The Borat Movie

[pete]

if the poor gypsies weren't in on the joke, then yeah, that is something seriously wrong and hypocritical on the filmmaker's part, and they do deserved to be paid better--and whoever jr. economist wants to jump in and tell me "well, $3.30 is A LOT for the lazy gypsies" please go fuck a horse for minimum wage.  however, I really hope this lawsuit doesn't give those frat guys any more validiity to their cause.  making fun of poverty is a sin, and making fun of privilege is a responsibility.

[MacGuffin]

'Borat' Might Become A Repeat Offender With Second Flick
Producer Jay Roach says sequel is already being discussed.
Source: MTV

Just when you thought it was safe to help that pleasant but vaguely lost-looking tourist asking about your strange American customs ... he's back. Well, not back quite yet. But Borat, the most famous pseudo-Kazakhstani in the world, may indeed one day return to movie screens, its producer told MTV News exclusively.

"Borat" debuted November 3 and, in its opening weekend, scooped up a jaw-dropping $26.4 million on only 837 screens (a fraction of a typical wide release). And ever since that happened, you can bet that 20th Century Fox, the studio behind the surprise hit, has been salivating for more. Now, according to "Borat" producer Jay Roach, there is hope. "We've talked a lot about [a sequel]. We have talked about ideas to try different stuff," he said cryptically.

What those ideas are, Roach and the hard-to-crack "Borat" creator, Sacha Baron Cohen, are keeping to themselves. But it also seems likely that the creators simply have not yet devised a natural progression for the character. The key stumbling block for Borat, if he were to continue wreaking havoc on the big screen, is how does he maintain his anonymity? It would seem the game is over if people recognize Borat from a mile away.

Clearly it was much easier for the mustachioed Kazakhstani to catch innocent bystanders unaware when he wasn't the star of the #1 movie in America. Roach admitted it's a tall order from here on out for the once low-profile character but claimed there might be a plan up the filmmakers' sleeves. "It's definitely more difficult now, and I don't know if it's even possible to go out into the world, but we have ideas. We're sneaky, clever people," he laughed.

One aspect of a further Borat adventure is certain: it would once again take the lead character on a journey and not through a "Jackass"-like series of disconnected sketches. Roach said, "It would still be with as much of a long-form story and structure as we can come up with. It would be a story-based thing that has a whole three-act structure."

But where can another Borat story take him? Whether he would explore different parts of America ("Borat in Vegas," anyone?) or foreign territories remains unclear. And wouldn't Americans recognize the character this time around, after he's become so seemingly ubiquitous? "There are always insulated worlds where Borat can go either on this continent or others," Roach said.

Baron Cohen's opportunities are not limited to further "Borat" films. Immediately prior to his film's staggering opening, Universal Pictures made a very public play for the future endeavors of the actor, inking a $42.5 million deal to release a film about Brüno, another character made famous on HBO's "Da Ali G Show." Brüno, like Borat, is an improvised character by the British actor, one whose inappropriate comments and behavior bring out the worst in the company he keeps. A flamboyant fashion reporter from Austria, Brüno clearly will push buttons as Borat has, albeit in a different crowd.

Roach, who will also be the producer of the Brüno movie, told MTV, "The thing I like about Brüno is the world he travels in. It's the world of fashion and pop culture and it has all the various characters of that world — from outrageous diva fashion designers to Paris Hiltons." It is a far cry from the rodeo shows and frat boys Borat visited with, but Roach believed there will once again be ample opportunity for mockery. "The party scene and the life in that fashion fast lane sounds like a really great world for us to go into."

Still unknown is whether "Borat" director Larry Charles would return for a potential spinoff. Roach insists talk of a director is premature and admitted he would consider the opportunity himself.

But before any new films are put in the can, the next place you will likely see Baron Cohen is in the comfort of your own home — on the "Borat" DVD. And if producer Roach is to be believed, it could be as jam-packed as any "Lord of the Rings" special edition.

Roach revealed that tons of material was left on the cutting-room floor before the flick hit the theaters. "There was a five-hour cut that I laughed all the way through," he said. Shooting down reports that the material may find its way to HBO, Roach said, "There's no current plan other than to include some of it on the DVD."

So what have audiences been denied thanks to the brutal editing process? Roach cited a favorite montage of his that had Borat running out of money and looking for work, as well as a scene of him going through an immigration-orientation class alongside actual immigrants. "They were just trying to figure out their own way through the American culture and then they have this guy confusing them, and the American teacher is trying to point out that what he's saying is not correct. It's great," Roach enthused.

[polkablues]

Roach insists talk of a director is premature and admitted he would consider the opportunity himself.

Oh, god... he's going to turn it into "Meet the Sagdiyevs".  Just you wait.

[squints]

Its like a $24-million-an-episode Tom Green show

I wish Borat could cure world hunger. If only he could take the profits from his multi-million dollar movie to save a small country from poverty. Madonna could set an example by buying Africa.

[MacGuffin]

Woman in 'Borat' Seeks Investigation

The owner of an etiquette business who was handed a plastic bag supposedly containing feces in the hit movie "Borat" says she was told the filming would be used for a documentary in Belarus.

Cindy Streit said she filed a complaint Thursday with California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, requesting an investigation into possible violations of the California Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Streit said that a representative from a Los Angeles-based company called Springland Films contacted her Birmingham, Ala.-based company, Etiquette Training Services, about arranging an etiquette session for an "international guest from Belarus Television."

Attempts to find a contact for Springland were not successful. The company had no phone listing and Streit's lawyers declined to provide copies of the contracts allegedly signed.

