EXCLUSIVE: Original Brüno Ending Included Brutal Gay Bashing Played for Laughs
Though Brüno won't hit theaters until July 11, the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy has already prompted extensive debate about whether it's well-intended satire or a joke that's poised to blow up in the face of the gay community. As polarizing as the movie has already turned out to be, Movieline has learned that the original cut of the film featured an ending that doubtlessly would have been even more controversial.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
In the current cut of the film, Bruno (Cohen) and his ditched, lovesick assistant Lutz (Gustaf Hammerstan) reunite in the movie's third act centerpiece: an Arkansas cage match where the two begin to make out inside the cage while an angry audience mob reacts with disbelief and, eventually, makeshift hurled weapons. In the film's epilogue, the reconnected couple embrace domesticity with their adopted baby, and Bruno sings us into the credits with the help of an star-studded, satirical gay rights anthem.
However, when Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles screened the film back in February for a select industry audience, the result of that cage match wasn't nearly as rosy.
Writer-director Richard Day (Arrested Development, Ellen) was among the industry figures at the screening. In that version, Day tells Movieline, "The cage-match kiss resulted in a violent attack on the couple. They then cut to a press event where they are announcing their marriage or plans to, I forget which. But the boyfriend is now drooling, seemingly brain-damaged, and in a wheelchair, played for laughs."
Day notes that he and actor Jack Plotnick were the only gay people invited to the screening, and that after the film ended, the other industry figures gave the film a thumbs-up. "Then I started in and Jack joined with his thoughts. By the time I got to the bashing, the audience started defending the movie. They were annoyed with us for ruining the party."
Still, that ending was ultimately among the reshot portions of the film that a mystery source revealed to Nikki Finke and The Wrap weeks ago.
"I don't know if we're why they changed it but if we are, I regret saying anything," says Day. "It would have been better to let them expose their true point of view; thanks to us they had a road map of the most egregious offenses and can also claim to have been responsive to our concerns."
Day says that wasn't the filmmakers' first attempt at outreach, though: he'd met with Charles (with whom he'd worked with on Mad About You) before the film started shooting. "He had me come in to meet with Sacha Baron Cohen when all they had was an outline because he wanted a gay voice on the film," says Day. "Then I never heard back, so I guess he was overruled or I blew the meeting or something. I remember telling them it read like it was written by people who didn't know much about actual gay life, but I don't remember it making me angry or anything."
We contacted Universal about the claims; a studio publicist responded, "No comment."
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Comments
I don't know what's more shocking, the gay bashing joke, or Richard Day wishing he hadn't said anything about it. It's kind of like saying "I wish I had let that guy drive drunk just so everyone would see what an asshole he is."
I wouldn't want that snaggletooth going anywhere near my junk.
Come on folks, it's only a movie. So what, if he bashes every single persons way of life, religion, or whatever. It's entertainment and he's hilarious!
I can see why the filmmakers might have ditched Day. Bruno isn't supposed to be a realistic reflection of 'the gay life'. He's a parody of people's homophobic prejudices. The humour of Bruno and Borat is premised on the disconnect between SBC's performance and reality. If Day wanted Bruno to be more 'realistic' he clearly didn't understand the joke.
I'm gay too by the way (just to prove my critical credentials).
He doesn't really say he wanted Bruno to be more "realistic," though. Just that it read like it was "written by people who didn't know much about actual gay life." I take your point about Bruno being a parody of homophobic prejudices, but I can agree with the notion that if you're looking to parody gay behavior, it helps to have a good base of knowledge for the actual behavior.
I also kind of agree with Day wishing he'd left SBC enough rope to hang himself with.
Whatever! As long as it's funny. Anybody who wants to depict gay life from some serious perspective can get their own funding for a movie, if they can manage to make it interesting enough that anybody cares.
I agree with you, reality is "Far from Heaven" not Bruno.
I'm gay and I've loved Bruno (and Borat, and Ali G) for years. I get that it's a parody and that the whole intention is to use his outrageous behavior to showcase the intolerance and backwardness that's still prevalent even in places where people claim to be "tolerant & accepting".
