You mean that there was some way of knowing in advance that this was at least partially not real? You're trying to tell me that Sacha Baron Cohen is known publicly to be somebody whose formula in working is the following:

a. Assume a false role.
b. Under that false role, engage with somebody under false pretenses, promising something that he knows is different than the result will be.
c. Make a joke out of the disparity between what's expected and what actually ends up happening.

Is that right? Huh. Then I wonder why anybody's surprised that the movie does exactly that.

the stuff he did as Bruno on the TV show is legit. there's no faking that shit.

Yes there is. He isn't really "Bruno", nor is Sacha a flamboyant European homosexual.

I'm confused: it seems like some of you guys actually think Borat is a real person? In case there is any ambiguity to what I mean by being "staged", I mean whether or not the authenticity of the people's reactions that Borat has encounters with are genuine, or if they're acting too.

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no shit, Matlock?

You said: I don't know if you're talking about his character or the reactions from people.

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Love it really funny =)

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I read that he makes them sign release forms beforehand. He also arranges fake companies/websites to get his interviews.

yea i saw an article online somewhere that had scanned copies of the forms...i'll have to try and hunt that one down later. from what i saw on the forms, it didn't mention "this is a fake reporter giving the interview" it was referring to a "documentary style film" though.

reactions, obviously.

the movie reeks of his first (and only???) season in the UK, where everything was scripted and they even had the "sitcom laughter".

easily the funniest movie i've ever seen.

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I saw the advanced showing a few weeks ago.
It was pretty good, some bits were very funny, others were a bit a bit shit.

To be honest, if you've seen Borat on "da Ali G show" then you've pretty much seen at least 50% of this film. Alot of it is recycled. I got a free ticket, so it was definately worth it. The naked fighting, and throwing money at the jewish woodlice were my favourite bits.

I think the laughter was from the studio audience on the Ali G show. I cant remember if Borats first series had canned laughter tho.

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well, yeah, there was the show on HBO. extremely uncomfortable situations, but funny to watch.

I loved how the movie actually had a story. I came in expecting a Jackass type situation. I really do want a list of what was fake and what was real though. I know the Bull Ring was real and a mob tried to kill him afterward.

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What the hell's HBO?

(If you make me explain myself and don't get it yourself, I'm seriously suspending you. First time anybody will have been suspended for being dumb, but there's a first time for everything.)

I don't think the UK series was entirely scripted. He sets out a basic script for himself to follow and then improvises according to the reaction he receives from his subject.

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then suspend yourself for this:

i didnt make you explain yourself, and i dont want you to (if you havnt). if you have i assume its the post at the top of this page, in which i dont know how that is explaining yourself for what you said in the second quote of this very post.

I am 109% sure PST 88 was being sarcastic with the shootinng himself part. It is still possible to be sarcastic without smilies....

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yeah, i guess that is aparent now. but when someone makes a very believable claim about not being aware of something, i usually just believe them, rather than say "hmmm, i wonder if this is sarcasm, or if he simply just wasnt aware".

there really is no way i would know if any of you really does know about the show, prior to the movie.

I was making fun of the people who got shocked when a guy whose entire job is to trick people who've trusted him because he deliberately withholds his real intentions didn't deliver them exactly what they'd expected based on his trailers.

You don't need to have HBO to know that Borat is a character played by Sacha Baron Cohen. It's about as far from hidden as, well, the fact that he was going to have to stage most of the movie. Hence the joke.

For future reference, when I claim I'm at the brink of

a. Suicide;
b. Quitting drinking;
c. Suspending somebody for something that isn't an infraction of the rules;

and other things in this vein, please assume that I'm joking. It will make our future interactions go much smoother.