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Sacha Baron Cohen

March 29, 2012 by · Comments Off on Sacha Baron Cohen 

Sacha Baron Cohen, We know it must be hard for Sacha Baron Cohen to top his Academy Award red carpet stunt, when he showed up in-character as General Aladeen of the Republic of Wadiya.

After dumping Kim Jong Il’s ashes all over Ryan Seacrest he was escorted off the scene by security guards who may or may not have been in on the viral marketing hoax for his film The Dictator.

Still, we were hoping for a little more from the actual trailer for the film, released yesterday. With both Borat and Bruno, Mr. Cohen proved he could shock audiences with his mockumentary format.

 But bottle his genius into a scripted comedy, and you end up with a trailer that looks like You Don’t Mess with the Zohan but with more jokes about blowing up the Empire State State building.

Sacha Baron Cohen

February 23, 2012 by · Comments Off on Sacha Baron Cohen 

Sacha Baron Cohen, A s usual, there’s some intriguing behind-the-scenes drama leading up to Sunday’s Academy Awards:

Wild card Sacha Baron Cohen is threatening to show up on the red carpet in costume (and character) as the ruthless tyrant from his new film “The Dictator” – obviously to promote it to one of the world’s biggest TV audiences. Academy bosses have let him know they’d frown on that, with a spokesman stating very clearly, “The red carpet is not about stunting. It’s not about putting on a zoo.”
Cohen previously was asked to be a presenter in 2007, but when told he could not come as his outrageous Kazakhstani character Borat, he declined.

Meanwhile, the bankrupt Kodak company finally got a release from its hefty payments to maintain the name “Kodak Theatre.” So, for the moment, the theater where the Academy Awards are presented is technically nameless. It’s likely the opening announcement on Sunday night will be, “Live from the Hollywood and Highland Center – the 84th annual Academy Awards!!”
(The huge commercial complex housing the theater is located at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland.)

The Motion Picture Academy does have veto rights over the naming process of the theater where the Oscars are handed out. The point being, the Academy’s board would not want something inappropriate to be slapped on the building. Could you imagine, “Live from the Hooters Theater, the annual Academy Awards!”

Producers again will do the “Mominees” bit, started last year with the mothers of James Franco, Jeremy Renner, Mark Wahlberg and Mark Ruffalo tweeting and participating in the Oscars pre-show. Word has it, this year’s “Mominees” will include the mothers of George Clooney, Plainfield’s own Melissa McCarthy and Gary Oldman as part of the 2012 mix.

SPORTING LIFE: “Linsanity” is turning into a potentially huge windfall for New York Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin. His agent has been inundated with more than 1,000 endorsement offers – with more still pouring in.

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