That having been said, TWICE NOW i'VE SEEN THE bRUNO TRAILER WHILE SEEING ANOTHER MOVIE AND BOTH TIMES, THE REACTION FROM THE CROWD MADE ME UNCOMFORTABLE - IT JUST SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS A HARSH VIBE TO IT. lIKE THEY WERE LAUGHING MORE AT HIM FOR BEING A CARICATURE OF A FLAMING EURO-QUEEN AND NOT FOR THE SOCIAL COMMENTARY OR CRAZY REACTIONS OF THE PEOPLE INTERACTING WITH HIM. mY STRAIGHT BROTHER AND STRAIGHT FRIEND THAT WERE WITH ME BOTH TIMES AGREED; THEY THOUGHT IT WAS LIKE THE PEOPLE WERE LAUGHING AT HIM FOR BEING "FAGGY", NOT FOR THE UNDERLYING JOKE OR PREMISE OF THE MOVIE.
i'VE SEEN ENOUGH OF sbc'S WORK TO KNOW THAT IF THIS MOVIE does BECOME SOME VEHICLE FOR FRATBOYS AND OTHER ANTI-QUEER PEOPLE TO MOCK AND RIDICULE THE COMMUNITY, THAT IT WILL NOT BE WHAT HE INTENDED. i'M JUST NOT CONVINCED AT THIS POINT THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE IT BECOME EXACTLY THAT. hOW MANY PEOPLE WATCHED bORAT AND SAW A BRILLIANT INDICTMENT OF RACISM, SEXISM, HOMOPHOBIA, XENOPHOBIA, CLASSISM, AND RELIGIOUS & POLITICAL ZEALOTRY IN THE u.s., AND HOW MANY PEOPLE JUST THOUGHT HE WAS FUNNY "CUZ HE WAS LIKE, SOME FOREIGN DUDE ACTING ALL RETARDED"?
I'm thinkin' you got the caps lock set to "opposite" there, fella.
Get over it (and get over the caps lock button). Some people seeing a parody of Hitler will say, "I like what that there guy said about Jewz, hyuk hyuk" just as some people don't like gays, blacks, or Mexican food. That fact that some people laugh for different reasons than you'd like is not enough to ban comedy, nor are you going to change anyone's mind. Sorry. If you spend your life caring what every idiot thinks, it's going to be a rough road.
Jack Plotnick is hilarious, largely because he pushes waaay beyond the parameters of taste in his own comedy. "Girls Will Be Girls" and its on-line sequels, not to mention "Drawn Together," have wrung laffs from brain damage, gay bashing, racism, dead babies, liver failure etc., and not in ways that would necessarily preclude the frat boy yuk. I'm surprised he would join in on a critique of "Bruno," but I'm actually more surprised he didn't think "Bruno" first. He would be brilliant in something like this.
Kind of like that movie 'Birth of a Nation' right? It's just a movie duh.
I'm gay, and I agree with Joe. I find SBC to be very funny and unprecedented in what he does. He is also very, very smart, and his intention with his series of films was to call attention to xenophobia, by presenting unsuspecting bystanders with overblown stereotypical caricatures and observing how they react. What's shocking is that no matter how far he pushed the character Bruno, and no matter how far from an accurate depiction of "the gay life" he strayed, people reacted on a very primal level and the level of hate shown is incredible (eg the cage fight uproar). SBC wants to show us that even if something is unbelievable and ridiculous, that some people will cling to what they know, and that's to hate Jews/gays/foreigners/what have you. But I can certainly see how details like being physically battered would be arresting to see on screen. It does call attention to the issue of homophobia, but I'm not sure most viewers will think, "hey, this stuff really happens in the world. We should do something about it." They're more likely to think, "haha, anyone that flamboyant had it coming." From what I gather, this movie would make me uncomfortable to see in a theater. I'll most likely end up renting it and watching it in private, at least the first time around.
The irony of using "frat boy" as a demographic representation for a specific type of view in a thread pertaining to an article on the social shortfalls of today's view on homosexual prejudice is hurting my head.
