"Bruno" Gets Into The Middle Of Prop 8 March
And didn’t want the news cameraman getting his antics on tape…
Funny idea or rape of a serious political debate?
May 18, 2024
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
Anyone taking bets on how long it is before somebody reacts the wrong way and beats the crap out of him or worse? Or is that such an obvious thing that no one will even lay odds on it?
If ever there was a setting for him to be rolling around naked with another man…
This is pretty scummy and cowardly. I’m all for outrageous comedy and barrier-busting, but this looks like a profound failure: NOT FUNNY.
What makes this guy funny is that he goes too far. We can’t start getting offended at his antics now, can we? People that line up on opposite sides of the street to chant against each other are ripe for ridicule.
well, no one does cringe-inducing humour like the englsh (anyone who watched the original ‘the office’ knows what i mean, even ‘borat’), but this time it falls seriously flat
epic fail….he should find new schtick….
I really don’t have much sympathy for the camera man.
Which one? They both seem pushy but one is a pushy jerk.
Just as Bruno is using this march for his motives, a quick glance at third rail media’s website tells me that Mike Skiff is just pissed at Sasha and his crew for trying to film without a permit. This third rail group really doesn’t sound like they care about prop 8 — they’re just trying to piss on their territory. So yeah, Sasha’s comedy might not be that funny anymore, and some people might get offended that he’s doing this at the rally (not me), but Skiff was being an ass, outing Bruno like he’s so offended at Sasha’s antics, when all he cares about is “getting” Sasha. Whatever. Sasha should have quit after Borat, Mike Skiff should get over himself, and enough already jesus christ with prop 8.
Already happened, Blackcloud:
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=58333
Luckily for him, there was a doctor on hand to patch him up.
Michael is a good friend of mine–known him for at least 15 years. He was as appalled, as I am, that Cohen would be using this important civil rights event as a chance to cash in for his film–and his own profit. Put it in the context of say–a black march for equality–and see if you find it as funny. Worse is the Bruno camera crew’s reaction at the end when they start chanting YES ON 8. Michael is not a paparazzi–he’s a news photographer, and a gay activist. The gay community is not in a very jovial mood right now and I’m sensing a boycott of the film unless this is addressed.
It’s too bad that Cohen did this. I always thought he was really serious about and dedicated to the gay rights cause. I remember hearing him speak very strongly and eloquently about the topic on NPR a year or two ago.
stella’s, i think you’re right about sasha being ‘for’ equal rights, i have a good friend who has known him since back in the day and apparently he is not at all homophobic, quite the opposite. i think this may have been a case of cohen trying one of his trademark cringe-worthy, give-the-homophobes-enough-rope-to-hang-themselves stunts gone horribly, horribly wrong. i hope so, anyway.
Cohen has made a career out of offending people, and you guys are gonna be offended now? I’m sorry, but that reeks of hypocrisy. I seriously, seriously doubt Cohen is a homophobe, and not everything he shoots can work on a humorous level. this sort of thing is hit and miss. The hits will end up in the movie, the misses will end up on the floor.
Besides, why would Cohen donate to the Prop 8 cause? He’s not from California. There is more to the world than Los Angeles. And for what its worth, Bruno will probably ridicule homophobes the way that Borat ridiculed, well, Americans in general. He’ll be fighting homophobia in his own way.
“why would Cohen donate to the Prop 8 cause? He’s not from California.”
A huge amount of the money for and against Prop 8 was from out of state.
To be fair, it’s not clear that Cohen was the jerk here, but his crew members are clearly total assholes.
Also, it’s no big thing to just make a career out of ‘offending people’. The skill is to pick your targets well and be clever, and as far as I can tell from this poorly-shot, not-edited-for-comedy footage, it’s neither.
As I said, Jeff, not everything he shoots is going to succeed, judge his actions based on the movie, not on this.
Based on his last movie, I don’t have high hopes.
As I saw someone suggest a while back, I think a more interesting route might’ve been for him to go to Europe and pretend to be an obnoxious American.
I prefer Ali G.
Yeah, this schtick is getting old. I always thought that Bruno was the least of the three characters.
He proved he could play other characters with Sweeney Todd. Wish he’d do more of that.
