Last week, Sacha Baron Cohen crashed a Milan fashion show. Now video has emerged as well, and it really whets our appetite for his upcoming Brüno flick.

Out of his three stock characters, Brüno's the least known, and yet the fabulous fashionista engaged in some of the funniest bits on Da Ali G Show. Not only did he send-up the laughable self-importance of the fashion world, he also challenged folks' sexuality. A memorable bit had him asking a gay deprogrammer if he would get turned on if Brüno gave him a lap dance. (We know we would!)

Although some critics wonder if Cohen can repeat the success of Borat with Brüno, we're betting he'll get the last laugh, as long as he's willing to suffer for his art. And oh how he loves to do that. Just watch the video. After his moment of glory strutting down the runway in his Farrah 'do and Shadow cape (looking strangely hot), Cohen was detained by authorities. If only all comedians were willing to go so far for a chuckle.

Call it performance art, savage prank behavior or audacious social satire. Call it whatever you want, but there's no question Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again. As Erik reported back in March, the Borat star began surfacing as his Bruno alter-ego in a variety of absurd situations likely intended for the movie starring the effeminate European character. Wearing chains at a Kansas church? Check. Weirding out Ben Affleck? Check. Airport dancing? Yep. Now, bizarre reports of a cage match in Arkansas, where attendees paid for admission expecting to watch a fight and instead witnessed two men get naked and lock lips, suggests Cohen is still at it, more than three months down the line. Not only that, but he appears to have pulled the stunt twice: First on June 5 at the Four States Fair Grounds in Texarkana, then again at Fort Smith's convention center, where a character named "Straight Dave" apparently selected a planted audience member to challenge him.

Whether or not you agree with Cohen's brash style -- he claims to take inspiration from Michael Moore's stunts --
the actor definitely constructs his gags with very specific ideas in mind. Borat took a stab at American stereotypes of foreign cultures, but Bruno looks like it's geared more towards attacking homophobia -- specifically as it manifests in middle America. However, it's hard to say whether or not such excessive spectacles will manage to correct misinformed perspectives or reinforce them.

So it appears as if Sacha Baron Cohen is still causing quite the mess here in the United States as his alter-ego Brüno; getting kicked out of airports, showing up to an Easter play at a church in Kansas wearing chains, and the list goes on. First off, for those not familiar with Brüno, he's a gay Austrian fashion reporter who's wildly flamboyant in every way. The film, which marks Cohen's follow-up to Borat, will be called (deep breath) ... 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. Needless to say, I cannot wait to hear my local news coughing up that title when it comes time for the weekend box office figures.

But back to Ben Affleck. Seems Mike Walker from the National Enquirer called into Howard Stern last week saying that Affleck called friend Sarah Silverman following an interview with Brüno. Affleck was told Brüno was a "very famous openly gay fashion journalist," but that didn't stop Ben from admitting it was "the weirdest sit-down he has ever had with a reporter." Eventually, Silverman coughed up his name and only then did Ben realize he'd been had. Part of me doesn't believe this at all, because I can only imagine the hoops one would need to jump through in order to get an actual sit-down interview with Ben Affleck. Then again, perhaps Cohen's crew have perfected their little joke by now. Either way, I'm sure Affleck will be making an appearance in the film.

For more, as well as a brief video of Brüno's crew dancing in an airport, head over to Slashfilm.

The secret was let out back in October of 2006 -- Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno would follow in the wake left by Borat. Since then, news about the production has been almost nonexistent. In May of last year, Defamer spies saw Baron Cohen and his Bruno entourage at a Foreign Trade Association luncheon. But that was it, until now. A new Defamer source says that the actor was spotted doing his shtick in Sherman Oaks on February 21.

The source says [sic]: "He was dressed in tight leather black pants with a bedazzeled g-string showing. his hair was frosted blond and straight. He was interviewing parents with their children pretending to be an german / austrian ad agent looking for a child to do a car commercial. He asked questions like : are you willing to film your child with ants? bees or wasps? dogs? ect. very funny."

If both of these sources are to be believed, it looks like the wacky actor is spreading out the filming. I imagine Baron Cohen's time is being split between Bruno, family Q-T, and his other gigs. While it would be nice to get some solid news, it's probably better this way until the film is wrapped and ready. Still, I'm getting antsy. But how about you?

Are you ready for Bruno?

