edited by Jonathan Doyle

Mafioso (The Criterion Collection, 3.18.2008) Nino Badalamenti is a supervisor in a car manufacturing plant who hasn't taken a vacation in over two years. On his way out the door to visit his beloved childhood hometown of Sicily -- with his blonde wife and daughters -- Nino is handed a package by his boss and asked to deliver it to a powerful and influential Sicilian gangster named Don Vincenzo. Once in Sicily, Nino has a hoot seeing friends and family, but his wife has trouble fitting in and is unfairly dismissed as a snob by Nino's family. Even more worrisome, Nino finds himself entangled in an intricate web of secret mafioso dealings and is eventually sent on an unexpectedly... elaborate errand. (continued)

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Bruno vs. Affleck

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According to this Slashfillm posting that went up Friday night, a clueless Ben Affleck was recently fooled by Sacha Baron Cohen during filming of Bruno. Or so claimed National Enquirer gossip Mike Walker during last Thursday's Howard Stern show. Forget the Affleck b.s. -- how can Cohen get away with this routine with anyone? What 30 year civil servant on the edge of retirement isn't in on the joke?

Affleck allegedly called Sarah Silverman "after doing a sit-down interview with a person he was told was a 'very famous openly gay fashion journalist,'" blah, blah. "Affleck called the interview 'the weirdest sit-down he's ever had with a reporter' explaining that the interviewer's (whom he refered to as an 'idiot') first question was 'how do you like niggers?' After a stunned silence, Silverman asked Affleck, 'Was this guy's name Bruno?' Then and only then did Affleck actually realize that the whole thing was a gag.'"

This You Tube clip of Cohen recently filming at the Wichita, Kansas, airport isn't bad, however. Here's a story about what happened there. Here's another one.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 30, 2008 at 10:11 AM

comment #1

Jeffrey Kunze says ...

PWNED!

Posted by Jeffrey Kunze at March 30, 2008 10:56 AM

comment #2

Edward says ...

We used to go drinking in Kansas, because they served 3.2% beer to 18 year olds. But just try and buy hard liquor! The Kansas AG used to stop trains going through his state, because the sold liquor by the glass.

Posted by Edward at March 30, 2008 11:06 AM

comment #3

p.Vice says ...

Does anyone happen to know when Cohen plans to come up with a new idea instead of recyling the same shit from his TV show over and over?

Posted by p.Vice at March 30, 2008 11:19 AM

comment #4

lesterg says ...

"Does anyone happen to know when Cohen plans to come up with a new idea instead of recyling the same shit from his TV show over and over?"

Couldn't agree more. Why would a guy who was all-but-unknown on these shores five years ago want to continue to make critically-acclaimed blockbusters?

Posted by lesterg at March 30, 2008 12:00 PM

comment #5

monsieur hire says ...

"Does anyone happen to know when Cohen plans to come up with a new idea instead of recyling the same shit from his TV show over and over?"

And this bothers you why exactly? If it's funny, it's funny. Get over it.

Posted by monsieur hire at March 30, 2008 12:04 PM

comment #6

corey3rd says ...

while Cohen might think it's funny to fool stars into believing his act, just remember that our President pranked Tony Blair into Iraq,

Posted by corey3rd at March 30, 2008 12:47 PM

comment #7

Dzayson says ...

"How do you like niggers?"

You stay classy, Sasha Baron Cohen.

Posted by Dzayson at March 30, 2008 12:51 PM

comment #8

hiviper says ...

p.vice - his Bruno character isn't as much known in the US as the others, so this gave him the go-ahead to inflict the usual bullshit.

IMO, Bruno is going to tank. Not that I'm offended or anything, but that it's simply not that funny.

Posted by hiviper at March 30, 2008 10:05 PM

comment #9

lazespud says ...

I'm going to suspect that if there is any truth to the Affleck story, it's mostly like the "reality" of the Pamela Anderson segment in Borat. I cannot think of any particular reason Affleck would be interviewed by basically a random guy...

Though I love Mike Walker's segments on the stern show, so many of his "scoops" are almost completely impossible to prove or disprove...

Besides, reading an interview with Jilmmy Kimmel about his "I fucked Ben Affleck" video, it was clear that neither he nor Silvlerman particularly knew Affleck (until the video). Why would he be calling Silverman?

That said, I don't understand the backlash in this thread against Cohen. Jeez, Borat was the most laugh-out-loud funny movie in a very long time. Why would we assume that Bruno would be that much worse? Cohen is a very funny guy and I doubt he won't deliver...

I mean he's not chevy chase or eddie murphy... he's not some past-his-prime comic actor... He's had one movie where he was the prime creative force and it was delriously funny.

Posted by lazespud at March 31, 2008 01:54 AM

comment #10

calraigh says ...

He certainly isn't Chevy Chase or Eddie Murphy.Thank Christ-the guy is actually funny.He was hilarious and great in Sweeney Todd. and Ali G is one of his best characters, along with Bruno.There's no way this movie is going to tank, it'll be huge if not even bigger than Borat so you may want to get back under your rock love.

Posted by calraigh at March 31, 2008 06:37 AM

comment #11

Aladdin Sane says ...

With a country the population of the USA, there's a really good chance that even if people know Borat, they don't know SBC's other characters. Not everyone in the world uses the internet for movie/tv stuff. I'm guessing that Bruno didn't have much trouble avoiding those that know him and finding those that don't know him from Borat.

Posted by Aladdin Sane at March 31, 2008 11:30 AM

comment #12

fooditude says ...

Love the site. Just thought I'd chime in with the fact that this actor's last name is not "Cohen." His surname/family name is "Baron Cohen," even though it's not hyphenated. In other words, "Baron" is not his middle name. It's an English thing. Hope that helps.

Posted by fooditude at March 31, 2008 01:57 PM

comment #13

MarkEbner says ...

How is opening with "How do you like niggers?" NOT funny?

Mark Ebner
http://www.hollywoodinterrupted.com

Posted by MarkEbner at March 31, 2008 02:52 PM

comment #14

D.Z. says ...

Borat's overrated, and I think the reason it gets acclaim is due to the appeal of the concept of a foreigner knowing less about us than the other way around. It gives us a sense of oneupmanship. Bruno will probably fail, due to the idea of a straight guy playing a stereotypical effeminate and outed gay guy being done to death in Hollywood long before Cohen came up with his version. The last time it was a hit was when Robin Williams played one, and that was because it was Robin Williams. I don't count 'Chuck and Larry, because they were pretending to be gay within the context of the film, not actual gay characters. But if you look at that one, it was actually kind of low for a Sandler film, given the budget and P+A. So I think the joke is getting tired.

Posted by D.Z. at March 31, 2008 07:54 PM

comment #15