)

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:35 (seventeen years ago) link

Okay I'm reading that as an implication that she was probably in on it.

...gathered friends and loved ones eyed the vessel with suspicion until Sacha Baron Cohen emerged from the surf astride an inflatable turtle, calling to mind the frothy romance of Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus."

GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

polar bear flashback episode (nickalicious), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:36 (seventeen years ago) link

Also that has got to be the same rodeo incident.

polar bear flashback episode (nickalicious), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:36 (seventeen years ago) link

Unfortunately it was not filmed (at least according to Jay Roach.)

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:37 (seventeen years ago) link

i heard about the rodeo incident when it happened. they were really, really, really unhappy with him.

gbx (skowly), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:38 (seventeen years ago) link

I'd say (in the film at least) Borat is not just a character that tries to bring up the worst in real people, he's a also someone to both identify with and to distance oneself to, someone who allows us laugh at taboo subjects, while at the same time allowing us to feel above such sentiments because were "not like him". Which I guess can be healthy, but such humor is always on the verge of simply indulging on political incorrectness for no specific reason except that, what with PC being the norm, it seems "radical". However, to credit Cohen, I think he most of the time he manages to avoid this.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:39 (seventeen years ago) link

yeah, from the news articles that came out about it, it sounded like they wanted to lynch him. the film crew had to pile into the back of the ice cream truck to bug out of town as quick as they could.

kingfish prætor (kingfish 2.0), Monday, 6 November 2006 19:40 (seventeen years ago) link

the movie was underwhelming. cohen pulled a lot of punches, became oddly polite to avoid pushing things too far (this was likely done in the editing room), which was somewhat of a relief (i have a hard time sitting through that) but also disconcerting. it was a paler version of the tv show, and i can't help but to think that the critics lauding it ("BORAT: FUNNIEST MOVIE EVER?" --actual hed) never saw the tv show in the first place, thus the shock value was intact. it also relied very heavily on obvious setups: pam anderson, dinner party, the bear, meeting the producer in la, etc. and of course it has to rely on these things, but i wanted complete immersion, not a winking dance between artifice and sitcom gag. the two funniest parts of the movie: the local tv news interview and the gypsy yard sale bit. and yet, at my screening, NO ONE laughed at these things.

i also thought the atlanta stuff was somewhat odd, especially the borat appropriating hip-hop slang thing, which was an obvious gag that felt beneath the clueless bumbling/darkest reveals shtick that made us pay attention to borat in the first place. i was also struck by how diligently cohen avoided bringing anything of race into the film (this depending on whether you view jewishness as a race or religion), especially in the frat boy scene. there was definitely some ugly shit left on the avid there.

Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 6 November 2006 20:27 (seventeen years ago) link

the two funniest parts of the movie: the local tv news interview and the gypsy yard sale bit. and yet, at my screening, NO ONE laughed at these things.

You were at the wrong screening then. (Our audience pretty much was roffling stop to start.)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 6 November 2006 20:30 (seventeen years ago) link

there's cut scenes on YT right now, i wonder how much will be on the dvd

kingfish prætor (kingfish 2.0), Monday, 6 November 2006 20:30 (seventeen years ago) link

Things I want on the DVD:

Cut/full versions of scenes. (Seeing how much was done with the editing will be a treat.)

Various press appearances for the film in character, including the Kazakh embassy crashing and showing up at the White House

Commentary track...in character. (If not that, then Baron-Cohen, Roach and Charles all sitting around bullshitting is fine too.)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 6 November 2006 20:33 (seventeen years ago) link

I don't see how he 'avoided' race, he never comments or otherwise editorializes on shit like that, he lets it speak for itself.

