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Brüno (film)
Encyclopedia
Brüno is a 2009 British mockumentary
comedy film
directed by Larry Charles
and starring Sacha Baron Cohen
, who produced, co-wrote, and starred as the gay
Austria
n fashion journalist
Brüno
. The film is the third based on characters from Da Ali G Show
, following Ali G Indahouse
and Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
.
Austrian
fashion reporter
Brüno
is fired from his own television show, Funkyzeit mit Brüno (Funkytime with Brüno) after disrupting a Milan
Fashion week
catwalk (whose audience included Paul McCartney
), and his lover Diesel (Clifford Bañagale
) leaves him for another man. Accompanied by his assistant's assistant, Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten
), he travels to the United States
to become "the biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler".
Brüno unsuccessfully attempts an acting career as an extra
on NBC
's Medium
. He then interviews Paula Abdul
, using “Mexican chair-persons” in place of furniture (Abdul goes along with everything, explaining how she aspires to help people, until a naked man, adorned with sushi
, is wheeled into the room). He then produces a celebrity interview pilot
, showing him dancing erotically, criticizing Jamie-Lynn Spears' fetus with reality TV star Brittny Gastineau
, unsuccessfully attempting to “interview” actor Harrison Ford
, and closing with a close-up of his penis
being swung around by pelvic gyrations. A focus group
reviewing the pilot hate it, calling it "worse than cancer". Bruno then decides to make a sex tape, so he interviews Ron Paul
, whom Brüno claims to have mistaken for drag queen
RuPaul
. While waiting in a hotel room with Paul, Brüno begins undressing and flirting causing Paul to leave angrily and call him "queer as blazes".
Brüno consults a spiritualist
(Gary Williams) to contact the deceased Rob Pilatus
of Milli Vanilli
for advice, miming
various sex acts on the invisible "Pilatus". He consults charity PR consultants Nicole and Suzanne DeFosset to select a world problem to maximize his fame, choosing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
. He flies to Jerusalem to interview former Mossad
agent Yossi Alpher
and Palestinian politician Ghassan Khatib
and confuses hummus
and Hamas
. In an interview with Israeli and Palestinian professors he sings his own "Dove of Peace" while forcing the two to caress each others hands. He also meets with Ayman Abu Aita, a "terrorist group leader, Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
" in a location described as a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon
, where he hopes to be kidnapped. Brüno insults Abu Aita's hair then says that "King Osama
" looks like a dirty wizard or a homeless Santa Claus
. Abu Aita's translator orders Brüno to leave. He stops off in Nairobi
to pick up a few things, including a child, saying he is "black gold".
Brüno interviews parents of child models, asking if their toddlers would be ready to lose weight, undergo liposuction
, operate "antiquated heavy machinery" or "amateur science", or dress in Nazi uniforms. On a talk show hosted by Richard Bey
, he shows the African American
audience a baby he named O.J., whom he acquired in Africa by "swapping him" for a U2
Product Red
iPod
. He shows photographs of the boy covered with bees, on a crucifix
and in a jacuzzi
next to adults in a 69 position. The audience is appalled and social services take the baby from Brüno, driving him to depression. He goes to a diner
to gorge on high-carb
junk food. Lutz carries him back to a hotel room. After a night of sex, they awake to find themselves trapped in a bondage
mechanism, unable to find the key. They call a hotel engineer for help and are asked to leave. After accosting a group of anti-gay protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church
while still in bondage gear and boarding a bus, Brüno and Lutz remove their equipment at Madison County Office of Alternative Sentencing and Release in Huntsville, AL after being arrested. Lutz says he loves Brüno but Brüno tells him he does not love him, having been influenced by "carb goggles". Lutz leaves Brüno.
After realising the biggest names in Hollywood are straight (citing Tom Cruise, Kevin Spacey and John Travolta
), Brüno consults two Christian gay converters to help him become heterosexual. He attempts activities, such as joining the National Guard, going hunting
in Alabama, learning karate
and attending a swinger
s party at which he is whipped by a dominatrix
(played by pornstar Michelle McLaren). These attempts end miserably due to Bruno's failure to keep his gay traits hidden, but he vows to become straight.
Eight months later, a now-heterosexual Brüno, under the alias "Straight Dave", hosts a cage-fight match in Arkansas
, "Straight Dave's Man Slammin' Maxout". Lutz appears at the event and calls Brüno a faggot. The two fight, only to rekindle their love, making out and stripping in front of the spectators who throw objects into the cage. The clip gets international press and the now-famous Brüno attempts to marry Lutz and get O.J. back in exchange for a MacBook Pro
. Brüno records a charity song, "Dove of Peace", featuring Bono
, Elton John
(seated at a piano
on a Mexican “chair-person”), Chris Martin
, Snoop Dogg
, Sting and Slash
at Abbey Road Studios
.
The trailers for the film shown in the US included a scene in which Brüno shops for clothing at Sears, telling the sales clerk "You might find this very hard to believe, but I'm gay" in which the clerk responds "Okay" while maintaining an awkward posture.
The DVD includes extended and deleted scenes
, such as Bruno interviewing Pete Rose
, trying to make the sex tape with John R. Bolton
and Tom Ridge
, becoming a reporter at NBC
affiliate KETK-TV
in Tyler, Texas
, and attending a Proposition 8
rally.
on June 25, 2009, a scene from Brüno was hastily removed from the US theatrical version of the film before its Hollywood premiere later that evening. The scene involved Brüno tricking LaToya Jackson into an interview in which he asked her to take a seat on hunched over Mexican
workers substituting for chairs and invited her to eat sushi
from the torso of a naked man. Brüno then asked LaToya to let him look at her mobile phone in order to get her brother Michael's phone number. The scene was later confirmed to be removed from the film permanently, but is included in the DVD and Blu-ray release's special features.
