'Borat': Is he hilarious, or just offensive?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I found out that the Director is Larry Charles (Seinfeld). He was the lead writer for the show I worked on back in '99.

This sounds interesting, Steven! What show was this? What did you do?

The Dilbert Show...just the 2nd season - animator. We were on primetime but it was UPN. We had a great cast (Daniel Stern was the voice of Dilbert, Larry Miller was the boss, and Chris Elliot was Dogbert). I actually saw Larry Charles a few times and met him. That's my claim to fame.

[Jenn! 918]

I found out that the Director is Larry Charles (Seinfeld). He was the lead writer for the show I worked on back in '99.

This sounds interesting, Steven! What show was this? What did you do?

The Dilbert Show...just the 2nd season - animator. We were on primetime but it was UPN. We had a great cast (Daniel Stern was the voice of Dilbert, Larry Miller was the boss, and Chris Elliot was Dogbert). I actually saw Larry Charles a few times and met him. That's my claim to fame.

Wow! We have a celebrity in our midst, and I didn't even know! Did you meet the three actors that you mentioned too?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I found out that the Director is Larry Charles (Seinfeld). He was the lead writer for the show I worked on back in '99.

This sounds interesting, Steven! What show was this? What did you do?

The Dilbert Show...just the 2nd season - animator. We were on primetime but it was UPN. We had a great cast (Daniel Stern was the voice of Dilbert, Larry Miller was the boss, and Chris Elliot was Dogbert). I actually saw Larry Charles a few times and met him. That's my claim to fame.

Wow! We have a celebrity in our midst, and I didn't even know! Did you meet the three actors that you mentioned too?

I'm no celeb...I drive a Hyundai Excel..hehehe. I went to a couple of table reads where the actors would read the script. I talked with Larry Miller afterwards - he's a funny guy - loved animating the Boss. Did you ever watch the show?

http://imdb.com/title/tt0118984/

[mawilson 2,133]

'After Stalin we can survive Borat'

Borat, the obnoxious spoof Kazakh reporter, has put the central Asian nation in

the world spotlight, Kazakhstan's ambassador to Britain grudgingly admitted on

Saturday.

Erlan Idrissov said his country owed Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for

Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - which portrays Kazakhstan as a

nation full of backward racists who drink horse urine - some credit for making

millions of people aware that the ex-Soviet state even exists.

"In a sense, Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat's creator, has placed Kazakhstan on

the map," he said.

"The reality is that the only thing millions of people know about Kazakhstan - or

think they know - comes from Borat."

Idrissov said nearly two million Kazakhs were killed under Stalin's regime.

He wrote: "Having survived Stalin we will certainly survive Borat but please

understand why our laughter is selective."

[mawilson 2,133]

I wonder if anyone noticed that Ken Davitian (the actor who plays Azamat) spoke Armenian,

the people in Borat's supposed village spoke Romanian, and Borat himself spoke Hebrew

(or rather "Hibberish" = Hebrew + gibberish)?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I wonder if anyone noticed that Ken Davitian (the actor who plays Azamat) spoke Armenian,

the people in Borat's supposed village spoke Romanian, and Borat himself spoke Hebrew

(or rather "Hibberish" = Hebrew + gibberish)?

Davitian's hairy, naked 400lb body probably deserves the "R" rating all by itself.

[mawilson 2,133]

Davitian's hairy, naked 400lb body probably deserves the "R" rating all by itself.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Davitian's hairy, naked 400lb body probably deserves the "R" rating all by itself.

The guy is so fat that they don't even bother to black out his genitalia.

Did you notice that they blacked out Borats genitalia with a 12" line?

[mawilson 2,133]

The guy is so fat that they don't even bother to black out his genitalia.

They could have blacked out his big hairy balls, but unfortunately they didn't

and now I am scarred for life.

Did you notice that they blacked out Borats genitalia with a 12" line?

Yeah - he probably asked them to make it that big

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The guy is so fat that they don't even bother to black out his genitalia.

They could have blacked out his big hairy balls, but unfortunately they didn't

and now I am scarred for life.

