andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Less than a week after it was reported that Beyonce was forced to severely tone down her liberated, subtly sexual performance in Malaysia , Kuala Lumpur officials deemed Bruno inappropriate for the population’s viewing, thestar.com reports. The National Film Censorship Board in Malaysia has cut off the public viewing of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s portrayal of a flamboyantly homosexual Austrian fashionista. The barrier-crossing film contained numerous clips of Cohen’s Bruno engaging in sexual acts with another man, along with scenes that included full frontal nudity and plenty of other excessively sexual scenes. Despite criticism of the films gratuitous sexual content, it was commercial success across North America.

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In a rare interview with Sacha Baron Cohen, yes Sacha, not one of his alter egos, the comedian revealed that he will be forever saying farewell to Borat, one of his most celebrated characters. He spilled the beans to the British News Paper “The Telegraph” earlier this week.

According to Cohen, Borat, the star of 2006’s “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” is too well known by the public, and it is impossible for Cohen to successfully trick anyone in costume.

Being that the bases of the comedy behind Borat and the Borat phenomenon was founded on the reactions of others, and because people are finding it easier to spot out the con, there have been very few chuckles coming out of it.

Even though Cohen announced that there would be a Borat sequel to follow the original, the actor now says that it is highly unlikely.

Bye-bye Borat. Adieu Ali G.

British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has announced he will retire his two outrageous but wildly popular alter egos.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Cohen says he is no longer able to dupe unsuspecting interviewees because the two personas ? hip-hop interviewer Ali G and Kazahk reporter Borat ? have become too well-known.

“The problem with success, although it’s fantastic, is that every new person who sees the Borat movie is one less person I ‘get’ with Borat again, so it’s a kind of self-defeating form, really,” Cohen said.

“When I was being Ali G and Borat, I was in character sometimes 14 hours a day and I came to love them, so admitting I am never going to play them again is quite a sad thing.”

The Cambridge University-educated Cohen first found fame with his cult hit “Da Ali G Show,” which featured amusingly politically incorrect interviews with unsuspecting guests ranging from David Beckham and Donald Trump to the Bishop of Horsham.

But it was “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” that catapulted Cohen to international stardom in 2006. The hit film saw the uncouth Borat journeying through the United States, gleefully offending people left and right.

Those mourning the farewell of Ali G and Borat can still catch Cohen in a cameo apperance in “Sweeney Todd,” Tim Burton’s film adaptation of the stage musical. Another one of Cohen’s alter egos, gay fashion reporter Bruno, will appear in his own big-screen production in 2008.

Borat’s summer blockbuster, entitled “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”, left audiences in stitches, however many people were also left with questions regarding the film’s participants. Were they really as clueless as they appeared, or were they just actors or eager civilians let in on a joke?

Well, look no further. The proof is in the lawsuit.

Michael Psenicska, the driving instructor who Borat innocently asks to be his boyfriend, is filing a formal lawsuit against the actor who played Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen, and 20th Century Fox.

Psenicska’s lawyers are arguing that the driving instructor, a math teacher who has also taught driving for 32 years, would have never agreed to participate in such a film had he known what it was. According to Psenicska’s lawyer, the crew had asked Psenicska to sign a release stating that the major Hollywood film was actually a documentary about new immigrants to America, and would only be shown overseas.

“He signed a release, and we have an agreement,” 20th Century Fox spokesman, Gregg Brilliant, said. “Now, two and a half years after giving his consent and more than one year after the movie was released, Mr. Psenicska has decided to file a lawsuit, citing the financial success of the film, in spite of our agreement.”

Psenicska is asking $100,000 in compensatory damages, despite the fact that he was one of the only misinformed participants who was actually depicted in a favourable light.

Johnny Depp won Best Performance and Sacha Baron Cohen won Best Comedic Performance at the MTV Movie Awards Sunday night.

Winners:
BEST MOVIE
* Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Walt Disney Pictures)

BEST PERFORMANCE
* Johnny Depp- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Walt Disney Pictures)

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
* Jaden Smith- The Pursuit of Happyness (Sony Pictures)

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
* Sacha Baron Cohen- Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (20th Century Fox)

BEST KISS
* Will Ferrell & Sacha Baron Cohen- Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Sony Pictures)

BEST VILLAIN
* Jack Nicholson- The Departed (Warner Bros. Pictures)

BEST FIGHT
* Gerard Butler vs. “The Uber Immortal”- 300 (Warner Bros. Pictures)

BEST SUMMER MOVIE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN YET
* Transformers (Paramount Pictures)

mtvU BEST FILMMAKER ON CAMPUS AWARD
* Josh Greenbaum (University of Southern California) – “Border Patrol”

BEST MOVIE SPOOF
* United 300 – Andy Signore, Ambler, Pennsylvania

Borat star SACHA BARON COHEN has dubbed the preparation for his role in TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY as “the worst experience” of his life.

The comedian/actor, who plays Frenchman Jean Girard in the Will Ferrell-fronted movie, insists posing as a racing driver was a tough task – because the high speeds were frightening.

He says, “The first thing they did was to get a driver to drive me around the track. You sit in the passenger seat and you are going 180 miles per hour. I was screaming like a little girl.

“For the film, I had to turn it into a ‘Yes! Yes!’ It was the worst experience of my life.”

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

Borat star SACHA BARON COHEN has reportedly emerged as the frontrunner to portray tragic QUEEN frontman FREDDIE MERCURY in a biopic produced by ROBERT DE NIRO.

The funnyman has beaten his Sweeney Todd co-star Johnny Depp for the lead role after impressing the film’s producers, reports British newspaper The Sun.

An insider says, “Filmmakers are working flat out to get the best possible script. Sacha loves the idea he can get away with playing Freddie after modelling Borat’s look on him.”

Mercury died from an AIDS-related illness in 1991. He was 45.

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

BORAT star SACHA BARON COHEN is to be honoured with the first Outstanding Achievement Award from the organisers of Hollywood’s Israel Film Festival.

The Jewish funnyman will be the guest of honour at the launch of the 2007 festival next week.

Israel Film Festival director MEIR FENIGSTEIN says, “This was his year and we couldn’t have chosen a better person to recognise.”

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

SACHA BARON COHEN will not be a presenter at Sunday’s Academy Award ceremony, because he could not appear as his famous character BORAT SAGDIYEV.

Baron Cohen has been reluctant to make appearances as himself, preferring to do interviews as the star of the faux documentary BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN.

Oscar broadcast producer LAURA ZISKIN tells the Los Angeles Times, “He was asked, but he declined.”

There had been speculation that the comedian’s participation in the ceremony would bring a welcome shot of excitement to the broadcast.

Baron Cohen’s acceptance speech at the Golden Globe ceremony last month was one of the most talked-about events of the night.

When he won an acting award, he paid homage to his co-star KEN DAVITIAN’s naked backside, which was part of a memorable moment in the film.

Although Baron Cohen passed on presenting, he could still appear on stage if the film wins for Best Adapted Screenplay.

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

Talks of a sequel to blockbuster comedy BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN are premature.

On Thursday media tycoon RUPERT MURDOCH revealed Borat, which made $250 million worldwide for the boss of distributor 20th Century Fox, would be back.

However, a spokesperson for the film company stressed they have yet to strike a deal with funnyman SACHA BARON COHEN to reprise his wildly successful alter-ego.

He says, “We’re eager to work with Sacha again, and we’ve had casual discussions about a sequel, which we’d love to do, but at this point, it remains too preliminary to discuss.”

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.