" from German electronic dance music
band Scooter
, who also contributed to the theme to the Bruno segments on Da Ali G Show.
During Baron Cohen's Middle East interview of Alpher and Khatib, he repeatedly conflated Hamas
and hummus
and feigned belief that the conflict was between Jews and Hindus. The two interviewees (who had received a fee to appear on camera), convinced by the elaborate production, were confused by the questions but generally went along, even when asked by Baron Cohen to hold hands.
On June 6, 2008, a riot ensued at a stunt orchestrated by Baron Cohen and the producers of the film as they staged a "Blue Collar Brawlin'" in Fort Smith, Arkansas
. Patrons were lured to an event billed as cage fighting, held at a convention center, by print and Craigslist
advertisements, promoting "hot girls", $1 beer, and $5 admission. Approximately 1500 people attended the event and were greeted by signs that informed them that they were being filmed. No mobile phones, video, or cameras were allowed inside. The acts taking place became homosexual in nature, with Bruno inviting a man up to fight him, who turned out to be Lutz. Celine Dion
's "My Heart Will Go On
" starts to play and they both start kissing and stripping, the place went wild and people threw chairs and beer at the performers. The performers were Brüno (Baron Cohen) under the ironic gimmick, "Straight Dave", and Gustaf Hammarsten portraying his opponent, Lutz.
In July 2008, Tyler, Texas
television station KETK-TV
was approached by a "documentary film
-maker" who was allowed to bring a crew to interview a few members of the staff, including news director Neal Barton and sports director Danny Elzner. They signed releases and expected to be talking about small-town news in the United States. Instead, the interviews conducted by the flamboyant Brüno character drifted towards the topic of homosexuality
.
In September 2008, video and photographs were released showing Baron Cohen (in character as Brüno) storming the catwalk with objects on his velcro outfit during an Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada
fashion show
in Milan
, Italy
(at which Paul McCartney also was present). Baron Cohen managed to walk down the runway
for a few moments before lights were dimmed and security guards escorted him away. This occurred after Baron Cohen and his crew were allegedly stopped by security while attempting to enter back-stage at two other shows during Milan's fashion week
.
On November 2, 2008, Baron Cohen, dressed as Brüno, and his film crew were spotted at a Los Angeles
rally that was in support of California
's Proposition 8
. Though he appeared to fool most, he was recognized by some at the rally and whisked away before he could be interviewed by reporters.
On November 7, 2008, while appearing as an extra in a scene for the NBC
TV series Medium
, Baron Cohen interrupted a scene in character and was removed from the set. Production on the episode was shut down temporarily, though actor Miguel Sandoval
, who was told that a cousin of NBC executive Ben Silverman would appear as an extra in the jury, has stated that he recognized Baron Cohen and played along, commenting, "It's one thing for Borat to go into an antique store in Georgia or Alabama. For Brüno to go on a TV show, he's among insiders. Most people knew who he was."
The production team also deceived presidential candidate Ron Paul
into being interviewed by Brüno by posing as an Austrian TV reporter looking to question the congressman about economic issues. The interview starts out normally, but after a staged technical error, Brüno suggests he and Dr. Paul wait in the other room while the crew fixes a light. It is there that Brüno turns on music and begins dancing, which Ron Paul ignores at first. However, as soon as Brüno drops his trousers, the congressman storms out of the room. A spokeswoman for Paul commented on the incident. She said Baron Cohen's people were very deceptive in their tactics. At the time, she thought they were "legitimate" but later confessed to some concern. "I'm familiar with his work, so you can imagine how I feel about it," she said. Jesse Benton, senior vice-president of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty organization and former campaign spokesman for Paul, said Paul was not familiar with Baron Cohen's programme, Da Ali G Show
. "If it's not on hard-core financial news, he doesn't follow it," Benton said. But, he added, "It sounds like it's going to be pretty funny.".
The scene filmed during a taping of The Richard Bey Show, however, was staged, as Bey
was in on the joke, as his daytime show went off the air in 1996. The audience, however, was not made aware of the truth of the production. Similarly unaware of the true nature of the production was Paula Abdul
, who, during her interview scene in the film, sat atop a Mexican landscaper and was presented with food adorned upon a man lying down on a cart wearing nothing but a "sock" over his penis. Abdul told a radio interviewer that she was "scarred" by the incident.
In July 2009, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act from the Alabama
National Guard showed the tactics utilized by the producers of Brüno to gain access to the base. Posing as a German documentary film crew, the producers falsely represented their project, and in e-mails obtained from the National Guard, they stated, "We have been exploring the fabric of America, telling the story of her citizens by visiting the workplace... While in the Huntsville, Alabama
area, we would be honored to film with the Alabama National Guard. You are a strong and proud organization that carries out your challenging duties with bravery and class."
Nicole and Suzie DeFosset, the twins behind the public relation firm that Baron Cohen's character ostensibly goes to for advice about Darfur, claimed they realized the filming (they were paid to be on camera) was some kind of prank. They said they did not realize that they were part of the film until a friend contacted them 11 months after the incident.