Well, Sacha Baron Cohen has already made sure that he won't be haunted by Borat jokes for the rest of his life, so it was only a matter of time before he started to branch out. First was his foray into musicals, and now it's time for something just a little more 'serious'. Once again Cohen has gotten lucky and he's caught the eye of another great director. The Times Online has reported that Cohen signed to play 60's counter-culture icon Abbie Hoffman for Steven Spielberg. Cohen is the perfect choice to play the self-described "Jewish Road Warrior, communo-anarchist". They both seemed to appreciate a good prank, and hey -- the two even look alike.

The film will be called The Trial of the Chicago Seven and was written by Aaron Sorkin (Charlie Wilson's War) with presumably Spielberg directing. The story will center on the infamous trial of seven men for riots at the 1968 Democratic convention. Hoffman was an activist and author who, along with Bobby Seale and Jerry Rubin, were put on trial for conspiracy and inciting to riot. He was eventually cleared of the charges and was still a celebrity at the time of his death in 1989.

According to the Times, Cohen is set to receive five million dollars for the role that he had to be "talked into" by Spielberg. It was probably wise for Cohen to say yes, since apparently some have lived to regret turning down the directing legend. Cohen already has Brüno lined up as his next film. It will be another 'character' comedy; about a gay, Austrian fashion correspondent. As for Spielberg, he has already started wrapping up work on Indy 4 and there is still the Lincoln biopic with Liam Neeson. Plus, he has already lined up the sci-fi film, Interstellar. So it could be some time before The Trial of the Chicago Seven makes it's way to production. If you can't wait to get your fix of civil disobedience though, you can always check out the animated documentary Chicago 10 when it opens in March 2008.

[via The View From Here]

In an interview for Sweeney Todd over at the Telegraph, Sacha Baron Cohen goes into lots of detail about the process of learning to sing for the role. He tells a long anecdote about having his mother look up a singing teacher for him in the Yellow Pages, and then finding out the woman not only never heard of him, but also never heard of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp or the musical Sweeney Todd. "I ignored everything she said and went to the set the next day," he says. When made to audition for Sondheim, Cohen says he was unable to hit a crucial high note, but came up with a unique solution -- "I brought in a very fat female opera singer to sing the final note." Apparently, that was good enough to gain him Sondheim's approval.

Cohen also talks at length about his alter-egos Ali G and Borat, and says that he's come to realize that the popularity of the Borat movie means he'll never be able to do the character again. "Admitting I am never going to play them [Borat and Ali G] again is quite a sad thing," he says. "It's like saying goodbye to a loved one. It is hard, and the problem with success, although it's fantastic, is that every new person who sees the Borat movie is one less person I 'get' with Borat again, so it's kind of self-defeating form, really. It's upsetting, but the success has been great." Of course, the interviewer tries to get some info out of Cohen about Bruno, the next character he'll be taking to the big screen, but Cohen pretty much stops him cold. He's not opening his mouth about that.

Emmy-nominated Rainn Wilson is heating up in Hollywood, somewhat competing with his Office co-stars Steve Carell, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer for most movie deals. His latest is Renaissance Men, which he co-wrote with actor Matt Ross (HBO's Big Love) and just sold to Universal. In the comedy, Wilson and Ross will play losers (Wilson claims he can't write about winners) who think they've killed their community theater co-star and so hideout at a Renaissance fair. Wilson describes it as, "a bit like We're No Angels, only funny." He also claims that Renaissance fairs are fascinating because, "everyone has been to one, but no one really knows what makes them tick."

I'll be the first to admit I've never been to a Ren fair, but I did have some friends in high school that were into them -- sometimes they even brought their crossbows to school (fortunately not in the view of teachers). These were the same kids who wouldn't let me play role-playing games because I wouldn't take them seriously enough. So, yeah, I'm all for making a mockery out of the whole thing. Wilson was a D&D player and a Ren fair attendee as a teen, so he has the experience to use as a foundation and the ability to make fun of himself while making fun of those people who are into Ren fair stuff.

