Sacha Baron Cohen-related stories
Posted Sep 19th 2009 5:03PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, The Simpsons, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Practically every other celebrity on Earth has been a guest voice on
The Simpsons. Hell, then even managed to land the reclusive author Alan Moore for a comic book-themed episode. Now,
Borat and
Bruno star
Sacha Baron Cohen will be lending his voice to an episode of the animated series.
Supposedly, Cohen will play an "angry but funny" tour guide that helps them while the family tours Israel with their church group. For such a low income family, the Simpsons sure get to tour a lot of different countries. Homer even went up into space at one point.
Cohen will not be playing any of his trademark characters, and that's probably for the best. They were getting a little stale anyway. Perhaps he could invent a new character (or at least a character voice) for this appearance.
In other facts about the episode, Homer gets Jerusalem complex while visiting and thinks he's God. And to the Fox network, he is.
Posted Jul 11th 2009 5:01PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, Reality-Free
Granted,
Brüno is a movie and thus falls outside the purview of this site, but it is based on a character that originally appeared on a television show (
Da Ali G Show), so I'm hoping I can get a little leeway on this brief review of the movie, which i happened to catch last night.
Minor spoilers follow ...
Like its predecessor
Borat (also a character from
Da Ali G Show), the movie relies on shock humor. It certainly has its moments.
Continue reading Brüno: a mini-review
Posted Jun 4th 2009 1:07PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Music and Variety, Celebrities, Awards, Reality-Free
I was fine with the initial story that
it may have been a hoax, because it was news. After all the stunt Sacha "Bruno" Baron Cohen pulled putting his ass in the notoriously sensitive Eminem's face was the big buzz moment of the
MTV Movie Awards. But it didn't stop there. Finally, after speculation and reports all week about it,
Eminem admitted it was a stunt. Fine. Great. Does this mean it's over? I can't tell you how many "news" stories I read about this.
Everyone had their own take on it. You'd have thought it was the JFK assassination all over again. "There was one shooter with a camera zoomed in on Eminem's face. That's the only person who knew what was happening." "Impossible. Who worked the rig that lowered Cohen? Clearly there was a conspiracy." "But Eminem had to have been in on that conspiracy. Can you really lower a man on top of someone without them knowing it." "Perhaps, but did Em know Cohen's ass was bare." "Oh I think he most certainly did." Who cares, honestly?!
Posted Jun 1st 2009 4:28PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Celebrities, Awards, Reality-Free
OK, so you might have heard that Bruno (aka Sacha Baron Cohen) fell from the sky last night at the
MTV Movie Awards and shoved his rear into Eminem's face. Was Eminem really surprised and ticked off by this, so irritated that he and his crew actually left the show? I'm leaning towards no. You can see Eminem "acting" as he looks up (the camera just happens to be on him), and then Bruno lands on him perfectly. I guess it could be true, but I'm not quite buying it. The funny moment is when he announces Zac Efron the winner of some award and Efron isn't even sure what the hell is going on.
Posted Nov 17th 2008 7:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Celebrities, Reality-Free
This is actually kinda funny and I'm surprised no one has attempted this before.
Sacha Baron Cohen, also known as Borat, was
somehow cast as an extra for an episode of NBC's Medium, and in typical Borat fashion he disrupted the scene. In fact, he screwed things up so much that the show had to shut down filming for a while on November 7.
Actually, Cohen wasn't Borat in the footage he was Bruno, one of Cohen's other characters.
Continue reading Sacha Baron Cohen disrupts Medium filming
Posted May 3rd 2008 9:06AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Do you love Tracey Ullman? Yeah, who doesn't? The lady's a riot. Showtime is so enamored of the Brit-com-queen that they've ordered a second season -- seven fresh episodes -- of
Tracey Ullman's State of the Union. The network has also lined up another English artist for 2009. Comedy star Marc Wootton is locked in for six episodes.
"I won't hold it against them that both are from the U.K.," laughed Showtime prez Robert Greenblatt. "Tracey Ullman is the veteran genius who continues to impress us with her versatility, while Marc Wootton is the up-and-comer who will surprise our audience with his own unique voice. This is an embarrassment of riches for us in the comedy department."
Continue reading Showtime likes the laughs, renews Tracey Ullman
Posted Nov 29th 2007 2:23PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Celebrities
I'm disappointed by
this list (I'm disappointed by most lists these days) because they're aren't many TV people on it. Oh, there are some TV execs and producers (J.J. Abrams) and plenty of former TV stars (George Clooney, Will Smith, Will Ferrell), but there's no Tina Fey? She's the first name that popped into my head, TV-wise. I know there are others (readers, that's your cue to comment!).
Freaks and Geeks creator Judd Apatow is on the list, as is Tyler Perry. Sacha Baron Cohen is there too.
Continue reading Entertainment Weekly picks the 50 smartest people in Hollywood
Posted Dec 11th 2006 7:33PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, HBO, Industry, OpEd
Variety is reporting that, despite comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's current international popularity, both of his signature characters are having a tough time gaining any kind of traction in, of all countries, Spain. Not only has the
Borat movie only taken in 2.1 million euros since being released almost a month ago, but the TV3 network's broadcasts of the old HBO series
Da Ali G Show are tanking in the ratings. The article speculates a bit as to why this is happening: since the TV3 network has been showing Britcoms like
Blackadder with success, that's not a reason; the time slot seems to be suitable for the audience the network wants to attract.