Baron Cohen suffered a severe reaction to hydrogen peroxide
after bleaching his hair in preparation for the role of Brüno. Although the incident temporarily slowed the production of the film, he suffered no long-lasting injuries.
The film's credits name many well-known writers who made small contributions of additional material and ideas, including Matt Lucas
(former writer for the Channel 4 Ali G Show), Jesse Armstrong
, and Sam Bain
, Seth Rogen
and Evan Goldberg
(former writers for the HBO series), and Patrick Marber
.
, Switzerland
, Belgium
, the Netherlands
, New Zealand
, and Iceland
on July 8 and in Germany
, Greece
, Ireland
, Serbia
, Slovenia
, Israel
, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
on July 9, 2009. The film was then released internationally on July 10.
, Baron Cohen appeared as Brüno to present the award for Best Male Performer. Dressed as a winged angel wearing a jockstrap
and white go-go boots
, he was suspended on wires and flew over the audience towards the stage, but fell and landed on rapper Eminem
, with his head in Eminem's lap and his buttocks
in front of Eminem's face. Eminem shouted, "Are you fucking serious?" and, "Get this motherfucker off me!", Eminem and his entourage then walked out of the show and did not return. It was later revealed that Eminem and Baron Cohen had staged the incident, rehearsing it beforehand to make sure it went off without a hitch, and leaving Eminem laughing to himself in his hotel room about how the crowd was easily fooled.
Brüno also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
where he performed a lap dance for Conan O'Brien
and briefly lowered his trousers in front of the host. He approximately did the same routine on French Canal+
show Le Grand Journal, lapdancing and showing his behind to host Michel Denisot, then eventually dropping the trousers to reveal flesh-colored thongs imprinted with a picture of French President Nicolas Sarkozy
. On the same day he was parading half-naked, surrounded with dancers, on the Champs-Élysées
.
, the film was scheduled to premiere on July 23, but on July 14, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine decided to ban the distribution and demonstration of the film in the country. The reason for the prohibition was that nine out of 14 experts of a commission of experts said the film contained "obscene language, homosexual scenes, and other scenes of offensive nature never shown in Ukraine. The "Vinnytsya Human Rights Group" immediately expressed its anger with the ban. An unofficial premiere of the film in Kiev
on July 22, 2009 was disrupted by a smoke bomb
.
and Blu-ray
on November 17, 2009. Special features include deleted/alternate/extended scenes
and an audio commentary
by Sacha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles. Despite having an 81-minute runtime in theaters, the DVD carries an extended version of 108 minutes.
wrote that Brüno is "funnier, more offensive, and more outrageous than Borat". The Telegraph gave the film four stars out of four, saying "impossible not to laugh and also praising Brüno's controversial style of comedy." The BBC also gave the film a positive review, saying "Brüno pushes the boundaries further than Borat ever did." However, they also said that "It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea" due to the offensive nature of the film. Roger Ebert
awarded the film three and a half out of four stars, and said "Here is a film that is 82 minutes long and doesn't contain 30 boring seconds", although he noted that the film's R rating was "very, very hard".
Others felt it was not as good a comedy, feeling it would insult and offend the gay community. Metacritic
gives Brüno an average score of 54, suggesting "mixed or average reviews".
Andy Lowe from Total Film
gave it a lower review, giving it three stars out of five and calling it "as phony and frustrating as it is funny... The clothes may be new and more fabulous, but the emperor seriously needs to go shopping." A. O. Scott
of The New York Times
wrote that the film shows "that lampooning homophobia has become an acceptable, almost unavoidable form of homophobic humor," and called the film "a lazy piece of work that panders more than it provokes." At the Movies critic Ben Mankiewicz
criticized the film for being too demeaning and playing on homosexual stereotypes. He later named Brüno the worst film at the halfway point of 2009.
The film, however, currently holds a 67% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
and is advertised as a "Certified Fresh Pick". For its opening weekend, it narrowly beat Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
(in its second week of release) for the highest gross, in the lowest attended second-weekend-in-July in 18 years.
, Austria
ns were generally positive about Brüno. Some commented that the film places Austria in the spotlight, and that "it might stop people confusing Austria with Australia
." Others regarded the humour as "pretty average" and "inoffensive to Austria." Within the Austrian press, reactions have been generally mild and positive, although the film has also been labelled as "repetitive". Christian Fuchs, from the Austrian radio station FM4, writes that "hidden beneath the hard-as-nails satirist Cohen, lies a humanist who enlightens." However, the film has also met some opposition in Austria, due to its portrayal of homosexuality, and basing the portrayal of Austria on motifs such as Josef Fritzl and Hitler, even going as far as calling Mel Gibson
"der Führer
".
groups have criticised the character as perpetuating LGBT stereotypes
while simultaneously enlightening institutionalised homophobia
issues. "Sacha Baron Cohen's well-meaning attempt at satire
is problematic in many places and outright offensive in others," Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
(GLAAD) told The New York Times
.
, The Boston Globe
, and (although no longer) the Internet Movie Database
. However, the official Brüno website lists the extended 'title' in its metadata.
, NBC Universal
, CBS
, Worldwide Pants
, Gannett Company
and Larry Charles
.
Baron Cohen has said he had to increase his security detail following death threats from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade after the release of the film. The group was angered by the interview with Abu Aita in which he was linked with the group, an armed wing of the Fatah
movement. In a statement to the media, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade denied that Abu Aita was a member and threatened that they "reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man (Baron Cohen)" and that they feel the segment was "a dirty use of our brother Ayman".
