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Brüno

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Brüno
Promotional film poster
Directed byLarry Charles
Written byScreenplay:
Sacha Baron Cohen
Anthony Hines
Dan Mazer
Jeff Schaffer
Story:
Sacha Baron Cohen
Peter Baynham
Anthony Hines
Dan Mazer
Produced bySacha Baron Cohen
Jay Roach
Dan Mazer
Monica Levinson
StarringSacha Baron Cohen
Alice Evans
Gustaf Hammarsten
CinematographyAnthony Hardwick
Wolfgang Held
Edited byScott Davids
James Thomas
Music byErran Baron Cohen
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
July 10, 2009
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
LanguageEnglish

Brüno is a mockumentary comedy film slated for release on July 10, 2009.[1] It is produced by, cowritten by, and stars Sacha Baron Cohen as the eponymous flamboyant gay Austrian fashion journalist. This film is the third based on characters from Da Ali G Show, following Ali G Indahouse and Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

In the U.S. Brüno was initially rated NC-17 by the M.P.A.A. for sexual content, but the film was reclassified to an R rating after Universal Pictures edited more sexually explicit scenes.[2] It received an 18 rating by the BBFC. The film originally received an R 18+ rating in Australia (The highest possible film rating in Australia), but was re edited and is now rated MA 15+.

Production

In the course of filming the movie, Baron Cohen performed an interview with former Mossad agent Yossi Alpher[3] and a Palestinian man about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The subjects were unaware of the farcical nature of the interview which included questions that deliberately conflated Hamas and hummus and indicated that the conflict is between Jews and Hindus.[4]

On June 6, 2008, a riot ensued at a stunt orchestrated by Baron Cohen and the producers of the film as they staged a "Blue Collar Brawlin'" in Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S.. Patrons were lured to an event billed as cage fighting, held at a convention centre, by print and Craigslist advertisements, promoting "hot girls", $1 beer and $5 admission. Approximately 1500 people attended the event, and were greeted by signs that informed them that they were being filmed. No mobile phones, video, or cameras were allowed inside. Instead of hot girls and cage fighting, the acts taking place became homosexual in nature, and people threw chairs and beer at the performers. The performers were Brüno (Baron Cohen) under the ironic gimmick, "Straight Dave" and Gustaf Hammarsten portraying his opponent.[5][6]

In July 2008, Tyler, Texas television station KETK-TV was approached by a "documentary film-maker," who was allowed to bring a crew to interview a few members of the staff, including news director Neal Barton and sports director Danny Elzner. They signed releases and expected to be talking about small-town news in the United States. Instead, the interviews conducted by the flamboyant Brüno character drifted towards uncomfortable topics, including homosexuality. [7]

In September 2008, video and photographs were released showing Baron Cohen (in character as Brüno) storming the cat-walk during an Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada fashion show in Milan. Baron Cohen managed to walk down the run-way for a few moments before lights were dimmed and security guards escorted him away. This occurred after Baron Cohen and his crew were allegedly stopped by security while attempting to enter back-stage at two other shows during Milan's fashion week.[8]

On November 2, 2008, Baron Cohen, dressed as Brüno, and his film crew were spotted at a Los Angeles rally in support of California's Proposition 8.[9] Though he appeared to fool most, he was recognized by some at the rally and whisked away before he could be interviewed by reporters. On November 7, while appearing as an extra in a scene for Medium, Baron Cohen interrupted a scene in character and was removed from the set. Production on the episode was shut down temporarily.[10]

The production team also deceived former presidential candidate Ron Paul into being interviewed by Brüno by posing as an Austrian T.V. reporter looking to question the congressman about economic issues. According to sources at Slate magazine, the interview starts out normally, but after a staged technical error, Brüno suggests he and Dr. Paul wait in the other room while the crew fixes a light. It is there that Brüno turns on music and begins dancing, which Ron Paul ignores at first. However, as soon as Brüno drops his pants, the congressman storms out of the room. A spokeswoman for Paul commented on the incident. She said Baron Cohen's people were very deceptive in their tactics. At the time, she thought they were "legitimate," but now confesses to some concern. "I'm familiar with his work, so you can imagine how I feel about it," she said. Jesse Benton, senior vice president of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty organization and former campaign spokesman for Paul, said Paul was not familiar with Baron Cohen's program, Da Ali G Show. "If it's not on hard-core financial news, he doesn't follow it," Benton said. But, he added, "It sounds like it's going to be pretty funny."[11]

Baron Cohen suffered a severe reaction to hydrogen peroxide after bleaching his extra topical hair in preparation for the role of Brüno. Although the incident temporarily slowed the production of the movie, he suffered no long-lasting injuries.[12]

Though the film was originally slated for a May 15, 2009 release,[13] the release was later moved to July 10, 2009.[1]

Upon its initial review by the Motion Picture Association of America, the film was given an NC-17 rating.[14] However, it has been suggested that Sacha Baron Cohen and the film's producers purposefully included material which would guarantee such a rating in order to drum up publicity for the film.[15] It is being reedited to qualify for an R rating with the possibility of deleted scenes reinserted for an Unrated DVD release.[16]

Promotion

In a publicity stunt at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Sacha Baron Cohen appeared as Brüno to present the award for Best Male Performer. Dressed as a winged angel wearing a jockstrap and white go-go boots, he was suspended on wires and flew over the audience towards the stage. However, before he made it to the stage, he fell and landed on rapper Eminem, with his head in Eminem's lap and his buttocks in front of Eminem's face. Eminem shouted "Are you fucking serious?" and "Get this motherfucker off me!" with the live censors unable to completely block the profanity in his outburst, until they completely cut off the audio (this despite the event being staged).[17] Eminem and his entourage then walked out of the show and didn't return. It was later revealed that Eminem and Cohen had staged this whole event, even rehearsing it beforehand to make sure it went off without a hitch.[18]

Release

The film will receive an early release in Australia on Wednesday July 8. The film will then be released internationally on July 10.