Wilson will co-produce with director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents). There is so far no one attached to direct. Roach has a lot of stuff lined up, including producing Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno movie, but unless he goes ahead soon with another Austin Powers sequel or the "comedic Vertigo movie", he should go ahead and helm Renaissance Men. As for Wilson, he's got the comedies Juno, The Rocker, Girlfriend Experience and Bonzai Shadowhands, which he also wrote. Unlike some people, I think Wilson can do more than play Dwight Schrute types -- I loved him as a very un-Dwight-like guy in Baadasssss! -- and can't wait to see how his starring roles turn out. However, I do think Hollywood might want to typecast the guy and I hope the studios don't try and force him to stick with his Office shtick in every movie he's in.

Now that Borat caused a sh*tstorm of publicity for Sacha Baron Cohen, it's going to make the filming of his follow-up (in which he takes on the character of Bruno; the homosexual Austrian youth-oriented news reporter) much more interesting. After all, a lot more people know who he is now; they know his game. Is there any town in this country where its citizens are so out-of-touch and self-absorbed that they won't recognize the comedic actor in uniform performing his usual shtick? Well, it seems there is such a place -- Los Angeles. La La Land. Defamer reports (via a spy) that Cohen (as Bruno) and his ten-person crew were spotted at the Omni Hotel in downtown Los Angeles attending a luncheon hosted by the Foreign Trade Association. Yup, it appears Bruno is officially underway.

According to the spy, Baron Cohen has ditched the Bruno mohawk for something a tad more low key. "He's dressed in leather pants, black vest and a black t-shirt. The hair is kinduva flock of seagulls/sad boy from the cure look - rusty brown hair mopped over to one side and the tips are a frosty blonde." Apparently, the crew is telling the people who sign releases that they are filming a documentary about American culture and the World Trade. And, with the exception of our spy, "99% of the people had no idea who he was." The best part of the whole thing was that when the spy realized it was Baron Cohen and tried to get a picture, the crew were all over him like white on rice; following him around, blocking his view. Since Los Angeles is hosting a World Trade Week, I'm sure Cohen and his crew will be all over the place -- assuming people don't blow up his spot (ahem, no comment). If anyone manages to snap a photo of Bruno doing his thing, feel free to hook up your good friends at Cinematical. We're here to serve ...

One of the first things that new Borat fans talked about as they were walking out of the theater had to be: "I wonder if they'll make a sequel," and that probably led to the next logical question: "I wonder how they could make a sequel!" I mean, Borat's been pretty much everywhere for the past few months, which will make it a whole lot tougher to find unsuspecting people who don't recognize the character -- and if people actually recognize Borat, then there goes the joke right there.

But that's not stopping Fox from moving forward with a sequel. In a recent article in Financial Times (as mentioned at ComingSoon.net), Rupert Murdoch mentioned that after Sacha Baron Cohen does his Bruno movie for Universal, he'll be coming back to Fox to do Borat 2. Why isn't Cohen doing Bruno with Fox? Rupert says it's because Fox was unwilling to bid on a screenplay sight unseen, whereas Universal obviously was. No word yet on what direction the Borat sequel will take (hey, maybe he can visit North Korea; I doubt they know Borat out there), but considering the first flick grossed over $248 million worldwide (off a production budget of $18 million), you just knew this was coming.

I can't be the only one who's sick of hearing the names Sacha Baron Cohen and Borat. Heck, you'd think the dude was paying us -- we write about him that much. However, his name keeps popping up and it is our duty to inform you of the latest goings on around Hollywood. With that said, Cohen has officially signed on to star opposite Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in Willy Wonka Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton's big screen adaptation of the popular staged musical. We first reported this news last month, but as per usual, it took awhile for things to be cemented in concrete. Cohen's role in the film is pretty small (if you're at all familiar with the source material), as he'll be playing Signor Adolfo Pirelli, Sweeney Todd's nemesis. Production will begin in February.

On the Borat front, it was only a matter of time before folks started talking sequel. Sure, we've mentioned such a thing before, but seeing as the character has been exposed worldwide, you'd think a follow-up film would be impossible. Well, don't tell producer Jay Roach that. In an interview with MTV, he says, "We've talked a lot about [a sequel]. We have talked about ideas to try different stuff. It's definitely more difficult now, and I don't know if it's even possible to out into the world, but we have ideas. We're sneaky, clever people." Hey, if they manage to pull it off (so it's not staged), I'm offering up my first-born child in return. That's right, you heard it here first. Regardless of whether or not we'll get another Borat, Cohen will once again don one of his famous disguises next summer when he begins shooting Bruno.