I also don't see this as a 'paler' version of the TV show, the disappointment i felt was only in how much it was LIKE the tv show - still felt like the plot was very well integrated.

deej.. (deej..), Monday, 6 November 2006 21:11 (seventeen years ago) link

i thought the hooker was a touch

she was in on it eventually, but whatever, imagine you're turning tricks one night in downtown atlanta and you get this call...

by the smile on her face in the final scene i'm naively assuming that they (SBC/producers) got her in touch with a life-changing sum of money...

i laughed. the running chicken gag. the wrestling scene. the wedding sack. oh dear.

beeble (beeble), Monday, 6 November 2006 22:30 (seventeen years ago) link

a source VERY close to the filmmakers told me Pamela WAS in on the joke. how else would they have done that without getting sued/arrested? also, a lawyer was on set for every single take, and they had the cops called on them around 60 times.
this movie is amazing -- i can't wait to see it again!

something less threatening (heywood), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 00:27 (seventeen years ago) link

Okay, that makes sense re: Pamela! Otherwise I figured we would have heard a huge stink about that whole thing...

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 00:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Beeble, the "hooker" was an actress.

I assume each and every one of these people must've given their consent to appear in the film, right? How on earth did they agree to that? Did the producers make them sign some agreement beforehand?

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 06:04 (seventeen years ago) link

poo. you just popped my santa claus moment - are you sure Tuomas?

i thought it was interesting that he treats all women like prostitutes except for the hooker who he gets all sweet and romantic on.

you can sign release after the event.

beeble (beeble), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 08:14 (seventeen years ago) link

I think they just got them to sign really vague, all-encompassing releases, but I could be wrong.

31g (31g), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 08:22 (seventeen years ago) link

This Slate article talks about it (some people have probably already seen it):

http://www.slate.com/id/2151865/

31g (31g), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 08:24 (seventeen years ago) link

"The next step was the release form. The producers usually pulled it out just before the cameras rolled, at a moment of maximum bustle
...
Most of the folks contacted by NEWSWEEK admit they barely read the release."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15175836/site/newsweek/page/2/

31g (31g), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 08:28 (seventeen years ago) link

I don't see how he 'avoided' race, he never comments or otherwise editorializes on shit like that, he lets it speak for itself.

Yeah, but he really doesn't try to fish out the racism in people like he does with antisemitism. He never asks the southerners about black people (not even in the civil war antique store), and when the frat boys talk about "minorities running this country", he stays uncharacteristically silent. I mean, if he really wanted to expose American bigotry, you'd think racism was a more obvious target than antisemitism?

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 10:13 (seventeen years ago) link

I thought that this was a funny film. My definition of a funny film is one that has at least 4 out-loud laughs in it apart from what's in the trailers. (Its shocking and disappointing that very few "comedies" have at least one). Whether it is great social commentary or satire....hmmm.

It did concern me that there were a lot of kids (10-15 yrs) at the screening I was at. Not necessarily because of the nudity or racy-ness of it all, but because of a feeling that they were misinterpretting .

I thought that the film was about backwardness (ie. apart from it being something to laugh at). Backwardness of some Central Asians, and of some Americans. The director could have found such backwardness in almost any country, but it does seem to have more of a point being filmed in the country which is the "leader of the free world". The backwardness in the USandA is less forgiveable then that of central Asia or eastern Europe.

I presume that a better (funnier?) Borat film will never be seen as I assume that many great scenes were probably excluded because of legal concerns.

peepee (peepee), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 15:15 (seventeen years ago) link

VIEWED: MIND-BLOWN

jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 15:56 (seventeen years ago) link

Tuomos yr nuts. He doesn't have to comment on the racism, it speaks for itself.

deej.. (deej..), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 16:09 (seventeen years ago) link

My definition of a funny film is one that has at least 4 out-loud laughs in it apart from what's in the trailers.

This is the same as Mark Kermode's. I never trust him when it comes to comedies.

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 16:27 (seventeen years ago) link

(it's weird how few British people seem to be on this thread)

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 16:27 (seventeen years ago) link

My definition of a funny film is one that has at least 4 out-loud laughs in it apart from what's in the trailers.