's Classification and Rating Administration would specifically note in the future which films contained "male nudity." A spokesman said this was in direct response to parental concerns about the content of Bruno.
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Larry Charles
Larry Charles
Larry Charles is an American writer, director, and producer. He is best known as a staff writer for the American sitcom Seinfeld for its first 5 seasons, contributing some of the show's darkest and most absurd storylines...
and starring Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
, who produced, co-wrote, and starred as the gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n fashion journalist
Fashion journalism
Fashion journalism is an umbrella term used to describe all aspects of published fashion media. It includes fashion writers, fashion critics or fashion reporters...
Brüno
Bruno (character)
Brüno Gehard , sometimes written as Bruno and Brueno, is a fictional character portrayed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. The character, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter, first appeared during short sketches on The Paramount Comedy Channel in 1998, before reappearing on Da Ali G...
. The film is the third based on characters from Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show is the name of two related satirical TV series created by and starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and featuring the character Ali G....
, following Ali G Indahouse
Ali G Indahouse
Ali G Indahouse is a British comedy film directed by Mark Mylod and starring the fictional character Ali G, who is performed by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
and Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Borat
Borat Sagdiyev is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
.
Plot
GayHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
fashion reporter
Fashion journalism
Fashion journalism is an umbrella term used to describe all aspects of published fashion media. It includes fashion writers, fashion critics or fashion reporters...
Brüno
Bruno (character)
Brüno Gehard , sometimes written as Bruno and Brueno, is a fictional character portrayed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. The character, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter, first appeared during short sketches on The Paramount Comedy Channel in 1998, before reappearing on Da Ali G...
is fired from his own television show, Funkyzeit mit Brüno (Funkytime with Brüno) after disrupting a Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
Fashion week
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know...
catwalk (whose audience included Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
), and his lover Diesel (Clifford Bañagale
Clifford Bañagale
Clifford Bañagale is a Filipino/American actor who is best known for his role as Diesel, Sacha Baron Cohen's boyfriend in the movie Brüno. His career started at the age of 7 when he started training in Opera, then acting in Equity theater as an adult....
) leaves him for another man. Accompanied by his assistant's assistant, Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten
Gustaf Hammarsten
Gustaf Hammarsten is a Swedish film, television and theatre actor.-Film:He has appeared in more than ten films starting with his first appearance in a small role in The Best Intentions directed by Bille August...
), he travels to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to become "the biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler".
Brüno unsuccessfully attempts an acting career as an extra
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Medium
Medium (TV series)
Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
. He then interviews Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
, using “Mexican chair-persons” in place of furniture (Abdul goes along with everything, explaining how she aspires to help people, until a naked man, adorned with sushi
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
, is wheeled into the room). He then produces a celebrity interview pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
, showing him dancing erotically, criticizing Jamie-Lynn Spears' fetus with reality TV star Brittny Gastineau
Brittny Gastineau
Brittny Gastineau is an American model, socialite, and reality television personality.-Early life and family:Gastineau is the daughter of Lisa Gastineau and former New York Jets player Mark Gastineau...
, unsuccessfully attempting to “interview” actor Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
, and closing with a close-up of his penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
being swung around by pelvic gyrations. A focus group
Focus group
A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging...
reviewing the pilot hate it, calling it "worse than cancer". Bruno then decides to make a sex tape, so he interviews Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
, whom Brüno claims to have mistaken for drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
RuPaul
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles , best known as simply RuPaul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, and singer-songwriter, who first became widely known in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previously, he was a fixture on the Atlanta...
. While waiting in a hotel room with Paul, Brüno begins undressing and flirting causing Paul to leave angrily and call him "queer as blazes".
Brüno consults a spiritualist
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
(Gary Williams) to contact the deceased Rob Pilatus
Rob Pilatus
Robert "Rob" Pilatus was a German-American model, dancer and singer. Pilatus was best known as half of the pop music duo Milli Vanilli.-Early life:...
of Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli was a pop/dance music project formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1988, visually fronted by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on Feb. 21, 1990. Milli Vanilli became one of the most...
for advice, miming
Mime
The word mime is used to refer to a mime artist who uses a theatrical medium or performance art involving the acting out of a story through body motions without use of speech.Mime may also refer to:* Mime, an alternative word for lip sync...
various sex acts on the invisible "Pilatus". He consults charity PR consultants Nicole and Suzanne DeFosset to select a world problem to maximize his fame, choosing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
. He flies to Jerusalem to interview former Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
agent Yossi Alpher
Yossi Alpher
Yossi Alpher is a consultant and writer on Israel-related strategic issues. He is coeditor of bitterlemons.org and bitterlemons-international.org together with Ghassan Khatib, former Minister of Planning in the Palestinian Authority. Bitterlemons.org is an online Israeli-Palestinian political...
and Palestinian politician Ghassan Khatib
Ghassan Khatib
Ghassan Khatib is a Palestinian politician. He was born in Nablus, in the West Bank, and is a member of the Palestinian People's Party. Khatib is married with three children. He was also a member of the Madrid Peace Delegation in 1991 and was involved in the Washington negotiations from 1991 to...
and confuses hummus
Hummus
Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the...
and Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
. In an interview with Israeli and Palestinian professors he sings his own "Dove of Peace" while forcing the two to caress each others hands. He also meets with Ayman Abu Aita, a "terrorist group leader, Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian nationalist militias in the West Bank. The group's name refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem...
