NEWS: "Borat" Theatrical Release Forms Revealed

CULTURE: "Borat" Theatrical Release Forms Revealed

Every day it seems there is a new lawsuit against Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen's phenomenally successful (if somewhat manipulative) alter ego. The liquored-up Frat Boys, the manners coach, and now the entire town of Glod, Romania are all working on a legal lynching of Cohen to repair the damage done from being one of Borat's unwitting actors. TMZ has obtained the film's release agreement, and a cover letter that includes:

There it is you stinky, drunk, racist, exceptionally well-mannered armless goat herders, the proof is there...You read it, you signed it, now Borat has your eternal soul. So back off.

Or are Borat's co-stars truly victims and should be compensated for the scam?

It aint out here 'till Thursday, and I cant fuckin' wait.

That one old man was just... the fucking worst.
The ONLY people I felt bad for in the entire movie were the really old Jewish couple.
Though that scene was really goddamn funny.

I think the entire movie is a disgrace and I regert giving my money to this idiot. He does nothing more than a "Jackass" style satire of American culture. He has done nothing to explain why he chose the locations of his flm and remains in character when he goes to talk shows. I wont lie and say I ddin't laugh but I wanted to leave after about 5 minutes of the film.

BTW, I felt bad for the jewish couple, the people in the elevator, conference and even the christians that he mocks. I know a lot of people take issue with fundamental churches but they are trying to fix a serious problem in our society and culture. I just happen to disagree with their methodology but I see the same problems.

Keri, were you surprised by how your town acted? I think they realized he was a freak after a couple lines but clapped because he was talking about the President and War.

omg. that movie RULED. i dont think i have said "Oh my god" more in my life. sooo funny. but yes, i did feel bad for the Jewish couple. they were soooo sweet.

Ha ha, those idiot frat boys aren't going to see a dime! MWAH HA HA HAHHH!!!!

Sacha Baron Cohen is my hero.

How do you think I felt sitting in the theater in my hometown of Greenville, SC during the frat boys scene? I am from South Carolina and lived here most all my life, please believe we are not all drunk fat racists.

I'm from Atlanta, and people actually started cheering in the theatre when it showed him going into download ATL. Not that anything particularly wrong happened in the ATL scene.. it was probably one of the least offensive parts (unless you were the guy working at the hotel)

Anyway, that movie cracked me up. Definatly one of the best I've seen all year.

I know you are not all drunk fat racists but remember that these kids were bombed out their minds and signed a legal document while intoxicated. That folks is illegal. If it is proven that Cohen or the other producers had them sign while intoxicated then they will win their case and Borat will go down in flames.

I used to hang out with frat guys during college and trust me they'd say some of the most idiotic things imaginable after a case of beer or a 1/5 of vodka. I would always laugh at them and get into an argument. I mean I was the antiwar progressive college kid so I engaged people. I never decided to shame them, their community, college, and fraternity. Thats a big deal.

Also, have any of you even consider that he insulted an entire culture and nation in Kazakhstan? I have a friend from there and she is pissed about the movie.

I also can't stand shows like Jackass, Bam and whatever else is on MTV nowadays.

I know right!!!!!
The South is constantly shit on.
<sigh>
I always find it interesting though that when non southern people come here they end up loving it. Greenville is one of the most culturally diverse business cities in the world with two major foreign based companies making their North American headquarters here (Michelin and BMW).

Same thing happened in the theater I saw it in. I was actually a bit disappointed that he didn't hit the Atl a little harder.

Maybe you should.

I found it funny that the New Yorkers were assholes with very little provocation and the southerners bent over backwards while he did some outlandish shit (with the exception of that one hotel.)

He wasn't making them drink, he wasn't pouring liquor down their throats, they chose to drink.

Kazakhstan should get a sense of humor. This movie made our country look ignorant, everyone knows that he's kidding about Kazakhstan. I was sitting there hoping that the rest of the world doesn't think that all of us are like that......

Maybe you should.

Maybe I should have engage them in honest convos about the world and try to show them how their thinking was and is incorrect. Maybe its best to engage the problem isntead of mocking people which makes them more defensive. And maybe I'm one of the few people on this site who thought that this movie was a disgrace. I at least know that my friends agreed that it deserved one star but that the couldn't stop laughing at certain scenes.

If only life were so simple that I could shame an entire organization based on the actions of a few people. We've tried that once at my school and some of the people I knew received death threats and left campus. I had my car fucked with and another friend had his car egged. The egging part wasn't a huge deal but it was done b/c he looked Arab.

We were also going afte the military 2 months after 9-11. Not the best time.

Frats are not all evil and neither are all the people who join them. One of my antiwar buddies back in 2001 was in a frat.

