When comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat" exposed the foibles of Americans everywhere, a few people weren't laughing, triggering a wave of lawsuits from people who participated in the film and didn't know they were being mocked. Well, guess what, suckers! You signed the release!

New York judge Loretta Preska, Jaunted hero, threw out lawsuits from the film's eternally patient driving instructor (above) and unnaturally sweet etiquette coaches, citing the agreements they signed to appear in the film.

It's perfect timing for Baron Cohen as he completes shooting on his next "character" film, next year's "Bruno" in which he plays a gay Austrian fashionista. Humor teacher, drunk frat boys and Pam Anderson beware!

Related Stories:
· Movie Ambush Travel: Bruno Is The New Borat In Kansas [Jaunted]
· Sacha Baron Cohen Caught Relaxing At Airport [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Evil Beet Gossip]]]> egw 2008-09-11T09:15:26-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/7/21221/26407

Wherever there is a publicity-hungry expert, Bruno is there! Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen wreaked havoc earlier this year at a Kansas airport in character as a gay Austrian fashionista, his follow-up to Borat. Recently, an Israeli defense expert was taken in by the comedian's wiles.

Yossi Alpher thought he was conducting an interview on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, he was interrogated about the terrorist potential of hummus and Brad Pitt's love life. Apparently someone hasn't been to the movies recently!

What we want to know is whether this movie--allegedly titled "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"--do for tourism in Austria what "Borat" did for Kazakhstan?

Related Stories:
· Bruno Is the New Borat in Kansas [Jaunted]
· Sacha Baron Cohen Goes Back To Pranks [ICYDK]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

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Despite Sacha Baron Cohen's best efforts, news of the filming of his new movie has leaked to the press, er, us. It was common knowledge the Golden Globe winner was going to follow up his sleeper hit "Borat: Cultural Benefits of American To Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" with a film based on his gay Austrian stylist character Bruno, but apparently Bruno has been spotted in Kansas... without pants.

Cohen had permits for a shoot in the Wichita, Kansas airport, but he probably didn't have license to strip and attempt to kiss random passengers there.

Thank goodness a passerby thought to film the mayhem. Who are these people who have never heard of Cohen or any of his characters? Apparently Ben Affleck was also fooled into being interviewed by Bruno. Oh, we love this country.

Related Stories:
· Wellington Hotel Talks Borat [HotelChatter]
· Borat Begets Kazakhstan Tourism Boom [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]]]> egw 2008-03-31T09:03:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/9/4/22541/02568

Traveling like a celebrity can be hard work, especially when you have to stop to say Jagshemash to all your fans along the way. The comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who instigated a nationwide rise in lawsuits last year as the Kazakh reporter Borat, was recently spotted relaxing with a chair massage at Vancouver International Airport. He no longer sports the bushy mustache of his alter ego, but fans spotted him anyway, according to the New York Daily News.

Of course, if Baron Cohen was handling his own luggage--as he is in the above photo, accompanied by actress-fiancee Isla Fisher--maybe he deserved that massage.

Related Stories:
· Vancouver International Airport [Official Site]
· Gatecrasher [NYDN]

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Here's one guidebook we don't recommend using: that roving Kazakh reporter Borat (or rather his creator, Sasha Baron Cohen) has finally signed a deal with Flying Dolphin Press to publish a travel book. It's going to be split into two halves: "Borat: Touristic Guidings to Minor Nation of U.S. and A." and "Borat: Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

There's only one quote floating around the internet from the publisher, Suzanne Herz:

There is one and only Borat and we are honored to have him join our pantheon of international writers.

Uh...Suzanne? We were expecting you'd say something a little more...funny. Not something that makes Borat sound like...mmm...Salman Rushdie. Unless you're being sarcastic. We hope you're being sarcastic. You know this man's shtick, right?

Actually, we hope you don't. And we look forward to the photo of you and Borat bungee jumping naked on the inside cover.

[Photo: the_defiance]

Related Stories:
· `Kazakh' Reporter to Pen Book of Travel Advice [CNN]
· Borat [Jaunted] ]]> dasubermeg 2007-06-14T12:39:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/3/6/15511/36222
The time has come to celebrate the Kazakhstan tourism boom. Tonight in NYC, head to Cake Shop for a free screening of the newly-released Borat DVD. We love Cake Shop's free parties, and tonight's $0 screening co-hosted by the Village Voice should be no exception. Should you get bored waiting for the film to start, you can grab a drink at the full bar downstairs, or head upstairs to shop for records.

Say you're going alone and looking to chat up a Kazakhstan-loving partygoer. What could be your pick-up line? We wouldn't be surprised if "jagshemash" works on the superfans. But we hear travel buffs melt when you ask them if they think Kazkahstan is the next Macau. And when they can already name the two cities which Kazakhstan is hoping to turn into gambling tourism meccas, you'll know it's true love.

Doors at 5 p.m. / Movie at 6 p.m.

[Photo: Rotten Tomatoes]

Related Stories:
· Borat Begets Kazakhstan Tourism Boom [Jaunted]]]> djk 2007-03-06T15:15:01-05:00 40.720949 -73.987894 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/3/5/10456/91947

Looks like Borat is having quite an effect on Kazakhstan tourism:

Post Borat Occurrences:
·Air Astana, the national airline, has added a third weekly flight from the UK.

·Major international chains, including Radisson SAS, have opened slick new hotels in Almaty and Astana.

·There is even talk from recent Kazakhstan visitors, that the country does indeed have the kind of scenery tipsters told Jaunted about way back when.

Oh, and of course, you travelers to Kazakhstan are treated to the kind of quirkiness they are looking for:

At a traditional Kazakh dinner party, the highest-ranking guest is always served a sheep's head -- the least important gets one of the creature's cervical vertebra.

We so called this.  Not the sheep's head thing, but they whole Kazakhstan tourism blowing up thing.

Maybe now the country can re-open borat.kz.

[Photo: irina slutsky]

Related Stories:
· Borat coverage [Jaunted]
· Kazakhstan coverage [Jaunted]
· Borat Boom [The Sun]
]]> markj 2007-03-05T10:46:50-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/