" in a location described as a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, where he hopes to be kidnapped. Brüno insults Abu Aita's hair then says that "King Osama
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
" looks like a dirty wizard or a homeless Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
. Abu Aita's translator orders Brüno to leave. He stops off in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
to pick up a few things, including a child, saying he is "black gold".
Brüno interviews parents of child models, asking if their toddlers would be ready to lose weight, undergo liposuction
Liposuction
Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty , liposculpture suction lipectomy or simply lipo is a cosmetic surgery operation that removes fat from many different sites on the human body...
, operate "antiquated heavy machinery" or "amateur science", or dress in Nazi uniforms. On a talk show hosted by Richard Bey
Richard Bey
Richard Wayne Bey is an American talk show host. He was popular in the 1990s as host of The Richard Bey Show, a daytime talk show containing ordinary people's personal stories incorporated into entertaining competitive games....
, he shows the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
audience a baby he named O.J., whom he acquired in Africa by "swapping him" for a U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
Product Red
Product Red
Product Red, styled as RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express , Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics , Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Dell...
iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
. He shows photographs of the boy covered with bees, on a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
and in a jacuzzi
Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi is a company that produces whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The term "jacuzzi" is now often used generically to refer to any bathtub with massaging jets.-History:...
next to adults in a 69 position. The audience is appalled and social services take the baby from Brüno, driving him to depression. He goes to a diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
to gorge on high-carb
Carbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
junk food. Lutz carries him back to a hotel room. After a night of sex, they awake to find themselves trapped in a bondage
Bondage (BDSM)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...
mechanism, unable to find the key. They call a hotel engineer for help and are asked to leave. After accosting a group of anti-gay protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
while still in bondage gear and boarding a bus, Brüno and Lutz remove their equipment at Madison County Office of Alternative Sentencing and Release in Huntsville, AL after being arrested. Lutz says he loves Brüno but Brüno tells him he does not love him, having been influenced by "carb goggles". Lutz leaves Brüno.
After realising the biggest names in Hollywood are straight (citing Tom Cruise, Kevin Spacey and John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
), Brüno consults two Christian gay converters to help him become heterosexual. He attempts activities, such as joining the National Guard, going hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
in Alabama, learning karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
and attending a swinger
Swinging
Swinging or partner swapping is a non-monogamous behavior, in which both partners in a committed relationship agree, as a couple, for both partners to engage in sexual activities with other couples as a recreational or social activity...
s party at which he is whipped by a dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
(played by pornstar Michelle McLaren). These attempts end miserably due to Bruno's failure to keep his gay traits hidden, but he vows to become straight.
Eight months later, a now-heterosexual Brüno, under the alias "Straight Dave", hosts a cage-fight match in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, "Straight Dave's Man Slammin' Maxout". Lutz appears at the event and calls Brüno a faggot. The two fight, only to rekindle their love, making out and stripping in front of the spectators who throw objects into the cage. The clip gets international press and the now-famous Brüno attempts to marry Lutz and get O.J. back in exchange for a MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro is a line of Macintosh portable computers introduced in January 2006 by Apple. It replaced the PowerBook G4 and was the second model, after the iMac, to be announced in the Apple–Intel transition...
. Brüno records a charity song, "Dove of Peace", featuring Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
(seated at a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on a Mexican “chair-person”), Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
, Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, Sting and Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
.
Deleted scenes
The trailers for the film shown in the US included a scene in which Brüno shops for clothing at Sears, telling the sales clerk "You might find this very hard to believe, but I'm gay" in which the clerk responds "Okay" while maintaining an awkward posture.
The DVD includes extended and deleted scenes
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
, such as Bruno interviewing Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
, trying to make the sex tape with John R. Bolton
John R. Bolton
John Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
and Tom Ridge
Tom Ridge
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
, becoming a reporter at NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate KETK-TV
KETK-TV
KETK-TV, virtual channel 56, is the NBC television affiliate serving the East Texas viewing area. It is owned by Communications Corporation of America, under licensee of "ComCorp of Tyler", which also operates Fox network affiliates KFXK and KFXL-LP, and MyNetworkTV affiliate KLPN-LP through a...
in Tyler, Texas
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
, and attending a Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
rally.
Michael Jackson incident
Following the sudden death of Michael JacksonDeath of Michael Jackson
On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication after he suffered a respiratory arrest at his home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, said he found Jackson in his room, not breathing, but with a faint pulse,...
on June 25, 2009, a scene from Brüno was hastily removed from the US theatrical version of the film before its Hollywood premiere later that evening. The scene involved Brüno tricking LaToya Jackson into an interview in which he asked her to take a seat on hunched over Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
workers substituting for chairs and invited her to eat sushi
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
from the torso of a naked man. Brüno then asked LaToya to let him look at her mobile phone in order to get her brother Michael's phone number. The scene was later confirmed to be removed from the film permanently, but is included in the DVD and Blu-ray release's special features.
Production
The theme song from the beginning of the film is "NessajaNessaja
"Nessaja" is a song by Peter Maffay and Rolf Zuckowski from the musical Tabaluga released in 1983 on the album Tabaluga oder die Reise zur Vernunft. The German band Scooter released a techno version as single on 8 April 2002...
" from German electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
band Scooter
Scooter (band)
Scooter are a German hard dance band founded in Hamburg, who have sold over 25 million records and earned over 80 gold and platinum awards. Scooter are considered the most successful single-record German act with 23 top ten hits. The band is currently composed of members H.P. Baxxter, Rick J....