Aris P – Mike the owner of Third Rail and the cameraman mugged in the video. My street creds about Prop 8? I was there when George from Star Trek married Brad. I was one of 6 cameras in the LA Mayor’s chambers when he performed his only gay marriage.
If you see footage of the protest rally at the Mormon Temple in LA on Nov 6, then you may have seen my footage on news channels of the guy who got decked and bloodied up by a guy in a truck (helicopter overhead, then bam, the guy had just been hit) I was able to get the injured guy’s name and provide him my information so he can get a copy of the video for his legal needs.
Sorry my website is a tad dated. It doesn’t reflect the range of media activity TRM has done around the subject.
And on personal note, I’ve donated money to “No On 8” as well as led a queer night bike ride to join a “No” fundraiser, where we helped contribute to over $4000.
And now my heart is in calling attention to opportunism towards our community and hope it can do for good.
I hope press from this story will pressure “Bruno” productions to donate financially to whatever effort emerges to repeal Prop 8.
So spread the story. The gay community in America already got punk’d once this election.
Oh, and much of my video work can be seen at the site of the wonderful people I shoot for, Reel Gay. Check out reelgay.com.
And a business should be judged by more than just the quality of its project. It should be judged by its conduct. How does “thuggery” and totally unnecessary “Yes On 8” protest later qualify as ethical conduct?
And think about this – the only reason Cohen was at that very intersection was because his character Bruno is gay. If Bruno wasn’t, Cohen would probably be chilling poolside on a Sunday afternoon. This is a crew that has been going around the country shooting gay people. There were hundreds of gay people that day right around the corner protesting.
Bruno’s crew was pissed at me that the police shut them down. Their actions were homophobic aggression. Notice how the guy looks to see which side of the sign he holds towards me. The white side would have worked just fine, but he had to go for “Yes On 8”. And why did they have to start chanting “Yes On 8”? They could have chant “No’, or not chanted anything at all.
They were probably a bunch of pissed-off straight boys who let their anger reveal their own bigotry and homophobia. In that moment, they are displaying the same mentality of the “Yes” people the just tried to punk.
And why would they target me as gay? Maybe because of the commemorative 28th annual International Mr. Leather t-shirt I wore. Or the way I kept talking with my friends in the “No” line.
Cohen, I truly do admire. But what he’s trying to pull off invites risk. And it doesn’t always work. Especially when you have a group of thugs as your production crew. And I think any film company that’s making a movie with a gay character as it’s star would find their employees sudden support for “Yes On 8” on the clock reprehensible.
Does anyone seriously believe he supported Proposition 8? What is wrong with you people?
There’s a difference between ‘supporting’ something and ‘not opposing’ something.
You fail to understand the hilarity in absurdity. I pity you.
On the contrary, I’m talking about the underlying double irony of Cohen’s work. Recommended reading: Vonnegut’s Mother Night.
Christian, have you seen the Ali G movie? Let us hope Cohen never goes back to that well ever again.
“On the contrary, I’m talking about the underlying double irony of Cohen’s work. Recommended reading: Vonnegut’s Mother Night.”
Humor can be derive from anything.
Double irony? Anything like Double Secret Probation? 😉
Bottom line: Cohen’s stunt doesn’t warrant getting upset about. Seriously. Get mad at hypocritical minorities who voted yes if you want to get mad at anyone.
No, I agree that humor can come from anywhere, but it has to actually, you know, be funny. And anti-humor can come from anywhere too.
“And anti-humor can come from anywhere too.”
You would be the expert.
Now that’s just pointless.
“Now that’s just pointless.”
So is you arguing with me (I never singled you out chief), but that hasn’t stopped you.
Ah, but the difference is,I’m right and you’re not, so there’s _some_ point to it.
“Ah, but the difference is,I’m right and you’re not, so there’s _some_ point to it.”
No, I’m right. See how that works?
I think we’ve finally found common ground.
Guys there is a great LGBT civil rights organization called the Empowering Spirits Foundation. They are very creative in how they approach this hot topic issue of gay marriage, in that they engage in service oriented activities in communities typically opposed to equal rights to foster thought and change for LGBT equality.
A friend of mine told me about it and I thought it was a great, positive approach to the issue. We had so much fun at the last event and it was great to give back to the community. Plus it was great to converse with others on the other side of the table in a way that wasn’t confrontational.
Anyway, this can be such a heated issue and I thought this was a unique approach.