Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit... (2006)

“My profession television reporter. I second most successful in all Kazakhstan,” Borat explains. “I also have work in past as gypsy catcher, ice make, and in computer maintenance – I would paint the outsides and remove dead birds from their pipes.” From those humble beginnings, Borat rose up the ranks of Kazakh broadcasting – until he got his big shot at fame. “1 years ago, Kazakh Ministry of Information send me to US and A to make reportings that would help Kazakhstan,” Borat recounts. “We want to be like you. America have most beautiful womens in world – for example Liza Minnelli and Elizabeth Taylor. It also center for democracy and porno. I like! I so excite to do my movie!”

Filmmaker Jay Roach, who in addition to the “Austin Powers” films also helmed the mega-hits “Meet the Parents” and “Meet the Fockers,” was fascinated by Baron Cohen’s work as Borat, and saw the potential for a movie starring the character. “I think what Sacha does in this film is revolutionary,” says Roach.. “He’s created a totally believable, hilarious, fish-out-of-water character. Then Sacha takes Borat into often dangerous predicaments with real people who have to believe Borat is authentic the entire time – or else Sacha could face serious consequences. That’s fantastic suspense! “Sacha takes risks like no performer I’m aware of,” Roach continues. “He’s a true comedic high-wire act. On top of that, whatever these real people do in the scene not only drives the scene, but changes the direction of the story. And it’s all insanely funny, even though he only gets one take for every performance. He does all that, and then also spoofs and holds a mirror up to racism, anti-Semitism, misogyny, jingoism and hypocrisy. With no exaggeration, I believe what Sacha accomplishes with this character sets an entirely new standard for filmed performances.”

It is this combination of explosive humor, rawness and satire that led Roach to believe that a Borat film could be very special – and very different from traditional Hollywood comedies. “We saw an opportunity to do a film that was bold, subversive and fresh,” explains Roach. “We wanted to transplant the reality format of [“Da Ali G”] TV show, which has Sacha in character, interacting with real people. Then, we created a story that supports a feature film.”

Peter Baynham, Anthony Hines and Dan Mazer were drafted to write an outline for the film. There was no script. The movie is an experiment – a new form of filmmaking for an age in which reality and entertainment have become increasingly intertwined. Real events with real people push the film’s fictional story, and when scenes played out in unexpected ways, Baron Cohen and his colleagues had to rewrite the outline.

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