That was extremely nasty. And it did look like they were resting on Borats face.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I'll give him credit. Sacha gave 110% for any joke in the movie. And using Pamela Anderson as his 'crush' was pure genius. Baywatch is one of the most seen American TV show across the world. So almost anyone watching the movie will know Pam-ela. Was she 'in' on the movie?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'll give him credit. Sacha gave 110% for any joke in the movie. And using Pamela Anderson as his 'crush' was pure genius. Baywatch is one of the most seen American TV show across the world. So almost anyone watching the movie will know Pam-ela. Was she 'in' on the movie?

I don't think so - I was in California when that made the evening news. There was talk of assault and kidnapping charges at the time.

As I said, he's certainly brave...

I'd be curious to know what his immigration status is after all that... Not to mention the indecent exposure.

I loved the bear in the ice-cream truck - had all those kids running for the hills!

Edited November 6, 2006 by erekose

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I'd be curious to know what his immigration status is after all that... Not to mention the indecent exposure.

money talks.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'd be curious to know what his immigration status is after all that... Not to mention the indecent exposure.

money talks.

No doubt.

[mawilson 2,133]

Despite 'Borat,' Kazakhs seek stronger ties with Israel

As Jewish British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's mockumentary about fictional

Kazakh TV reporter Borat rocketed to No. 1 in the US box office Friday, taking in

more than $9 million in a limited release, the Central Asian nation's deputy prime

minister, Karim Massimov, finished up a week-long round of diplomatic and business

meetings in Israel aimed at increasing cooperation between the countries.

Cohen's mother is Israeli, but the irony of Massimov's visit to the Jewish state in

light of the controversy surrounding Cohen's satiric film, Borat: Cultural Learnings

of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, seemed lost on local

and international journalists, who were content to report on how Kazakh oil funds

would be invested in projects in Israel and in the Middle East.

The fact that such a high profile movie portrays Kazakhstan as a nation of anti-Semites

who rank women lower than donkeys and drink fermented horse urine seemed to

be overlooked.

"Kazakhstan is an oil rich country and it is willing to cooperate more strongly with

Israel and other countries in the Middle East," said Massimov. He met with Prime

Minister Ehud Olmert, Deputy Premier Shimon Peres and other high-ranking

government officials and business people.

He said the relationship between Israel and Kazakhstan was "complimentary," adding

that this cooperation should increase.

Massimov said he had come "with a clear message from the president that

Kazakhstan was a moderate Muslim country that can offer a positive model to the

Middle East."

Olmert agreed, saying that the former Soviet republic was a good example of a

moderate Islamic nation.

"Kazakhstan can show a beautiful face of Islam," Olmert said. "Contemporary,

ever-developing Kazakhstan is a perfect example of both economic development

and interethnic accord that should be followed by more Muslim states."

The stir surrounding Cohen's comic take on Kazakhstan has fallen short of a major

diplomatic incident. In the past few months, leading up to the film's release, Kazakh

officials have told journalists that the London-born comedian had overstepped the

boundaries of humor and caused irreparable damage to Kazakhstan's image.

Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev told the Bild German newspaper last week

that the movie lampooned his country in an unacceptable manner. "Apart from the

name of our country and our flag, it has nothing to do with us. I also hope the people

in your country will not laugh at us, but that the film will arouse their interest. They

should come to our country and get to know the real Kazakhstan," Tokayev said.

In September, Cohen was turned away from the White House when, dressed as his

Borat character, he tried to invite "Premier George Walter Bush" to a screening of

the movie, according to Reuters. The comedian's stunt was timed to coincide with

an official visit by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Kazakhstan's foreign ministry recently ran ads on CNN and in The New York Times

and the International Herald Tribune trying to raise the country's profile and to assure

the West that, contrary to Borat's claims, theirs is not a nation of drunken anti-Semites.

Deputy Foreign Minister Rakhat Aliyev even asked Cohen to visit Kazakhstan to see

for himself that his comical skits were completely baseless. "I'd like to invite Cohen

here," he said in an interview in Kazakhstan Today. "He can discover a lot of things.

Women drive cars, wine is made of grapes, and Jews are free to go to synagogues."

On Saturday, AFP reported that Kazakhstan's ambassador to Britain, Erlan Idrissov,

grudgingly admitted that the Borat film had put his country in the world spotlight.

Source: Jerusalem Post