Sacha Baron Cohen NPR Interview

Fresh Air from WHYY, January 4, 2007 · English comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen is best-known for his characters. They include a journalist from England named Ali G, and Bruno, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter.

His most famous character is Borat, a Kazakhstan reporter who stars in the controversial film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

All three characters were part of his Da Ali G Show.

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At last! Sacha Baron Cohen not in character! Awesome - check it out.

Frat Boys Lose Their Borat Lawsuit

VARIETY: Judge rules for 'Borat'
Latest motion focused mainly on future DVD release
By ASSOCIATED PRESS, NICOLE LAPORTE

The first verdict in the various legal tussles over "Borat" is in, and the winner is ... Borat.

On Monday a judge denied the request of two college fraternity brothers to have a scene in "Borat," in which they are shown drunk and making racist remarks, cut from the film. The men claim the footage has damaged their reputations.

Last month they sued 20th Century Fox and the film's producers, maintaining that they were intoxicated when they agreed to participate in the film and were falsely told that it would never be shown in the U.S.

A judge earlier denied their request to have the scene cut from the theatrical version of "Borat," but last week the plaintiffs were given another opportunity to request that the scene be cut from the "Borat" DVD.

In ruling against the duo Monday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Biderman said that they failed to show a reasonable probability of success on the merits of their case or that money damages alone would be insufficient to resolve their claims.

Lawyers for the men said the unbecoming scene in "Borat" had already cost one of the men a job at a corporation and the other a prestigious internship.

Fox mockumentary "Borat," written by and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, has grossed $120 million at the U.S. box office.

Verdicts are still pending in other "Borat"-related lawsuits. Two residents of a Romanian village filed a $30 million suit alleging that they agreed to participate in "Borat" because they were told it was a documentary about poverty in Romania. And Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred is seeking an investigation on behalf of client Cindy Streit, owner of an etiquette training service in Alabama who claims she was similarly misled into taking part in the film.

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So there you have it. Don't drink and sign waivers. Makes sense to me.

But if you think people are getting messed with now, wait'll all the inevitable copycats begin production. $120 million? Oh, yeah. There's going to be lot more drunken interviews. A LOT.