Hopefully, y'all understand that I'm not saying that this is my formula for a GREAT comedy. Its just that I've seen so many so-called comedies where a smile wasn't even cracked, so 4 oud-loud laughs is pretty good. Borat... had much more than 4.

peepee (peepee), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:07 (seventeen years ago) link

I think the antisemitism is supposed to be funny in a much different way than the racism stuff, but maybe I'm just reading too much Cohen into the character.

I though Sacha was married to a nice Jewish girl, kinda disappointed to hear he's engaged to an actress (from Wedding Crashers!) now.

Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:15 (seventeen years ago) link

the local tv news interview and the gypsy yard sale bit. and yet, at my screening, NO ONE laughed at these things.

the gypsy bit was weirdly hilarious, and very clever, the way he acts like you have to be authoritative but also cautious with gypsies, like "I am going to look through your treasures, gypsy. IS THIS OK?"

I have to say while I can see the point of the film exposing backward views or whatever, a lot of the impact seems to be in the fact that it makes racist or anti-semitic jokes, these jokes are powerful because they are seldom allowed to be made.

Once the setting has been made "ok" for people, then you get this raucous outpouring of laughter. Some of the "FUNNIEST MOVIE EVER" type reviews kind of make me feel this a bit more intensely, like people are laughing with the relief of being able to laugh at stuff that would normally be taboo.

I suppose you hope people think about how anti-semitic, sexist etc Borat is, I mean he's obviously a cartoon character, but I'm not sure that people ponder the fact that they just laughed at anti-semitism, maybe it doesn't matter.

I guess Borat brings out the worst in some of the Americans he speaks to, but then perhaps the film also exposes European attitudes towards Eastern Europeans...

Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:27 (seventeen years ago) link

Borat being pretty on point about racism if you ask me (admittedly this sequence was not in the move):

Borat (about black servant): "Is he your slave?"

Country Club Guy: "Oh no, we don't have slaves in America now. A law was passed years ago that we cannot use them for slavery. . . . which is good for them."

Borat: "Ah yes, but not so good for YOU!"

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:29 (seventeen years ago) link

Once the setting has been made "ok" for people, then you get this raucous outpouring of laughter. Some of the "FUNNIEST MOVIE EVER" type reviews kind of make me feel this a bit more intensely, like people are laughing with the relief of being able to laugh at stuff that would normally be taboo.

this is pretty otm, especially for the showing i saw (semi-rural, reddest state ever)

gbx (skowly), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:32 (seventeen years ago) link

The country club guy responds in agreement, too. xp

deej.. (deej..), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:32 (seventeen years ago) link

From the Bruno thread:

I haven't read a less than four-star review of it yet. And the majority were fives.
-- chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (joe.goode...)

Just so yr not missing this:

http://www.nypress.com/19/44/film/ArmondWhite.cfm


Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:38 (seventeen years ago) link

We talked about it upthread.

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:42 (seventeen years ago) link

I was waiting for this:

Mahir is suing.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 18:37 (seventeen years ago) link

ugh armond white

gear (gear), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 18:54 (seventeen years ago) link

I thought the Pam Anderson part was the most obviously staged bit (yes it was sorta distracting to wonder which parts were or not, but that's not really a fault of the movie itself). So if quite a few reasonably intelligent people here weren't sure about it, that shows that the staged bits in general were done very well. (guess it helps that some of the non-totally-staged parts, eg the frat dudes, were so over-the-top)

Chesty Joe Morgan (Chesty Joe Morgan), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 21:09 (seventeen years ago) link

I hope Mahir does not get any money out of this. If he does, then Steve Martin and Dan Ackroyd (aka the swinging Czech brothers) will be next!

shookout (shookout), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 21:16 (seventeen years ago) link

it's funny how ppl are talking like racism and anti-semitism are two completely different things!

J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 21:23 (seventeen years ago) link


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