An astronaut in a giant white suit stands next to an American flag on the moon’s surface: one of America’s -- and MTV's -- most iconic images. Photos and footage of Neil Armstrong’s first walk on the moon 40 years ago changed the way people all around the world looked at space. It also sparked a heated debate over whether the moon landing was staged or not, one that continues to leak through in pop culture even today.
It didn’t take long after the 1969 landing for doubters to start stepping out. In fact, a public opinion poll conducted by the Gallup organization once showed that more than 6% of Americans believed the landing to be an elaborate government hoax. Read more...
"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...
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.
Read more...
One of the shining moments at this year's MTV Movie Awards came when the half-dressed gay Austrian fashion reporter Brüno dropped into the crowd after a technical mishap... and right onto Eminem's head. It was a little worse than that actually: the fashionista hit Em's lap in an awkward position, with his legs wrapped around the rapper's head. Check it here:
Eminem's reaction was... well... let's just say he was a bit miffed. He later revealed however that the whole thing was a big joke: "Sacha [Baron Cohen, a.k.a. Brüno] called me when we were in Europe, and he had an idea to do something outrageous at the Movie Awards. I'm a big fan of his work, so I agreed to get involved with the gag," the rapper said. "I'm thrilled that we pulled this off better than we rehearsed it. It had so many people going 'nuts,' so to speak. Everyone was blowing me up about it."
Joke or not, Brüno still harbors some anger at Eminem's reaction. Read more...
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!
FROM MTV.COM: "Brüno" is both a confirmation of Sacha Baron Cohen's startling comic brilliance and a proof of its limitations within his current format. The movie is less irritating than "Borat," his last exercise in guerrilla humiliation: Here, instead of simply ridiculing blameless Romanian peasants and unsuspecting everyday Americans, Cohen adds a new target — the great puffed-up world of celebrity and its glittery, often clueless inhabitants. Early on, we see the star at a Milan runway show, interviewing a model about her job. "It's really hard, isn't it?" he asks, deviously sympathetic. When she responds with "It's very hard," you wish the whole movie had focused on the international fabulatti.
But then we'd be deprived of Cohen's spectacular, mega-tasteless physical comedy. His character this time out, as even blameless Romanian peasants must know by now (to their relief), is Brüno, the flamboyantly gay host of an Austrian TV fashion show called Funkyzeit.
Continue reading 'Brüno': Celebrity Holocaust, By Kurt Loder
You already know Borat. You're about to know Brüno. Some of us already know Brüno, perhaps a little too well in Eminem's case. Did you know that there's another famous Sacha Baron Cohen character lurking in the depths of pop culture's murky waters? In his own words, I be talkin' 'bout me main man, Ali G.
As portrayed by Cohen, the British "journalist" called Ali G is a lewd, disrespectful and typically unintelligent personality, showing up for interviews in his trademark attire: baggy clothes, skull cap, yellow sunglasses and various rings and chains. Still, the Cohen character managed to land one-on-ones with several high profile personalities in the entertainment industry, politics and other areas of life. Read more...
If you've witnessed any episode of HBO's "Da Ali G Show," the 2006 film "Borat" or its upcoming spiritual follow-up "Brüno," then it'd be very easy to come to the conclusion that Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedic chameleon without equal. You would be wrong though. There also a not-so-little somebody that may or may not have gone by the name of Andy Kaufman.
Like Cohen, Kaufman's entire routine depended on the idea of deception: deceiving his co-stars and unwitting participants at times, but always shocking his audience in one form or another. The two entertainers had their own sets of characters but the alter-ego personas definitely share some common traits, if only in method and on a thematic level. Read more...
FROM MTV.COM: The last time Brüno got in front of MTV's cameras, he swooped down from the rafters at the Movie Awards like some S&M-possessed angel and plunged onto Eminem's head, setting off a melee of flying feathers and angry bodyguards and creating one of the most unforgettable moments in the show's 18-year history.
So when MTV News caught up with Brüno on Tuesday during a MySpace-sponsored screening of his upcoming movie, we wanted to know what the Austrian fashion guru had to say about the infamous encounter with Em. Not surprisingly, he had some fightin' words left over after the May awards show.
Continue reading Brüno Imagines Landing On Robert Pattinson Instead Of Eminem
FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: With the passing of famed fashion critic Mr. Blackwell, there’s a new style cop in town and his name is Brüno. And, if you thought that Blackwell’s quips about the best and worst of celebrity fashion seemed harsh at times, then you really need to press play above to see what the outlandish character told MTV News about some of Hollywood Crush’s favorite celebrities.
And, brace yourselves, Brüno — the titular star of the comedy out this Friday — who surprised the crowd at the BAM screening last night (an event that was part of the MySpace Black Curtain Screening series), isn’t afraid to say the things that will surely make you cringe and laugh at the same time.
Continue reading Bruno Sizes Up The Fashions Of Robert Pattinson, Miley Cyrus, Sacha Baron Cohen & More!
