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Fraternity boys sue movie studio over appearance in "Borat"
San Jose Mercury News ^ | Nov. 10, 2006

Posted on 11/10/2006 4:35:50 AM PST by Wolfie

Fraternity boys sue movie studio over appearance in "Borat"

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - The joke was on two unsuspecting fraternity boys who thought they were being interviewed by a Kazakh reporter named Borat and made racist and sexist comments on camera.

But now that they've learned their encounter would appear in the No. 1 movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," they're not laughing anymore.

A lawsuit filed Thursday on their behalf claims they were duped into appearing in the spoof documentary and "engaged in behavior that they otherwise would not have engaged in."

"Borat" follows the adventures of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's Kazakh journalist character in a blend of fiction and improvised comic encounters as he travels across the United States and mocks Americans.

The plaintiffs were not named in the lawsuit "to protect themselves from any additional and unnecessary embarrassment." They were identified in the movie as fraternity members from a South Carolina university, and appeared drunk as they made insulting comments about women and minorities to Cohen's character.

The lawsuit claims that in October 2005, a production crew took the students to a bar to drink and "loosen up" before participating in what they were told would be a documentary to be shown outside of the United States.

"They were induced to agree to participate and were told the name of the fraternity and the name of their school wouldn't be used," said the plaintiffs' attorney, Olivier Taillieu. "They were put into an RV and were made to believe they were picking up Borat the hitchhiker."

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: South Carolina
KEYWORDS: borat; kazakhstan; lmakebigmoneyyes
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To: Wolfie

A nice not so PC movie? Time to leave the lady at home and see this one. Maybe bring some liberals so they can squirm?

If you can, find the Ali G interview with Posh Spice and Beckham on YouTube. I cried I was laughing so hard. Posh came off very relaxed about it - Beckham had a deer in the headlights look to him.


21 posted on 11/10/2006 5:38:40 AM PST by HotTubDave
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To: Wolfie

I've got about 50 cents of sympathy for the frat boys....the rest of me will say that is what you get when people are giving you free booze: they are out to take advantage of you.


22 posted on 11/10/2006 5:44:32 AM PST by fishtank
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

It's hilarious! Loved it.


23 posted on 11/10/2006 5:45:28 AM PST by ShandaLear (Perfect People Need Support, too.)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

I saw it on Wednesday, and when I saw these frat guys, I wondered if they knew they were going to be participating in this spoof. They don't come off looking very good.


24 posted on 11/10/2006 5:48:02 AM PST by IrishRainy (The only way BJ Clinton would have nailed bin Laden is if Ossama had been a White House intern.)
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To: MadIvan
I should point out that Alan Keyes is in the film. I suspect he knew it was all a big joke.

If Alan Keyes was in on it, and able to pull the expression he did on cue, then he's in the wrong line of work. He should be an actor.

25 posted on 11/10/2006 5:51:00 AM PST by Steel Wolf (As Ibn Warraq said, "There are moderate Muslims but there is no moderate Islam.")
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To: Steel Wolf

What did Alan Keyes do or say in the movie?


26 posted on 11/10/2006 6:00:25 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Funny, offensive... I'm shocked there isn't a fatwa on Borat's head though... unless he played the role accurately.


27 posted on 11/10/2006 6:13:21 AM PST by rwilson99 (95% of Al-Jazzera Viewers Agree... the world is less safe (for them) since 9/11)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Pretty much nothing... as soon as he realized something was up he shut up.


28 posted on 11/10/2006 6:15:11 AM PST by rwilson99 (95% of Al-Jazzera Viewers Agree... the world is less safe (for them) since 9/11)
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To: rwilson99

Laura Ingraham just said on her radio show that Borat is "beyond disgusting," and parents should not allow teenagers to see it. She said she can't get some of the images out of her mind. They were so disturbing.


29 posted on 11/10/2006 6:16:47 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

It's an R rated movie... of course teens shouldn't see it.

Medved gave it a thumbs up with a heavy "not appropriate for children" disclaimer.

There is a very fat, very naked man in the movie.


30 posted on 11/10/2006 6:18:53 AM PST by rwilson99 (95% of Al-Jazzera Viewers Agree... the world is less safe (for them) since 9/11)
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To: rwilson99

Teens will be seeing it as soon as it comes out on video, regardless of the R rating. Then it will be shown over and over on TV premium channels.


31 posted on 11/10/2006 6:22:04 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Howard Stern should be the one suing. Borat is such a rip-off of Stuttering John, it isn't funny.

A funny rip-off, but a rip-off never the less.


32 posted on 11/10/2006 6:29:47 AM PST by Loyolas Mattman
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Borat in Republican meeting. I aurprised he was able to keep talking.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuOYYCxLt_g


33 posted on 11/10/2006 6:34:58 AM PST by Orange1998
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To: Wolfie

I didn't like that movie. Some parts of it were funny, but a lot of it was just gross and offensive. I'd say the best part of watching it was that it included a great trailer for 'Reno 911: Miami.' Nothing, short of an act of God, will keep me from seeing THAT movie.


34 posted on 11/10/2006 6:35:33 AM PST by Chewie84
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To: Spyder

Would this, then, be the sort of example you wanted?


35 posted on 11/10/2006 6:37:48 AM PST by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: HotTubDave
Those Ali G interviews are some of the funniest things I've ever seen on television.

His interview with Edwin Aldrin -- the second man to walk on the moon (after Neil Armstrong) on the first lunar mission in 1969, was a classic.

I'm posting this from memory, so I may be off on some of the lines . . .

ALI-G: "Hey, what's it like being the second man to walk on the moon? Have you always had this regret that Louis Armstrong is famous for being the first man on the moon, and hardly anyone knows who you are?"

. . .

ALI-G: "How long do you think it will be before man walks on the sun?"

ALDRIN (trying to be serious as he realizes he's dealing with a complete idiot): "Uh, that's never going to happen. The sun is like a giant ball of fire, and a spacecraft that flies too close to it would burn up long before it landed on it."

ALI-G: "Well, then why don't we just fly there at night?"

LOL!!

36 posted on 11/10/2006 6:40:15 AM PST by Alberta's Child (Can money pay for all the days I lived awake but half asleep?)
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To: Orange1998

Thanks for the link.


37 posted on 11/10/2006 6:43:25 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Wolfie

I LOVED him in Madagascar.

I like to move it, I like to move it, I like to move it, I like to MOVE IT!


38 posted on 11/10/2006 6:43:50 AM PST by Southerngl
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To: Alberta's Child

I think he will go down in history as funny as Monty Python type comedy. He is right up there and will probably have the same type following.

I cannot WAIT for a night to get the sitter to watch this movie. And if that doesn't happen, can't wait to get it on DVD. I will probably buy this movie so I can show it to all my relatives. They have the same twisted sense of humor I have.


39 posted on 11/10/2006 6:48:16 AM PST by Southerngl
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To: Wolfie
I suspect more lawsuits will be aimed at Borat. I imagine many of the scenes were setup using the Michael Moore school of documentary development.

Generally, the movie was funny but i dont think it was the funniest movie ever as some say. Many scenes had to be setup to the unsuspecting person in a dishonest manor to get what he wanted.
40 posted on 11/10/2006 6:49:11 AM PST by smith288
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