14 DAY TRIAL // Sacha Baron Cohen tried to shoot a segment of his upcoming mockumentary, with the working title “Bruno,” at an Alabama National Guard post, it has emerged. According to reports in the US media, the British actor managed not only to gain access in the post, but even duped officials into giving him a uniform and showing him all the ropes, under pretense that he was a German reporter shooting a genuine documentary.
Unfortunately for Cohen, who reached international fame as Borat with the 2006 hit “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” one of the younger cadets recognized him and revealed his true identity to the officials. The Alabama National Guard has had, in the meantime, spoken out about the incident, saying it has been an embarrassing moment – but that won’t change the fact that it might still make the cut in the upcoming “Bruno” film.
“It’s an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard. Since then we have put in protocols to make sure this doesn't happen again.” Staff Sgt. Katrina Timmons told the media the other day, when word of the hoax got out in the media. As a side note, Cohen managed the feat of getting into the post back in February, but it’s just now that officials are setting the record straight on his prank.
“They called and said they were a German affiliate of a TV station doing a documentary on what it was like to be in officer candidate school. They wanted to know if they could come here and embed one person for a few hours up to a day. He was treated like a member of the media and escorted around. He was put in a uniform like he requested to allow him to get a taste of what it was like to be an officer candidate.” Sgt. Timmons further explained.
As reported the other day, the first reviews of “Bruno,” after a screening of a 22-minute segment at a film festival, indicate that Cohen might have another smashing box-office hit in his hands. “Bruno” is scheduled for release in July 2009 so, undoubtedly, more details about it will start emerging soon enough.