The attorney general's office had not received a copy of the complaint, spokesman Nathan Barankin said late Thursday.

Streit said she arranged in Alabama both a sit-down session with Borat, played by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, and a dinner party with some of her friends. Clips of both appear in the movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit of Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

Though awkward at times, the dinner went well until Borat asked to use the bathroom, Streit said.

"I had taught him to excuse himself. He did that correctly and went upstairs," Streit told The Associated Press. "The next thing that happened is that he came down the stairs holding this plastic bag with whatever was in it."

"My horror was that he had brought a bag of feces to my dinner table," she said.

Springland put in writing that the second of two scheduled sessions "will be filmed as part of a documentary for Belarus Television and for those purposes only," said Gloria Allred, Streit's lawyer.

Streit, 59, said she requested an investigation by the attorney general instead of filing a lawsuit in hopes of setting a precedent that will make movie studios think twice before using other ordinary citizens for "reality movies." However, she said she wouldn't rule out a lawsuit.

Streit's demand follows complaints by others shown in the film, including a lawsuit filed by two fraternity members from a South Carolina university who appear in the film drunk.

[pete]

my god, pretty soon the whole cast of the film is going to sue borat.  he is going to get away the same way he got away all the previous times right?

[The Perineum Falcon]

No, I think I might sue him now.

[tpfkabi]

Its like a $24-million-an-episode Tom Green show

this is exactly what i have been thinking. a friend forwarded me an article saying the funniest men in the business were saying it was the funniest movie ever made, and i couldn't help but think the premise is more or less the Tom Green show.  granted, i have not seen it, maybe it really is hilarioius. i'm just not too interested.

[Pubrick]

i'm just not too interested interesting

fixed.

[ASmith]

this is exactly what i have been thinking. a friend forwarded me an article saying the funniest men in the business were saying it was the funniest movie ever made, and i couldn't help but think the premise is more or less the Tom Green show.  granted, i have not seen it, maybe it really is hilarioius. i'm just not too interested.

Someone who had never heard of Borat before might consider it the funniest movie ever, but otherwise that's a massive exaggeration.  It is great, though, and you should see it.  Or at least kill some time watching how Tom Green spends his time these days.  www.tomgreen.com

[MacGuffin]

Fox returns fire in fratboy 'Borat' spat
Studio, producers file opposition in response to lawsuit
Source: Variety

"Borat" is fighting back.

20th Century Fox and the producers of the Sacha Baron Cohen mockumentary have filed an opposition to a request for a preliminary injunction sought by fraternity brothers who want to shut down "Borat."

At least as it exists with them in it.

The opposition, filed Monday in the West Los Angeles courthouse of the California Superior Court, comes in response to a lawsuit filed by two members of a U. of South Carolina fraternity who claim they were drunk when they signed the consent form to appear in "Borat."

The frat boys are not the only ones upset over the pic, which has grossed over $90 million at the domestic B.O. Last week, Cindy Streit, who appears in the movie's Southern dinner-party scene, requested an investigation into how her consent was obtained. And Romanian villagers are filing lawsuits asking for more than $30 million in damages for being portrayed as boorish and backward in the film.

Several declarations are included in Fox's filing, one by Todd Lewis Schulman, a field producer on "Borat" who was responsible for booking the frat boys and issuing the consent release. In his statement, Schulman says, "We made it clear that we would be providing alcoholic beverages to the participants and therefore that anyone participating had to be over 21 years old." (One of the claims made by the fraternity brothers was that one participant was underage.)

Schulman continues: "I told them that we would pay them $200 each and they were going to be provided with as many alcoholic beverages as they cared to drink... They appeared to be very enthusiastic about that prospect."

Schulman then says that before filming, he accompanied the men to a restaurant where the men signed consent forms and then drank $100 worth of alcohol. "As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, I had each of them fill out and sign the so-called Standard Consent Agreement," Schulman says. "I made sure that they signed the Consent Agreement before they began consuming alcohol."

Included in the filing is a copy of the consent agreements, all signed by the participants.

The agreements show that each participant was paid $200 to appear in the film and that "the Participant agrees that any rights that the Participant may have in the Film or the Participant's contribution to the Film are hereby assigned to the Producer, and that the Producer shall be exclusively entitled to use, or to assign or license to others the right to use, the Film and any recorded material that includes the Participant without restriction in any media throughout the universe in perpetuity and without liability to the Participant."

In a statement by Chelsea Barnard, a field department coordinator on "Borat," Barnard says that Schulman called her from the restaurant to come pick up the release forms. "When I arrived, Todd handed me the signed release forms," she says. "Someone at the table made a comment indicating that they were on their second round of drinks. None of the participants appeared to me to be intoxicated."

The consent releases have been the main focus of complaints against "Borat." Yet legal experts say that if releases were in fact signed, the cases will be hard to prove.

"If there are signed releases, and if the releases are complete, then it will be a very big hurdle for anyone to overcome on the basis that they were defrauded," said entertainment attorney Alan Grodin. "And it will be an even bigger hurdle to prove that they were damaged."

[Bethie]

I've already seen Borat T-Shirts. This is all starting to remind me of the Napoleon Dynamite craze.

In a few months, none of us will like Borat.

[squints]

I doubt it. Napolean Dynamite didn't have BALLS!

[rustinglass]

I'm the president of the film club at my university and the distributor gave us five borat swimsuits for us to give away on contests. Those things are hilarious. And people want them! We have ping pong rackets as well.

[JG]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6723074