So like I said earlier Borat shows how low our culture has gone. Including the people who are relishing the humiliation of others. Are we so different than them now? We are laughing and enjoying the humiliation of other people and enjoying the fact that Borat attacks Jews, women, gays, and retards. Or are we only laughing at the people who agree with him?

The satirical humor of the movie works because most of us viewers realize sweeping generalizations are not accurate and often inappropriate, yet can be hilariously outragous when exposed in certain ways - when certain stereotypes are played out for all to see. If you really believe most people are going to sit around ridiculing everyone from Greenville, SC becuase of 3 drunk guys in an RV, you do not give us enough credit.

The Kazakh Government obviously doesn't realize this, otherwise they would used the popularity of this movie to educate the world about Kazakhstan. Perhaps they should have developed a tourism campaign around a fake Borat who "shows us the real Kazakhstan" instead of exposing their self-esteem issues to the rest of the world.

All of us are responsible for keeping the fictions in the movie fiction and the reality real.

But maybe, just maybe, wearing hats that say "COCKS" on them isn't the best way to garner immediate respect from absolute strangers. Even if you can't judge a book by its cover, people always do. It's sort of shooting yourself in the foot. Simply a suggestion.

Since the movie made a ton of money, it would be nice if he gave some dough to some of the good sports in the film. I'm thinking the Jewish couple (actually filmed in my hometown in Mass.), the dinner party, the feminists.

He wasn't making them drink, he wasn't pouring liquor down their throats, they chose to drink.

Kazakhstan should get a sense of humor. This movie made our country look ignorant, everyone knows that he's kidding about Kazakhstan. I was sitting there hoping that the rest of the world doesn't think that all of us are like that......

You do make a good point but I've also heard 'progressives' decry the use of alcohol to make girls go onto Girls Gone Wild and its imitators videos. I don't think that either is right and think that you should be of sound mind when you sign a release form. Now if what GGW is legal then its possible that my entire argument is done b/c those girls probably sign waivers while they are piss drunk.

About Kazakhstan, the government of Kazakhstan is pissed that Borat chose them with out asking for permission. I'm 99% sure that the is one of the major problems they have with his movie. Borat makes them look like they are rabid anti-semites and rural idiots which to some extent is true. Hell Russia was considering a ban on the movie because it had insulted Kazakhstan. So yea it is a big deal to a lot of people. Its like cracking a racist joke and telling your black friend to get a sense of humor.

Another point: I think the true brilliance of this movie is how it forces us to question what was real what is meant to look real. We all know the reality TV isn't "real". The movie comments on our own desires to be fooled and - especially - to be entertained.

It's interesting to question who was actually in on the joke, the ficition, and who wasn't. I imagine the nice jewish couple was eventually let in on the joke. I also think the southern woman who show's Borat how to wipe his ass was eventually let in on the joke, at least partly, becuase no matter how tolerant you want to be, what refined southern woman would actually take the time to give a lesson on asswiping to an adult man who's a guest in her own home. Clearly the prostitute was an actress. I'm sure Pamela Anderson was in on the joke, - why else would she be there without her own private security - though I doubt the security guards were. And therein lies the humor.

As time goes on, and lawsuits go on, we'll probably learn more about who knew and who didn't. But in the meantime, if I were Borat, I wouldn't be too concerned about losing many of your millions in lawsuits that are unwinnable. I'm sure the Kazakh government lawyers vetted those contracts with a fine tooth comb....and if not, there's always the secret police.

Or maybe they signed it before they were drunk.

Sensible people will just laugh off the film. The President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev was quoted as saying: "The film was created by a comedian so let's laugh at it - that's my attitude." The BBC has a good few articles about the brouhaha starting at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6168848.stm .

Any publicity is good publicity, and the more these people try to sue the more people will be so curious to see what they are sueing over that they will continue to flock to the theaters.

I saw Borat and laughed heartily, but no matter how you reacted to it you must admit it was executed superbly.

And the fact that Sacha Baron Cohen is a highly obersvant jew makes all the Jewish jokes even funnier. No one escapes the jokes, not even Borat himself.

You are way off base defending the a-holes in this movie. The thing about Borat is, it does not make fun of america, it lets america make fun of itself. Why woudl it bother you unless you agree with such statements from the film as: 'Yeah we really should have slavery' and 'the minorities got more rights than we do!' or the car salesman who is willing to talk about murdering gypsies in the car to make a sale, the old f'er who said they should execute gays here. Borat did not make them say that shit they chose to.

If you don't like being revealed as an asshole, try not being such a dick.

ps. as for the south being shit on... I agree and as soon as it stops being full of bible thumpers and racist rednecks and gay haters it might be treated with more respect. But then that could be said of a huge chunk of this country.