, who also contributed to the theme to the Bruno segments on Da Ali G Show.
During Baron Cohen's Middle East interview of Alpher and Khatib, he repeatedly conflated Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and hummus
Hummus
Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the...
and feigned belief that the conflict was between Jews and Hindus. The two interviewees (who had received a fee to appear on camera), convinced by the elaborate production, were confused by the questions but generally went along, even when asked by Baron Cohen to hold hands.
On June 6, 2008, a riot ensued at a stunt orchestrated by Baron Cohen and the producers of the film as they staged a "Blue Collar Brawlin'" in Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
. Patrons were lured to an event billed as cage fighting, held at a convention center, by print and Craigslist
Craigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
advertisements, promoting "hot girls", $1 beer, and $5 admission. Approximately 1500 people attended the event and were greeted by signs that informed them that they were being filmed. No mobile phones, video, or cameras were allowed inside. The acts taking place became homosexual in nature, with Bruno inviting a man up to fight him, who turned out to be Lutz. Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's "My Heart Will Go On
My Heart Will Go On
"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...
" starts to play and they both start kissing and stripping, the place went wild and people threw chairs and beer at the performers. The performers were Brüno (Baron Cohen) under the ironic gimmick, "Straight Dave", and Gustaf Hammarsten portraying his opponent, Lutz.
In July 2008, Tyler, Texas
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
television station KETK-TV
KETK-TV
KETK-TV, virtual channel 56, is the NBC television affiliate serving the East Texas viewing area. It is owned by Communications Corporation of America, under licensee of "ComCorp of Tyler", which also operates Fox network affiliates KFXK and KFXL-LP, and MyNetworkTV affiliate KLPN-LP through a...
was approached by a "documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
-maker" who was allowed to bring a crew to interview a few members of the staff, including news director Neal Barton and sports director Danny Elzner. They signed releases and expected to be talking about small-town news in the United States. Instead, the interviews conducted by the flamboyant Brüno character drifted towards the topic of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.
In September 2008, video and photographs were released showing Baron Cohen (in character as Brüno) storming the catwalk with objects on his velcro outfit during an Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada
Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada
Ágatha Ruíz de la Prada, was born 22 July 1960, she is a Spanish fashion designer who is one of her country's best-known personalities in the clothing industry.-Biography:...
fashion show
Fashion show
A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of clothing during Fashion Week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons. This is where the latest fashion trends are made...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(at which Paul McCartney also was present). Baron Cohen managed to walk down the runway
Runway (fashion)
Runway or catwalk describes a narrow, usually flat platform that runs into an auditorium, used by models to demonstrate clothing and accessories during a fashion show In fashion jargon, "what's on the catwalk" or similar phrasing can refer to whatever is new and popular in fashion.- Exclusive...
for a few moments before lights were dimmed and security guards escorted him away. This occurred after Baron Cohen and his crew were allegedly stopped by security while attempting to enter back-stage at two other shows during Milan's fashion week
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know...
.
On November 2, 2008, Baron Cohen, dressed as Brüno, and his film crew were spotted at a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
rally that was in support of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
. Though he appeared to fool most, he was recognized by some at the rally and whisked away before he could be interviewed by reporters.
On November 7, 2008, while appearing as an extra in a scene for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
TV series Medium
Medium (TV series)
Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
, Baron Cohen interrupted a scene in character and was removed from the set. Production on the episode was shut down temporarily, though actor Miguel Sandoval
Miguel Sandoval
Miguel Sandoval is an American film and television actor.Sandoval was born in Washington, D.C. He began working as a professional actor in 1975 when he joined a mime school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He later joined the troupe full time and continued his study of mime. He began his film career in...
, who was told that a cousin of NBC executive Ben Silverman would appear as an extra in the jury, has stated that he recognized Baron Cohen and played along, commenting, "It's one thing for Borat to go into an antique store in Georgia or Alabama. For Brüno to go on a TV show, he's among insiders. Most people knew who he was."
The production team also deceived presidential candidate Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
into being interviewed by Brüno by posing as an Austrian TV reporter looking to question the congressman about economic issues. The interview starts out normally, but after a staged technical error, Brüno suggests he and Dr. Paul wait in the other room while the crew fixes a light. It is there that Brüno turns on music and begins dancing, which Ron Paul ignores at first. However, as soon as Brüno drops his trousers, the congressman storms out of the room. A spokeswoman for Paul commented on the incident. She said Baron Cohen's people were very deceptive in their tactics. At the time, she thought they were "legitimate" but later confessed to some concern. "I'm familiar with his work, so you can imagine how I feel about it," she said. Jesse Benton, senior vice-president of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty organization and former campaign spokesman for Paul, said Paul was not familiar with Baron Cohen's programme, Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show is the name of two related satirical TV series created by and starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and featuring the character Ali G....
. "If it's not on hard-core financial news, he doesn't follow it," Benton said. But, he added, "It sounds like it's going to be pretty funny.".
The scene filmed during a taping of The Richard Bey Show, however, was staged, as Bey
Richard Bey
Richard Wayne Bey is an American talk show host. He was popular in the 1990s as host of The Richard Bey Show, a daytime talk show containing ordinary people's personal stories incorporated into entertaining competitive games....
was in on the joke, as his daytime show went off the air in 1996. The audience, however, was not made aware of the truth of the production. Similarly unaware of the true nature of the production was Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
, who, during her interview scene in the film, sat atop a Mexican landscaper and was presented with food adorned upon a man lying down on a cart wearing nothing but a "sock" over his penis. Abdul told a radio interviewer that she was "scarred" by the incident.
