ROTTEN TOMATOES: Sacha Baron Cohen Announces "Deaths" of Borat, Ali G

Sacha Baron Cohen Announces "Deaths" of Borat, Ali G

Jagshemash!

by Jeff Giles | December 26, 2007

There will by no more sexytime for Sacha Baron Cohen.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph last Friday, Cohen announced the "deaths" of his most well-known characters, the cheerfully anti-Semitic Borat and the abrasive, tracksuit-wearing reporter Ali G. Variety has partially reprinted the interview, including the following quote:

"When I was being Ali G and Borat I was in character sometimes 14 hours a day and I came to love them, so admitting I am never going to play them again is quite a sad thing.

"It is 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 a kind of self-defeating form, really."

After debuting the character on Da Ali G Show, which reached American televisions via HBO, Cohen made Borat the star of 2006's Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, which quickly became one of the year's top comedies (it remains at 91 percent on the Tomatometer).

Cohen is currently working on another film based around one of his characters, Bruno, and can currently be seen in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd.

Source: Variety

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(1-19 of 19 posts) | Reply

LordVapor writes:
on Dec 26 2007 09:00 AM

RIP Borat, Oh yes, It's a very niiiiiice.

(Reply to this)

unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Dec 26 2007 09:25 AM

Thank goodness

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ItchyBarracuda writes:
on Dec 26 2007 09:29 AM

Eh, it was inevitable he had to retire them. They became so well known after the film and TV show it would be impossible to find people to fall for it anymore after the amount of publicity it received

(Reply to this)

AlbertBrodsky writes:
on Dec 26 2007 09:52 AM

I admit that the first time I watched it I wasn't sure if those characters were all played by the same guy. He is a brilliant actor, but he makes me wince at times.

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BlueMobius writes:
on Dec 26 2007 10:25 AM

If you haven't seen him in Sweeney Todd, go see it. I have a feeling we're going to see a lot more of him for a long time.

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foodstamps_govermentcheez writes:
on Dec 26 2007 10:38 AM

I can't help to like the guy really.Anything he is in I'll take the chance and see it.

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oyguvaltshappy writes:
on Dec 26 2007 11:23 AM

he didn't say anything about Bruno.

What a brilliant way to throw people off.

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T45Red writes:
on Dec 26 2007 11:51 AM

That's too bad. I really found those characters funny. I remember seeing Borat in theatres a little over a year ago and loving it. I don't think I've laughed that hard at a movie in my life. The whole theatre was a giant laugh riot. It was awesome.

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tycox writes:
on Dec 26 2007 12:15 PM

SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!!!!!

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tycox writes:
on Dec 26 2007 12:17 PM

P.S IF ANYONE HAS NOT SEEN THE ALI G MOVIE "IN DA HOUSE" YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THAT MOVIE!!! IT IS COHEN AT HIS FINEST...AS PART OF THE GOVERNMENT!!!

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~*Admiral Snowstorm*~ writes:
on Dec 26 2007 12:21 PM

He's not done with Bruno yet because there hasn't been a movie about him yet. As of now, only his pre-existing fanbase knows who Bruno is. Borat appealed outside of that fanbase, as did the Ali G movie. Bruno's still relatively unknown, though I'd wager a lot more people starting following Cohen after watching the Borat movie. I'd also wager that Bruno will face retirement after the Bruno movie that's in the works is made.

But I think Cohen will do fine afterwards. With Sweeney Todd and Talladega Nights under his belt in addition to the widely-loved Borat, I doubt he'll have a hard time finding work as an actor. Which is good; I like the guy. Even in the woefully mediocre Madagascar, he was one of the funnier characters.

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Drunken Mastermind writes:
on Dec 26 2007 12:46 PM

Bummer,what a great character.

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filmboy22 writes:
on Dec 26 2007 02:37 PM

As iconic and beloved a character as Borat is, it's probably the best time to declare its retirement because a lot of people are sick of it and I'm glad he's moving on. Much love for Borat though. He will be missed.

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sunsaz writes:
on Dec 26 2007 03:34 PM

This is all a set-up. This is probably to get us to lower our guards so he can send Bruno off on an adventure.

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walkingdead09 writes:
on Dec 26 2007 07:45 PM

makes you realize how unfunny those jackass guys are

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CoUcH ToMaToE DoUgIe writes:
on Dec 26 2007 10:31 PM

R.I.P. Borat... R.I.P. Da Ali G... you will be dearly missed:(

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Gimy writes:
on Dec 27 2007 07:26 AM

i'm not sure its ALL because they're well known characters, i think he just wants to keep his image fresh. there's a point when a character reaches a peak and then begins to become annoying. unfortunately for him, one movie did-in the Borat character. i don't know how many times i've heard horrible impressions of that. you can only do so much with a routine before the public loses interest.

Jackass is hilarious dude, and while Borat was funny...it was not remotely close to being as funny as Jackass 2 or even Dirty Sanchez for that matter

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DaLynchMob79 writes:
on Dec 27 2007 09:34 AM

hmmmm...im not sold. Money talks. Let's see what happens when the studios wave some grip and his career begins to decline

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UselessRob writes:
on Dec 27 2007 05:27 PM

Wow this is very old news! Didn't he announce this a couple of weeks ago?

(Reply to this)

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