Fox studio puts talk of "Borat" sequel on ice

[Brian Damage]

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Before Borat fans start giving each other high fives, 20th Century Fox wants to make clear that the boorish Kazakh journalist is not headed back to the big screen just yet.

Hours after News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch told reporters on Thursday that British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen had signed a deal to make a sequel to his hit movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," a studio spokesman said the idea was merely under consideration.

"We're eager to work with Sacha again, and we've had casual discussions about a sequel, which we'd love to do, but at this point, it remains too preliminary to discuss," said Chris Petrikin, a spokesman for News Corp.-owned 20th Century Fox.


"Borat," a faux documentary starring Cohen as a cluelessly offensive Central Asian journalist on a road trip across America, was a surprise box-office sensation last year, grossing $248 million worldwide.

It earned an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay, and Cohen a Golden Globe for his performance as the wild-eyed Kazakh TV personality in a rumpled suit spouting catch phrases like "high five" and "sexy time!"

Box-office success and awards to match virtually guarantee a sequel in Hollywood, and earlier on Thursday, Murdoch said the comedian had already signed a deal to make a "Borat 2."

"He's signed up to do a sequel for us," Murdoch said at a media conference sponsored by McGraw-Hill, without giving details. But the subsequent statement from Fox suggested Murdoch had jumped the gun.

A studio insider told Reuters that Fox owns the rights to a second "Borat" film but has yet to reach a new deal with Cohen, and without him, no sequel is feasible.

Also left unclear was whether a "Borat" sequel would -- or even could -- follow the same "mockumentary" premise as the first movie.

Chronicling Borat's exploits on his road trip, the original film was driven by Cohen's improvised, unrehearsed encounters with ordinary people who become his unsuspecting comic foils.

Cohen has said his film has drawn such worldwide notoriety that it might be difficult to pull off a similar feat in the near future.


Besides its commercial success, "Borat" drew protests from Kazakh authorities outraged by Cohen's portrayal of their country as a backward nation of imbeciles. It sparked lawsuits by some unwitting subjects, including two fraternity brothers shown guzzling alcohol and making racist remarks in the film.

Borat is one of several oddball personas Cohen introduced to U.S. audiences on his HBO cable TV series "Da Ali G Show."

In fact, a 20th Century Fox rival -- Universal Pictures which is controlled by General Electric Co -- reached a deal with Cohen in November for film rights to another of his alter egos, a gay Austrian fashionista named Bruno, for a reported $42.5 million.

At the time, show business newspaper The Hollywood Reporter said Universal plans to start shooting the Bruno film this summer for a 2008 release.