In July 2009, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act from the Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
National Guard showed the tactics utilized by the producers of Brüno to gain access to the base. Posing as a German documentary film crew, the producers falsely represented their project, and in e-mails obtained from the National Guard, they stated, "We have been exploring the fabric of America, telling the story of her citizens by visiting the workplace... While in the Huntsville, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
area, we would be honored to film with the Alabama National Guard. You are a strong and proud organization that carries out your challenging duties with bravery and class."
Nicole and Suzie DeFosset, the twins behind the public relation firm that Baron Cohen's character ostensibly goes to for advice about Darfur, claimed they realized the filming (they were paid to be on camera) was some kind of prank. They said they did not realize that they were part of the film until a friend contacted them 11 months after the incident.
Baron Cohen suffered a severe reaction to hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...
after bleaching his hair in preparation for the role of Brüno. Although the incident temporarily slowed the production of the film, he suffered no long-lasting injuries.
The film's credits name many well-known writers who made small contributions of additional material and ideas, including Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...
(former writer for the Channel 4 Ali G Show), Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong is one of the co-creators of Channel 4's Peep Show, along with Sam Bain. He also co-wrote the BBC Four comedy The Thick of It and was one of the writers on series 1 and 2 of the BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound and the BBC Two sketch show That Mitchell and Webb...
, and Sam Bain
Sam Bain
Sam Bain is one of the co-creators of Channel 4's Peep Show, which won a BAFTA for best Situation Comedy in 2008. He was also one of the writers of two series of the BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound and the BBC Two sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look...
, Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
and Evan Goldberg
Evan Goldberg
Evan Goldberg is a Canadian film screenwriter and producer. Goldberg attended Point Grey Secondary School and McGill University before joining the staff of Da Ali G Show along with his childhood friend and comedy partner Seth Rogen. Rogen and Goldberg collaborated the films Knocked Up, Superbad,...
(former writers for the HBO series), and Patrick Marber
Patrick Marber
Patrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
.
Release
Though the film was originally slated for a May 15, 2009 release, the release was later moved to July 10, 2009. The film received an early release in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
on July 8 and in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
on July 9, 2009. The film was then released internationally on July 10.
Promotion
In a staged publicity stunt at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards2009 MTV Movie Awards
The 2009 MTV Movie Awards were presented on Sunday, May 31, 2009, at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. Andy Samberg served as host for the 18th annual ceremony.- Performers :* Eminem — "We Made You" and "Crack a Bottle"...
, Baron Cohen appeared as Brüno to present the award for Best Male Performer. Dressed as a winged angel wearing a jockstrap
Jockstrap
A jockstrap is an undergarment designed for supporting the male genitalia during sports or other vigorous physical activity...
and white go-go boots
Go-go boots
Go-go boots are a low-heeled style of women's fashion boot worn since the mid-sixties when fashion silhouettes focused on accentuating the leg...
, he was suspended on wires and flew over the audience towards the stage, but fell and landed on rapper Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
, with his head in Eminem's lap and his buttocks
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
in front of Eminem's face. Eminem shouted, "Are you fucking serious?" and, "Get this motherfucker off me!", Eminem and his entourage then walked out of the show and did not return. It was later revealed that Eminem and Baron Cohen had staged the incident, rehearsing it beforehand to make sure it went off without a hitch, and leaving Eminem laughing to himself in his hotel room about how the crowd was easily fooled.
Brüno also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
where he performed a lap dance for Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
and briefly lowered his trousers in front of the host. He approximately did the same routine on French Canal+
Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
show Le Grand Journal, lapdancing and showing his behind to host Michel Denisot, then eventually dropping the trousers to reveal flesh-colored thongs imprinted with a picture of French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
. On the same day he was parading half-naked, surrounded with dancers, on the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...
.
Ban in Ukraine
In UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, the film was scheduled to premiere on July 23, but on July 14, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine decided to ban the distribution and demonstration of the film in the country. The reason for the prohibition was that nine out of 14 experts of a commission of experts said the film contained "obscene language, homosexual scenes, and other scenes of offensive nature never shown in Ukraine. The "Vinnytsya Human Rights Group" immediately expressed its anger with the ban. An unofficial premiere of the film in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
on July 22, 2009 was disrupted by a smoke bomb
Smoke bomb
A smoke bomb is a firework designed to produce smoke upon ignition. Smoke bombs are useful to military units, airsoft games, paintball games, self defense and pranks...
.
Home media
The film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on November 17, 2009. Special features include deleted/alternate/extended scenes
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
and an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by Sacha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles. Despite having an 81-minute runtime in theaters, the DVD carries an extended version of 108 minutes.
Reviews
Among critics and the public, Brüno has received mixed reviews. However, reviews of the premiere screenings of Brüno were generally positive among audiences. Nick Curtis of the Evening StandardEvening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
wrote that Brüno is "funnier, more offensive, and more outrageous than Borat". The Telegraph gave the film four stars out of four, saying "impossible not to laugh and also praising Brüno's controversial style of comedy." The BBC also gave the film a positive review, saying "Brüno pushes the boundaries further than Borat ever did." However, they also said that "It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea" due to the offensive nature of the film. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
awarded the film three and a half out of four stars, and said "Here is a film that is 82 minutes long and doesn't contain 30 boring seconds", although he noted that the film's R rating was "very, very hard".
