“Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” is the number one film this week, but such success doesn’t come without negative attention. First, Borat was being sued by Mahir Cagri, who has claimed he is the “real” Borat and now, Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat’s creator, is being sued by two college students for displaying their drunken debauchery on film in America. According to E!,

The unnamed plaintiffs alleged in their lawsuit filed Thursday in Santa Monica that, by the time they were asked to sign waivers allowing their images to be used in the mockumentary, they were inebriated with alcohol provided for them by the film’s crew…
And now, two of Borat’s party mates are stating that they have been made “the objects of ridicule, humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional and physical distress” and have suffered “loss of reputation, goodwill and standing in the community.”

The “mental anguish, distress, and emotional humiliation” is just beginning for these unnamed plaintiffs. Not only do I think they have a worthless, failed lawsuit, now they really can be mocked by their friends for being such little babies. However, as I recall, the RV guys looked like a bunch of tools – at least they’re living up to my expectations. Also, Borat has lashed out at these two students who “think” they have a lawsuit. According to African News Dimension,

Borat, (Sacha Cohen) doesn’t understand why two U.S. students are suing him; because they appear stupid.  He said in an interview with Jay Leno and Martha Stewart, that the American Education System is far beyond the abilities of his native country of Khazakstan.

In addition to the two lawsuits, Russia has banned Borat from being released on screen in their country. According to E!,

Apparently, depictions of plough-pulling women, allegations of drinking fermented horse urine, engaging in casual incest and bragging about pubis exports fall a little too close to home for the former Soviet nation…

“There was some kind of explanation that the movie might create tension between races and nationalities because of its far from simple humor,” Nikolai Vorunkov, a spokesperson for Gemini Films, the Russian distributor of 20th Century Fox, told reporters.

Have we taken any mood medication today? Since when does most of the world lack a sense of humor. However, it should have been expected – not even the critics foresaw how successful Borat was going to be, but one such critic has learned his lesson. According to EW,

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan will repeat as champ. (Wa wa wee wa!) I misunderestimated this movie already, and I refuse to fall into the same trap again

Based on the movies being released this week, “Babel” and “Stranger than Fiction” look the most promising in my eyes. However, Borat was a small release last week – only 826 different movie screens. They are expanding it this week and the buzz around Borat is already huge – I know people going to see it for a second time. I wouldn’t be surprised if it hit number one again.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s character, “Borat,” may have been stolen from a Turkish internet celebrity, Mahir Cagri. According to the Associated Press, Mahir is in the process of flying to London to meet with a lawyer to discuss his legal options. In addition, Mahir said,

“The world knows he is copying Mahir,” Cagri told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his hometown of Izmir on Monday, minutes before he was to board a plane for Istanbul to appear on a talk show.

“I am not saying this – the world is. I have received so many e-mails from people in the United States who tell me he is imitating me,” he said.

A relatively unknown claiming the right to a song, or in this particular case, “character” is not something completely unusual, but in this particular case, Mahir Cagri may have been the original, the real Borat. He had his claim to fame as one of the first Internet Celebrities. According to his original homepage, here are some “real” quotes from the turkish internet celebrity, Mahir.

• “I KISS YOU!!!!!!”
• “Who is want to come TURKEY I can invitate ….. She can stay my home ……..”
• “I like sex”
• “I like music , I have many many music enstrumans my home I can play”
• “I like to take foto-camera (amimals , towns , nice nude models and peoples)”
• “I like to be friendship from different country”

And here are some Borat Quotes… [source]

• “I like sex”
• “May I ask you are a man who does with another man”
• “Last night, me and my wife, we have sex.”
• “This one I have to pay money for, but she worth it! Wow wow wee waa!”

A lot of professional Hollywood “characters” are based off real life examples of how people really act. If Mahir Cagri really didn’t speak the way he wrote on his homepage and he created the broken English writing style, he may have a claim, but I am willing to claim he was not writing his website in jest, but was being completely serious and paying an extraordinary attention to detail.