I'm gay, and I think Bruno is hilarious (based on the TV show, haven't seen the movie). It not only pokes fun at gay stereotypes, but also the homophobic reactions of those around him. Anyone who takes Bruno seriously enough to be offended is lacking humility and a sense of humour.
Yes. Exactly like that movie!
I've been threatened with violence many times because I'm gay, and some of my close friends have been physically attacked by violent homophobes. Broken bones, concussions, split lips, black eyes, hospitalizations, macho thug cops who would kick a bleeding faggot while he's down, and PTSD have a sort of debbie-downer effect when it comes to comedy. Wah waah... Maybe Brüno is funny as shit but I have no intention of watching the movie, ever.
'Bruno' is a movie and Cohen is a comic genius. He is exploring the absurdity of gay stereotypes, period. Over here in Australia, 'Bruno' is a much-anticipated bit of fun. We were much more distubed by the shocking video of the Somolian teen-agers taunting and threatening a gay man who was minding his own business, whilst walking home from a Twin Cities Pride March. 'Bruno' is a bit a fun at the cinema; gay harrassment and threatening public behaviours are outside of a controlled and edited environment and infinitely more objectionable, and all too real.
I'm glad that no one got bashed.
Unless Cohen is gay, I see 'Bruno' as being no better than a modern-day 'Al Jolson'.
Would minstrel shows be acceptable to 'you people'?
.sigh.
I love a good comedy, even when it's dark or satirical. But for me, this one goes too far, and I hope it is pulled from screens as fast as it goes up.
I see it only as fuel to add to a homophobic fire. It's the equivalent of laughing at a movie that shows a nigger with an afro (yes using the N word only to make the point that some things just shouldn't be done) being ran down by nigger-haters. Imagine the terror that people who've really gone through that experience must have felt. The same holds true here for every gay that's had to deal with homophobia and the absolute fear and teror that is experienced when it might cross the line and you're concerned for your life. That in the modern world in 2009, a movie has been purposely made with scenes that are being used as a vehicle to laugh at and make fun of those feelings, is just disgustingly wrong.
It's hard enough for gay teens to grow up being ridiculed in school, on the street, and even at home. This movie will play even more on their already fragile psyche - personalizing all of the negativity of this film won't end up anyplace good. And you won't have to tell the kids in school who are doing the ridiculing that it's okay to do it ... all they have to do is watch the movie. The clips that make fun of queers the most, will be shared quicker than you can blink. And the buzzlines from the script, those derogative remarks that make the haters laugh and the queers cringe, will be heard in high school halls in the coming weeks. Kids learn from adults, and when an adult laughs at something, you know they're going to try to mimic it. Seriously - is there anything else we can do to increse depression and suicide among gay teens? You bet - sit back and laugh at the queer on the big screen, which leads me to my final "gotta get it off my chest" moment.
For the people who have already posted comments and shared that they'd be embarassed, nervous, scared and cautious about seeing this movie in a theater - and that you'll probably rent it later at home ... shame on you for allowing yourself to be made to feel that way. It's horrible that your pride in yourself is so low that you'd let yourself be pushed back into the closet. Shame on you.
Signed,
Disgusted to the point
that I'm being vocal
for the first time
in my life
You got it in one, Mikley. Will Cohen next be in blackface, eating watermelon and tapdancing for Al Sharpton to make his "satirical" point? How about a nice fat Jew stereotype, the movie industry should go a bundle on that. Perhaps a finale at Buchenwald, perhaps something involving steaming ovens and scorched yellow Stars of David and maybe he could get Spielberg in on the gag. Hilarious. The Academy will LOVE it.
You uptight homos have to get over it. It's a MOVIE. It's not real life. You're pushing the envelope to the point that nothing will ever be allowed to be funny ever again. If you can't take some humor that involves your lifestyle or your sexual preference, then maybe you shouldn't be out of the closet because you're obviously insecure with your sexuality.
To the gay people that aren't offended by this movie, it's all good and I hope you know I wasn't talking to (or about) you when I made these comments.
hahahahahahahahah.
I just can't see how beating someone into a coma for ebing gay could be played for laughs. I honestly would find it as easy to laugh at a scene of Jews being herded into a gas chamber, or a child dying of cancer, as that.
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