Others felt it was not as good a comedy, feeling it would insult and offend the gay community. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gives Brüno an average score of 54, suggesting "mixed or average reviews".
Andy Lowe from Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
gave it a lower review, giving it three stars out of five and calling it "as phony and frustrating as it is funny... The clothes may be new and more fabulous, but the emperor seriously needs to go shopping." A. O. Scott
A. O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that the film shows "that lampooning homophobia has become an acceptable, almost unavoidable form of homophobic humor," and called the film "a lazy piece of work that panders more than it provokes." At the Movies critic Ben Mankiewicz
Ben Mankiewicz
Ben Mankiewicz is an American radio and television personality, known for his work as a TV journalist, news anchor, and film critic...
criticized the film for being too demeaning and playing on homosexual stereotypes. He later named Brüno the worst film at the halfway point of 2009.
The film, however, currently holds a 67% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and is advertised as a "Certified Fresh Pick". For its opening weekend, it narrowly beat Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, also known as Ice Age 3, is a 2009 3-D computer animated film. It is the third installment of the Ice Age series, produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
(in its second week of release) for the highest gross, in the lowest attended second-weekend-in-July in 18 years.
Reception in Austria
While Borat was highly criticised in KazakhstanKazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
ns were generally positive about Brüno. Some commented that the film places Austria in the spotlight, and that "it might stop people confusing Austria with Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
." Others regarded the humour as "pretty average" and "inoffensive to Austria." Within the Austrian press, reactions have been generally mild and positive, although the film has also been labelled as "repetitive". Christian Fuchs, from the Austrian radio station FM4, writes that "hidden beneath the hard-as-nails satirist Cohen, lies a humanist who enlightens." However, the film has also met some opposition in Austria, due to its portrayal of homosexuality, and basing the portrayal of Austria on motifs such as Josef Fritzl and Hitler, even going as far as calling Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
"der Führer
Führer
Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...
".
Box office
Brüno topped the charts with $33 million in its first week. It has made $136,933,838 worldwide of which $60,054,530 was from Canada and the United States.LGBT response
Some LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
groups have criticised the character as perpetuating LGBT stereotypes
LGBT stereotypes
Stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are conventional, formulaic generalizations, opinions, or images about persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Stereotypes and homophobia are a learned outlook, i.e...
while simultaneously enlightening institutionalised homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
issues. "Sacha Baron Cohen's well-meaning attempt at satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
is problematic in many places and outright offensive in others," Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is a non-governmental media monitoring organization which promotes the image of LGBT people in the media...
(GLAAD) told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Lawsuit
On May 22, 2009, a charity worker at a seniors bingo game sued Baron Cohen, claiming an incident shot for the film at a charity bingo tournament left her disabled. However, the worker later retracted her statement saying the "actor never struck her", but that he "beat her down emotionally to the point she's now confined to a wheelchair." The scene did not make the final cut for the film.Title
An alternative title for the film is Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. It was initially a mock title proposed by Hollywood news and gossip blog Defamer and mistakenly reported as genuine by a number of sources of film information, including MovieTome, where it is still used in the search results, the Daily Star, The Irish TimesThe Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
, The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, and (although no longer) the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. However, the official Brüno website lists the extended 'title' in its metadata.
Ayman Abu Aita lawsuit & Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
On December 2, 2009, it was reported that Ayman Abu Aita, who claims he was falsely portrayed as a terrorist in the film, is filing a lawsuit of $110 million in libel damages for defamation. Ayman Abu Aita served in the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an organization responsible for numerous suicide bombings from 2000 to 2003 and served two years in prison on charges relating to shootings against Israeli soldiers. However Abu Aita claims he is no longer active in the group and has been misrepresented in the film. For instance, Baron Cohen claims he set up a meeting with Abu Aita in the West Bank with the help of a CIA agent. According to the lawsuit, however, the interview with Abu Aita took place at a hotel chosen by Baron Cohen and located in a part of the West Bank that was under Israeli military control.Rumours of the lawsuit were speculated since Abu Aita went on a media blitz earlier in 2009, but the lawsuit was finally confirmed at a press conference on December 2. Included in the lawsuit are David LettermanDavid Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
, NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Worldwide Pants
Worldwide Pants
Worldwide Pants Incorporated is an American television and film production company owned by comedian and talk show host David Letterman. Its ongoing productions are Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson...
, Gannett Company
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...
and Larry Charles
Larry Charles
Larry Charles is an American writer, director, and producer. He is best known as a staff writer for the American sitcom Seinfeld for its first 5 seasons, contributing some of the show's darkest and most absurd storylines...
.
Baron Cohen has said he had to increase his security detail following death threats from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade after the release of the film. The group was angered by the interview with Abu Aita in which he was linked with the group, an armed wing of the Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
movement. In a statement to the media, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade denied that Abu Aita was a member and threatened that they "reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man (Baron Cohen)" and that they feel the segment was "a dirty use of our brother Ayman".
Motion Picture Association of America
On October 11, 2010, it was revealed that the Motion Picture Association of AmericaMotion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
's Classification and Rating Administration would specifically note in the future which films contained "male nudity." A spokesman said this was in direct response to parental concerns about the content of Bruno.
External links
- The Best Bruno Website
- Et Tu, Brüno? by Richard Kim, The Nation, July 10, 2009
- Folks Duped by Sacha Baron Cohen in Carrollton are Really Mad by Michael Granberry, The Dallas Morning News, June 7, 2008