0Update: General Aladeen to Attend the Oscars

Whoa! This is huge!

Yesterday, Sacha Baron Cohen, as Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen, rallied support—on the “Today” show and online—for the Admiral’s permission to attend the Academy Awards.

Fictional Admiral Aladeen has been petitioning the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and “Zionists” to attend the Oscars in Baron Cohen’s stead. And the Academy has decided to indulge him!

Us Magazine:

An Academy rep initially said it didn’t feel “appropriate” for Cohen, 40, to arrive in costume; they changed their minds Friday afternoon, according to Deadline. “Does Sacha need a changing room?” an Academy rep reportedly asked Cohen’s PR team.

Cohen, who has two young daughters with actress wife Isla Fisher, was elated that the Academy changed its tune.

“Victory is ours! Today the mighty nation of Wadiya triumphed over the Zionist snakes of Hollywood. Evil and all those who made Satan their protector were vanquished and driven into the Pacific Sea,” the actor tweeted. “What I am trying to say here is that the Academy have surrendered and sent over two tickets and a parking pass! Today Oscar, tomorrow Obama!”

The Admiral also posed with his Oscars tickets in a Twitpic. And he’s holding a golden handgun! (Is that supposed to be the “parking pass”? Oh, dear.)

I think it’s important to note that, although Baron Cohen is dressed up as the Dictator, that grin looks pretty sincere.

I skimmed the Deadline article in a little more detail, and I can tell you why the Academy changed its mind: Baron Cohen promised to change out of his Dictator costume and into a tuxedo before going onstage with the cast of Hugo. Which, of course he planned to get into a tux all along! It’s not like he’d attend the Oscars ceremony hoping to annoy Martin Scorsese! Please.

I feel a little conflicted, though: all of this establishes a terrible precedent. Until now, the Academy has flat-out refused to allow Baron Cohen to attend the ceremony “in character” (Borat was disallowed in 2007), citing a policy having to do with “marketing” other movies on the red carpet.

The 2012 Academy Awards will also mark the first time other movies’ commercials may air during the telecast.

All the same, if there’s one thing people complain about every year, it’s that the Academy seems woefully out-of-touch. So it’s nice that the Academy is willing to pretend to have a sense of humor.

February 25, 2012 at 8:30 am by Jenn

1Rumor Mill: Will Sacha Baron Cohen Be Banned from the Oscars?

Hey, look! A video from the fictitious Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen, supreme commander of the Republic of Wadiya!

Genius actor/satirist/provocateur Sacha Baron Cohen has been out of the limelight for a little while now—he’s been hard at work on his latest, The Dictator—but with the movie nearly finished, it’s time to drum up some promotional controversy!

The Academy caught wind that Sacha Baron Cohen—who is attending the Oscars along with the ensemble of Hugo—planned to arrive, in costume and in character, as General Aladeen. The Academy is not amused.

The initial rumor was, Baron Cohen had been banned from the Oscars entirely. Not so! an Academy spokesperson emphasizes. Sacha Baron Cohen is still invited! Just, not in costume.

“His tickets haven’t been pulled,” the spokesperson explains; “we’re waiting to hear back.”

“We want him to come to the show,” adds Academy president Tom Sherak, “but we would like him to come as Sacha.”

In a way, when Baron Cohen claims, in character, that he was “banned from the Oscars,” he is being completely authentic: Admiral General Aladeen really was banned.

This morning, Baron Cohen spoke to the “Today” show:

“Usually I would be impressed by an act of cowardice by a faceless regime,” Baron Cohen, speaking as the Republic of Wadiya leader, said via telephone. “But this is personal.”

Now some people are speculating that Baron Cohen is on a fast track to getting banned from the Oscars totally. According to an ‘insider’, “Sacha is torturing the Academy. I bet when this is over they revoke his membership.”

February 24, 2012 at 12:30 pm by Jenn

5Bump Watch: If Isla Fisher’s Not Pregnant, I Will Eat My Hat.

The newly-married Isla Fisher (she pledged life-long allegiance to Borat Sacha Baron Cohen, remember?) is officially on the rounds for Bump Watch 2010.

The Oman-born Fisher gave birth to the couple’s first child, Olive, who was born in LA in 2007. Sacha and Isla were married after eight years of dating just last month. This will be the second child for both parents.

Yeah, and each and every time I see this lovely woman, I will think Wedding Crashers. She was fucking epic in her role as Gloria and I’ll never look at her face again without thinking, “Stage 5 Clinger.”

Isla’s spokesperson currently has no comment on the status of the star’s uterus. So … If congrats are in order, well … Congrats! If not, damn, Isla, you should get a better wardrobe stylist, girl.

Video is probably NSFW.

Wedding Crashers Bathroom Scene – Watch the top videos of the week here

April 21, 2010 at 7:47 am by Sarah

16Bruno Terrorist is Suing Mad

Ayman Abu Aita appears in Sacha Baron Cohen’s newest movie Bruno – see clip above – as a terrorist group leader.  And Aita is really mad about that depiction.  “[Baron Cohen] said this was a film going to help the Palestinian cause.  When I heard (four days ago) what this film was about I really didn’t believe it.”

Last week Cohen went on Late Show With David Letterman and explained how he tracked down a terrorist and met him at an undisclosed location to interview for his movie.  Aita called SBC a “big liar” after hearing Cohen’s account and is preparing a lawsuit against the actor who “make me big damages.”  Clip of Cohen on Letterman is after the jump.

(more…)

July 13, 2009 at 10:17 am by Wendie

52Bruno Tops the Box Office!

I saw Bruno last night in New York City. Since it’s an 88-minute movie, it was showing about every 45 minutes in damn near every theater in Manhattan. We had hoped to go to the 9:05 showing, but that was sold out, in addition to the 9:45 and the 10:05. We managed to get tickets for the 10:25, in a theater the size of a small basketball stadium. Which was packed. The audience was screaming with laughter the entire time. Throughout the movie, I just kept turning to my friends and saying “Oh my God.” Those were the only words I had. That and “Oh no.”

So it’s no surprise that the film topped the box office this weekend, although I’m a little surprised to hear it only brought in $30.4M, with only $9M of that on Saturday (a 37% drop from Friday’s numbers). I was expecting larger numbers, but I guess I forgot that the whole world isn’t exactly as open-minded as the Lower East Side. I’m sure once word got out about some of the more, uh, explicit moments in the film (I won’t give away details), people in other parts of the country decided to give the film a pass.

Still, it’s exceeding studio predictions, and it’s on track to do better than Borat. Congrats, Sacha.

July 12, 2009 at 11:31 am by Evil Beet

15The Real Sacha Baron Cohen Does Letterman

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Sacha Baron Cohen not dressed up as Bruno, but he made a rare exception to do the David Letterman show last night, telling a laugh-out-loud hilarious story about … well … interviewing a real terrorist. This one’s a must-watch.

I cannot WAIT to see this movie. I will be the first in line.

July 8, 2009 at 11:13 am by Evil Beet