Continue reading Sacha Baron Cohen not so funny in Spain
Posted Dec 2nd 2006 2:24PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Video, Commercials, Celebrities
There's an old British 'Where Are They Now'-type special up
on YouTube that is all about Sacha Baron Cohen. The special looks a little dated because it focuses on his work on television as Ali G, and it shows Kristoff, an Albanian reporter character that strongly resembles Borat. It chronicles Cohen's childhood-- he attended an affluent school and then went to Cambridge. There are some old, cringe-worthy video clips of him and his brother ridiculing Jews and of Cohen hosting various cable access shows. One interesting revelation is a picture is of Cohen as a model. That's right- behind the Ali G and Borat characters is a rather good-looking fellow. His short stint as a fashion model reportedly inspired his red carpet reporter character, Bruno.
The video is after the jump. It's pretty long, so if you just want to see the modeling bit, it's at 8:00.
Continue reading Sacha Baron Cohen, former male model - VIDEO
Posted Nov 16th 2006 1:34PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, Celebrities
You read that headline correctly: the current issue of
Rolling Stone has an interview with comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Not Borat, not Ali G, not even the somewhat clueless version of himself that he projected when he was promoting
Talladega Nights. For some reason, the ever-elusive Cohen decided to bare all and speak to writer Neil Strauss, who's sold a lot of books by
putting on a character himself.
In the
excerpt that RS has posted online, we learn a few interesting things: for instance, we've known for some time that Cohen is Jewish, but here we learn that he's so observant that he keeps kosher and observes Shabbos (you'll never see him on Friday nights or Saturday during the day). We also find out that he's a bit reserved and would rather be plying his comedic trade behind his characters' faces than do anything on his own. It's an interesting read that makes me want to actually pick up the dead-trees version to read the entire article, which is saying something in this web-centric world.
Posted Nov 13th 2006 1:28PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, NBC, Saturday Night Live, Celebrities
With the
Village Voice reporting on the
general lameness of SNL's afterparties these days, it figures that it took two British dudes to shake things up post-show. When Hugh Laurie and Sacha Baron Cohen hit a local bar after their
SNL appearance, Cohen - still in his Borat character - couldn't resist messing around with the locals on the walk over. Unfortunately he messed with the wrong local.
British newspaper
The Sun is
reporting that he tried to buy a man's clothes saying, "I like your clothings. Are nice! Please may I buying? I want have sex with." I wonder which part the guy didn't find funny? He was so offended that he punched Cohen in the face and continued punching him. Who came to his rescue? None other than Dr. House, who pushed the attacker away and helped Cohen to his feet. Cohen received no lasting bruises, and I'm sure if there was something internal House would have noticed right away.
You got to give it to the guy for staying in character even in off hours, but for his own safety, maybe it's time the real Sacha Baron Cohen please stand up.
Thanks to TV Squad reader Chris W for the tip.Posted Nov 10th 2006 4:04PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, HBO, TV on the Bigscreen, Celebrities
Remember the '90s, that golden age of the internet when hamsters danced, there were mullets galore, sexually ambiguous men dressed as Peter Pan, all our base were belong to somebody, and
a man from Turkey offered his lips to the online world? Those were good times. Now one of those long lost remnants of Web's past have returned, and we can thank Borat for it. It seems that Mahir Cagri of "I Kiss You!" internet fame feels that Borat, the character created by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for HBO's
Da Ali G Show, and the star of the new film,
Borat: Culture Leanings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, is based on him. In an e-mail and brief interview with
Wired, Cagri said he planned to seek legal action against Borat, and that "sometimes, I been no mustache." I think that goes to show that no matter how separated we are by geography, there are still some things that unite us all, for I have also never been a mustache.
Posted Nov 8th 2006 12:01PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, CBS, OpEd, Web, Documentary
No doubt capitalizing on
Borat fever, CBS' broadband channel
Innertube is broadcasting the
full-length pilot episode of The Papdits created by
Da Ali G Show writer and producer Ant Hines. The show's
Borat-type premise follows the misadventures of a family from Kashmir as they interact with Americans while looking for the perfect place to settle and make their fortune. Their journey begins in Arkansas.
The show, again like
Borat, is a comedy/reality hybrid. You've got mockumentary, talking head shots like
The Office, but also scenes in which the actors are improvising off of unwitting American dupes.
The Papdits perpetuate that uncomfortable, cringe-inducing humor we've all come to know and love.
Continue reading Meet the Papdits
Posted Nov 3rd 2006 11:34AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Late Night, OpEd, The Daily Show, Comedy Central
As part of
The Daily Show''s good-bye to Ohio State University, a few of the correspondents donned OSU gear and talked about how much fun they had during the past week. However, Rob Riggle put on some Michigan gear and pretty much made the entire crowd want to kill him. What a brave, brave man.
John Hodgman, Daily Show Resident Expert and second busiest man alive (
after Flavor Flav, because going through an intense
book tour is
just slightly less taxing than
Flavor of Love), dropped by to talk about the new
computerized voting methods. "These new voting machines are SHINY. They go
beep and
boop." This segment got me thinking... Which would be more awesome? The Diebold Transformer or the Diebold Accuclaw?
Continue reading The Daily Show: November 2, 2006
Posted Oct 31st 2006 9:00AM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, HBO, TV on the Bigscreen, Celebrities
With the release of Borat this Friday to movie theaters around America, HBO wants to remind you that they were the ones who gave U.S. audiences a look at the lovable Sacha Baron Cohen character that appeared regularly on Da Ali G Show. So, with that in mind, the network is going to go Borat crazy over the next two weeks.
It will begin this upcoming Saturday when HBO airs all 12 episodes of Ali G not once, but twice. The run of episodes (I get tired of saying marathon because it really isn't) will begin at noon and end at 6:00 PM. Then, the network will air eight episodes on Monday (from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am) and four on Tuesday (8:00 pm to 10:00 pm). If you miss those episodes they will be available on HBO on Demand from November until late January.
One can hope that the media blitz on this new movie as well as the word on the street makes Borat the hit of the year in the theaters. We shall see come this Friday.
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