"Brüno" star Sacha Baron Cohen has made millions at the box office by angering unsuspecting victims with his human chameleon talents. Now, for the second time, his antics have drawn the ire of the Ukrainian government. Cohen has survived altercations with presidential candidate Ron Paul, hip hop superstar Eminem, and even Donald Trump, but his latest film has now been shown the door with a country-wide ban in the former Soviet state.
Ukraine's culture ministry objected to Cohen's "artistically unjustified exhibition of sexual organs and sexual relations, homosexual acts in a blatantly graphic form, obscene language, sadism, anti-social behavior which could damage the moral upbringing of our citizens," according to Reuters. Read more...
How weird is it that, out of Sacha Baron Cohen’s three trademark characters, Ali G is now the least famous of them all? With this past weekend’s strong “Brüno” opening, the UK-born and raised funnyman has once again fooled the world into believing that he is someone else. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess, but as we play Monday-morning quarterback there is an even more pressing question: is Cohen the greatest cinematic "chameleon" of all time?
There are few things I love more in a movie than when an actor fully immerses himself in another persona. Sometimes it’s for comedy, sometimes it’s for drama... but whatever the performance is in the name of, when done right it can make that performer a legend. Below are my favorite "chameleon" actors of all time. Post your thoughts in the comments section and tell us where SBC ranks among these greats or any others. Read more...
Tags ali g, batman, borat, bruno, gary oldman, Harry Potter, jon voight, mike myers, Peter Sellers, Pink Panther, the dark knight, transformers
With "Brüno" now officially released in the wilds, cultural satirist Sacha Baron Cohen has exhausted his stock of pre-existing alter-egos. Before the gay Austrian fashionista, there was Khazakhstani journalist Borat and hip hop culture "expert" Ali G, both of whom have already enjoyed silver screen outings of their own.
The three personas together formed the core of Cohen's HBO series "Da Ali G Show." While they've continued to provide him with a wealth of material to draw from in the subsequent movie spin-offs, the release of "Brüno" also means that Cohen is going to have to start exploring new directions in his work. Unless he somehow figures out a way to deliver a sequel, that is.
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A month or so back I tried -- unsuccessfully -- to launch a vintage MTV video series I had dubbed Bonus Content. It didn't take off for a variety of reasons, eventually falling by the wayside as a rush of big news overwhelmed us all. I still like the idea though, and with MTV's massive archive of footage, there's certainly plenty to choose from.
In honor of the release of "Brüno" this week, I've decided to revive and re-brand Bonus Content as Vintage Vids. This is some truly special video right here too. To celebrate the release of "Borat" in 2006, MTV invited Sacha Baron Cohen's Khazakhstanian alter-ego into the office to take over in the MTV Newsroom. The results were... well... they were pretty spectacular. Just watch and enjoy. Note that there are four clips here; they play one after another with an ad bump between each one, so make sure to watch them all!
"Brüno" hits theaters this Friday. Even without the La Toya Jackson scene, something tells me that Sacha Baron Cohen's latest outing will enjoy the same runaway success as its predecessor, "Borat." We may not be able to show you the whole movie, but we do have a couple of "Brüno" clips to whet your appetite in advance of the movie's release. Check it out in the video below or head over to MTV.com for all of our "Brüno" clips.
Sacha Baron Cohen -- known to many for his Ali G persona and to many more for his Borat persona -- is bringing his special brand of cultural commentary to silver screens once again in "Bruno." The broadcast premiere for the trailer is the Sunday at 11pm on MTV's "Behind the Screen." You should definitely tune in to check it out, since you'll also be able to catch "Land of the Lost" interviews with Danny McBride and Will Ferrell as well as a couple of other exclusive clips.
If you're reading this however, you are Internet-savvy enough to deserve this special treat: an early peek at the "Bruno" trailer. Funny stuff. Fans of Cohen's "Borat" are definitely going to get a kick out of his not-really-a-sequel. Now how about a few more episodes of "Da Ali G Show"?
One of the biggest movies of the summer won't have explosions or gunshots (that we know of, anyway), it'll be a low-budget comedy about a flamboyant Austrian fashionista. That's right, Sasha Baron Cohen is coming back to America with "Bruno," his follow-up to his wildly successful "Borat."
We won't see the full extent of his hijinx until July 10, but you can get a taste of what's to come in the first official one-sheet. Check it out in its full glory after the jump. Read more...
Has there been a force of nature that's hit theaters in the way "Borat" did in the past three years? It was so unexpected. So unstoppable. So refreshing. Could Sacha Baron Cohen possibly have done it again? "Bruno" can't possibly be what "Borat" was. After all, this time we know what to expect -- anything and everything. Still, the first glimpse of "Bruno" is here and it's hard to say it doesn't deliver. What do you think?
To back his upcoming interview antics in "Bruno", Sacha Baron Cohen created 30 or more fake companies, complete with detailed artificial websites, several of which have just vanished from the internet.
The Smoking Gun has been keeping a watchful eye on Cohen, spotting four fake film production companies online. Potential interviewees were directed to these sites in support of Cohen's new filmic alter ego, a flamboyant Austrian fashion critic, Bruno, who made regular appearances on "Da Ali G Show". Today, all four of those website have been erased, but records indicate that at least 27 additional companies have been registered by the actor. Read more...
You would think that after rolling around naked with Sacha Baron Cohen in "Borat," Ken Davitian would be looking for opportunities to work with his shirt ON. But, hey, whatever works, the affable 54-year-old joked, revealing exclusively to MTV News that he's set to star as "the big bad guy" in a spoof movie called "Hunting and Fishing."
"It's a spoof on '300’ from the same people [who made] 'Epic Movie' and 'Scary Movie,'" Davitian revealed. "It spoofs a lot of movies but the theme is the Spartan era. I'm like ['300’ villain Xerxes]."
We can't imagine King Leonidas would have much of a sense of humor about being spoofed by the "Epic Movie" guys (Sample line: "This is a FARTA!?!"), but the stick in the mud would then be the only one not laughing, Davitian assured. "It just keeps going and going but it's hilarious," he insisted. "When you read it and it's funny, then you know it's going to be even funnier." Read more...