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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Arts Headline of the Day
Posted by DAVID SCHMADER on September 13 at 10:10 AM

“Bush to hold talks on Ali G creator after diplomatic row”

From London’s Daily Mail:

[Sacha Baron] Cohen, 35, creator of Ali G, has infuriated the Kazakhstan government with his portrayal of Borat, a bumbling Kazakh TV presenter. And now a movie of Borat’s adventures in the US has caused a diplomatic incident…Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev is to fly to the US to meet President Bush in the coming weeks and on the agenda will be his country’s image… President Nazarbayev will visit the White House and the Bush family compound in Maine when he flies in for talks that will include the fictional character Borat.

President Nazarbayev has confirmed that the Kazakhstan government will buy “educational” TV spots and print advertisements about the “real Kazakhstan” to counter the contentious images put forth in Cohen’s forthcoming Borat film, including, the Daily News reports, Borat “lustily kissing his sister goodbye and setting off for America in a car pulled by a horse.”

Full story here.

Comments

Massive corruption, authoritarian politics, murdering political opponents. With all those, I'd think Borat would be the least of their image worries.

Posted by Gitai | September 13, 2006 10:21 AM

Borat's Kazakhstan resembles neighboring Uzbekistan more. Kazakhstan might be the most liberal, developed, civilized country in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is the real murderous civil-rights toilet in the region.

Posted by Fnarf | September 13, 2006 10:29 AM

nice ass.....

Posted by eliah kazakhstan | September 13, 2006 10:33 AM

I've been a fan of Cohen's for years, but I think the Borat character is the weakest of the three. It relies more on making fun of the supposed traits of the people of Kazakhstan than on showing up the proud, Cohen's speciality.

There's some great stuff from his Austrian fashion critic - it might be from the American show, I can't remember - where he gets a woman to say that people who dress poorly should be put on trains and sent to concentration camps.

To me, that's funnier than taking pot shots at a culture the West knows little about. Cohen's too clever for that.

Posted by brie | September 13, 2006 10:43 AM

Borat is incredible. The scene where he leads a bar full of Rednecks in a sing-a-long of 'Throw the Jew Down the Well' is one of the great television moments of all time.

Yeshkemesh.

(And I swear I'm not saying that to bait the Jew patrol.)

Posted by Gurldoggie | September 13, 2006 10:56 AM

Yes, yes, no one can compete with Turkmenbashi for sheer insanity in Central Asia, but being the most liberal state in Central Asia is like being the least promiscuous hooker in a whorehouse.

Posted by Gitai | September 13, 2006 12:07 PM

Why is he complaining to Bush? Cohen is a British national.

Posted by Aexia | September 13, 2006 12:24 PM

How is his ass so smooth and hairless?

Posted by keshmeshi | September 13, 2006 1:21 PM

My, my.. that picture is NSFW!

Posted by Rachel in Bellingham | September 13, 2006 2:19 PM

Kazhakstan could go a long way towards creating a positive international image by actually PRODUCING something useful.

Posted by Gomez | September 13, 2006 7:33 PM

As a Jew I believe we must laugh to overcome hardship. This film is a way fo Jews to laugh at those who hate us and in our laughter is our liberation. Anyone who is against this movie is anti-semitic.

Posted by Shoshana | September 14, 2006 6:43 PM

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