They forgot another person in the movie.The part where Bruno slaps a girl named Mandeq Ousman Hassan will be cut.

Reception

Reviews

Reviews of the premier screenings of Brüno have received universal acclaim. Some reviewers declared that Brüno is funnier and more shocking than Borat.[19] The Telegraph gave the film "4 stars out of 4" saying "impossible not to laugh and also praising Brüno's controversial style of comedy."[20] The BBC also gave the movie a positive review saying "Bruno pushes the boundaries further than Borat ever did." However, they also said that "It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea" due to the offensive nature of the movie.[21]

Controversies

On May 22, 2009, Richelle Olson sued Cohen, claiming an incident filmed for the film at a charity bingo tournament left her disabled.[22]

Title

Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt was a mock-title proposed by Hollywood-news and gossip blog Defamer[23][24] and mistakenly reported as genuine by a number of sources of film information, including the Daily Star[25], The Irish Times and The Guardian.[26]

Michael Jackson incidents

Following the sudden death of Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009, a scene from Brüno was hastily removed from the film before its Hollywood premiere later that evening. The scene involved Brüno tricking La Toya Jackson into an interview, where he asked her to take a seat on hunched over Mexican workers substituting for chairs, and invited her to eat sushi from the back of a naked man. Brüno then proceeded to steal her mobile phone in order to get her brother, Michael's phone number. The scene was later confirmed to be removed from the film permanently.[27]

Further controversy arose when preparation for the premiere caused Michael Jackson's Hollywood Walk of Fame star at Grauman's Chinese Theatre to be temporarily covered over, disturbing fans who had come to pay their respects. Fans proceeded to gather at a different Michael Jackson's star instead.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b McClintock, Pamela (2009-01-25). "Universal bumps 'Bruno' to July". Variety. RBI. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  2. ^ "MPAA gives 'Bruno' NC-17 rating". Variety. Variety. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  3. ^ Mossad agent is latest dupe of Baron-Cohen
  4. ^ What Kind of Interviewer Confuses Hamas and Hummus?
  5. ^ "Bruno" Pranks It Up
  6. ^ Gustaf Hammarsten - stjärna med rätt att tiga
  7. ^ NewsBlues - Brüno Dupes KETK (Subscription Required). July 11, 2008
  8. ^ VIDEO: Sacha Baron Cohen Hashim Malik held by police after outrageous stunt on Milan catwalk | Mail Online Accessed September 26, 2008.
  9. ^ | Chicago Tribune Accessed November 4, 2008
  10. ^ Ausiello, Michael (November 7, 2008). "Exclusive: Bruno (a.k.a.) Sacha Baron Cohen Disrupts 'Medium'", EW.com, Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. Retrieved on November 19, 2008.
  11. ^ "Ron Paul's insane cameo in Sacha Baron Cohen's upcoming Bruno movie" Slate.com. March 16, 2009.
  12. ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/article2418138.ece
  13. ^ "Universal sets a date for 'Bruno'." Variety.com. June 17, 2008.
  14. ^ http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b106674_bruno_ambushed_by_nc-17_rating.html
  15. ^ Saunders, Robert A. (April 1, 2009). ""Bruno NC17? The Marketing Campaign Has Begun." The Many Faces of Sacha Baron Cohen. Retrieved on April 1, 2009.
  16. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7975007.stm
  17. ^ http://www.fhm.com/reviews/music/eminem-and-bruno-engage-in-a-69-at-the-mtv-awards-20090601
  18. ^ http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/06/sources-eminembruno-stunt-on-mtv-movie-awards-was-staged.html?xid=rss-feed-todayslatest-Eminem+vs.+Bruno+staged%3A+Sources
  19. ^ http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/film-23373524-details/Bruno/filmReview.do?reviewId=23709056 This is London Bruno Review (18 June 2009)
  20. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/sacha-baron-cohen/5570132/Bruno-review.html The Telegraph Bruno Review (18 June 2009)
  21. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8106729.stm BBC Bruno Review (18 June 2009)
  22. ^ [1]
  23. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (2008-06-18). "The Curious Case Of The Fake Defamer 'Bruno' Title That Ate The Internets". Defamer. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  24. ^ Graham, Mark (2006-10-30). "Universal Bets $42 Million That Sacha Baron Cohen Can Continue To Taunt Middle America With Naive-Foreigner Characters". Defamer. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  25. ^ Borat’s in the Khazi
  26. ^ In brief: Bruno to debut in May next year
  27. '^ http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/06/bruno-michael-jackson.html Bruno': Michael Jackson-related scene permanently cut from film, Entertainment Weekly (26 June 2009)
  28. ^ http://laist.com/2009/06/26/crowds_gather_around_michael_jackso.php
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