‘Borat' Director Stopped Talking to Sacha Baron Cohen After He Started ‘Surrounding Himself' With ‘Show Business People' and ‘Pulling Away' From Subversive Humor: ‘He Wanted to Be More of a Traditional Movie Star'
In a recent interview with the Daily Beast, Charles said he once considered Cohen a 'comic genius,' comparing him to the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Peter Sellers. However, when they began production on their 2012 film 'The Dictator,' their relationship deteriorated as Cohen started 'pulling away' from the subversive character humor that made him famous. Charles suspected it was because 'he wanted to be more of a traditional movie star.'
More from Variety
Sacha Baron Cohen as Elon Musk? Actor Would Be the 'Most Hilarious Choice' to Portray Mogul in Movie, According to Musk's Grok AI Chatbot: 'Comedic Goldmine'
Sacha Baron Cohen Revives Borat to Mock Trump and Tell Kamala Harris: 'You're a Woman, a Person of Color and Married to a Jew. I Advise You Not to Come to Kazakhstan'
Rebel Wilson's Memoir to Be Published in U.K. With Sacha Baron Cohen Allegations Redacted
'He was surrounding himself with more traditional show business people and getting advice from them, which I don't think was good advice for the kind of rebel sensibility that Sacha had had up until that time,' Charles explained. 'And so, for a variety of reasons, it started to kind of fragment and fracture and fall apart. And the movie's not bad. It's good. It's funny. There's actually a lot of funny stuff in it, but it just didn't reach the potential that it had.'
According to Charles, 'The Dictator' was a 'very problematic project from the beginning.' At first, he imagined the film as a 'classic political satire' more akin to 'Dr. Strangelove' than 'Borat' or 'Brüno.' However, the movie fell apart because of too much 'input from outside people' as well as a lack of 'focus' from Cohen.
'I would try to get [Cohen] to trust himself, trust his instincts, which I've learned is the only thing you have,' Charles said. 'And instead, he was trusting so many different people with so many different contradictory thoughts that it started to just unravel and issues arose that should never have been issues.'
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Big Countdown Moment Will Lead Amber and Mark to a ‘Complicated Place,' Says Jessica Camacho (VIDEO)
The following contains spoilers from the July 23 episode of , now streaming on Prime Video. The truth — and the whole truth — is now out, on Prime Video's Countdown. But where does that leave terminal Mark and a shellshocked Amber? More from TVLine Dexter: Resurrection's Kadia Saraf, Dominic Fumusa Talk Detectives' 'Moonlighting Energy' and Suspicions of Harrison Casting News: Jack Lowden Leads Berlin Noir Series, Matthew Rhys Is Invincible and More The Summer I Turned Pretty Premiere: Jer Commits an Act of Betrayal - Or Did He? You Be the Judge! We learned back in Episode 1 that veteran LAPD detective Mark Meachum (played by Jensen Ackles) had been diagnosed nine months prior with glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive and malignant type of brain tumor. Last week, DEA agent Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho) called out Meachum on his 'junkie'-like behavior, what with all the squinting, forehead-clutching, and taking 20 minutes to descend a stairwell. That teed up a heart-to-heart between the Hurricane Task Force partners, during which Mark confided some of his situation, framing it as 'migraines.' Amber in turn hooked Mark up with prescription pain killers. MARK'S CONFESSION STUNS AMBER In this week's Episode 7, Amber visited Mark at home and, over beers, proffered a vial of new meds that 'disrupt serotonin receptors.' Mark, though, cut her off to plainly state, 'I have a tumor.' 'What…?' a stunned Amber responded. 'Is it treatable? 'Nope.' 'How long…?' she asked of his prognosis. 'Uh, six weeks, six months… doc's not sure,' he shrugged. 'But I'll tell you this,' Mark added upon clocking his partner's concern. 'I'm not going out staring at the sunset on the beach. If I'm going out, I'm going out saving something — this city, these people. If I get that chance, that's what I'll do.' WILL THE (TRAGIC) TRUTH BRING AMBER AND MARK CLOSER? In the meantime, how will Mark's sharing of his terminal fate change things between him and Amber? The two started out at (playful) loggerheads when the task force was first formed, but they have grown closer in recent weeks. In the TVLine video above, Camacho offers, 'The fact that Meachum decides to confide in [Oliveras] means a lot to her.' The sharing of such personal information 'really takes her by surprise, it takes her aback,' the actress notes, 'and I don't think that's something that she takes lightly. Him letting her into his world in that way deepens her desire to show up for him as his partner, as a human… as someone who begins to really, deeply care for this person.' That in turn 'takes their journey' as partners, and maybe more, 'to an interesting and complicated place,' Camacho teases. Or as castmate Violett Beane, sitting beside Camacho in the video, puts it: 'You'll have to watch to find out!' Want scoop on , or for any other TV show? Shoot an email to InsideLine@ and your question may be answered via Matt's Inside Line! Best of TVLine Yellowjackets' Tawny Cypress Talks Episode 4's Tai/Van Reunion: 'We're All Worried About Taissa' Vampire Diaries Turns 10: How Real-Life Plot Twists Shaped Everything From the Love Triangle to the Final Death Vampire Diaries' Biggest Twists Revisited (and Explained)
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pete Davidson says it's been his ‘dream' to be a dad
Pete Davidson is overjoyed to be entering his dad era. The actor and comedian is expecting a child, his first, with his partner Elsie Hewitt. 'I'm very lucky and very, very happy,' he told 'E! News' while attending the New York premiere of his new horror movie 'The Home' this week. Hewitt, a model and actress, made the announcement via Instagram last week sharing photos and a clip of her and the 'SNL' alum from her sonogram. Davidson said he's gotten advice from his 'SNL' buddies Adam Sandler and Colin Jost. 'Everybody's just been super excited for me, because they know it's been my dream,' Davidson said. 'They all just have been like, 'You're going to be great at this. It's the best thing you'll ever do in your life.' Sandler gave me some great advice.' It sounds like the couple have been getting quite a bit of support. 'It's been really nice that everyone's super excited,' he said. 'When you do something, when we do anything, you want everyone to be excited, especially having a child.' Hewitt and Davidson were first publicly linked in March. Davison has previously dated several famous women including Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande. In February he talked to Page Six about why people seem so fascinated with his dating life, which has sparked memes about him being everyone's boyfriend. 'Everyone is dating everyone and it's Hollywood. But because I'm ugly, they wrote about me,' he said at the time. 'I was harassed for like five years and it made my life a living hell.' CNN's Dan Heching and Alli Rosenbloom contributed to this report.
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NFL fans had jokes after someone fell into the lake during the Browns' helmet unveiling
The Cleveland Browns are in midseason form, and that's not a good thing. On Wednesday, the Browns joined several teams across the league in unveiling new alternate helmets for the 2025 season. And yeah, the Browns' color scheme doesn't make for the most aesthetically pleasing uniforms, but they decided to go all in on the brown with the helmets. The team even decided to hold an unveiling ceremony on the bank of Lake Erie with a big inflatable helmet, sponsored by Dude Wipes (gross). But, of course, the Browns couldn't even make it through that event without a blooper. Someone who appeared to be filming content lost track of where they were standing and fell right into Lake Erie. Thankfully, it was just a short fall into a water, so this person appeared to be OK. But this would only happen to the Browns. NFL fans had plenty of jokes for the moment. This was how Twitter/X reacted At least Chomps had a life jacket on hand. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Fans had jokes after someone fell into lake at Browns' helmet unveil
