Borat and Ali G Characters Retired

December 24th, 2007 by david lay

In an interview yesterday with the The London Daily Telegraph, Sacha Baron Cohen revealed that he is permanently retiring his Borat and Ali G characters. He claims that too many people know them and that he can no longer retreat behind their personae.

Cohen told the newspaper: “When I was being Ali G and Borat I was in character sometimes 14 hours a day and I came to love them, so admitting I am never going to play them again is quite a sad thing,” he said. “It is like saying goodbye to a loved one. It is hard, and the problem with success, although it’s fantastic, is that every new person who sees the Borat movie is one less person I ‘get’ with Borat again, so it’s a kind of self-defeating form, really. “It’s upsetting, but the success has been great and better than anything I could have dreamed of.”

Da Ali G Show, which originated in England and aired on HBO became a cult favorite in the U.S. thanks to hilariously idiotic and offensive questions to former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, Newt Gingrich, former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, Donald Trump and the former Surgeon-General C. Everett Koop, among others.

Ali G’s popularity led to Cohen’s first film, Ali G Indahouse after which he provided one of the voices in the animated film Madagascar and then played an obnoxious French racing river in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Then Borat, the film featuring the character who had first appeared on the Da Ali G Show. Helped by objections from the official government of Kazakhstan and Baron Cohen’s wildly funny promotional appearances on any talk show that would have him, Borat became a phenomenon, although not everybody was happy.

“Since last year I’ve been sued by about 3,000 people,” said Baron Cohen. “Some of the letters I get are quite unusual, like the one where the lawyer informed me I’m about to be sued for $100,000 and at the end says, “P.S. Loved the movie. Can you sign a poster for my son Jeremy?’”

Cohen can currently be seen in the movie Sweeney Todd and he is finishing work on his next project, which features Bruno, the gay, Austrian fashion reporter who also made his first appearance with Ali G, although Baron Cohen is unwilling to discuss it at this time.

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Ralph ‘08 - A Political Endorsement

December 21st, 2007 by david lay

Cold Leftovers has been careful in remaining politically unaffiliated so far this year, believing that our influence is great and that any endorsements of policy, candidates or political parties would, in essence, remove our readers’ free will and could potentially take the political process out of the hands of the people.

While Cold Leftovers still believes this to be true, we cannot sit idly by when a candidate comes along who encompasses all that we stand for, bringing to the forefront policy issues that cannot, will not, and should not be ignored.

We know that the 2008 presidential election is one of the most contested and vital races in our great country’s history. Candidates on both sides of the isle are jockeying for position as we are rapidly approaching the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire Primary. Cold Leftovers believes that the country of the United States of America needs a candidate that can bring our country together and unite us as a Nation in a way that we haven’t seen in a very long time.

There has been - and will continue to be - a lot of talk by candidates regarding leadership, experience, and the so-called importance of the issues. Cold Leftovers, however sees that for what it is - a bunch of silliness, and would like to take this opportunity to throw our support firmly behind a candidate who encompasses the values and beliefs that WE hold dear: Ralph Wiggum.

Ralph Wiggum’s political platform includes:

• Immigration - Ralph Wiggum says:”Stranger Danger!”
• Government Spending - Ralph Wiggum says: “I only have this much moneys”.
• Partisan Politics - Ralph Wiggum says:”Everyone is invited to my party!”
• Bumper Sticker Slogan - “I Dig Wig”
• Ethics and Values - Ralph Wiggum says:”I’m Ralph Wiggum and I’ve been a good boy.”
• Political Appointments - Bart Simpson as the Secretary of Indian Burns and Lisa Simpson as the first Ladle.
• Foreign Relations - Ralph Wiggum says: “When we’re mad, we’ll use our words. The rest of the world will play nice with us. And only boom-booms will be in our pants.”

Ralph Wiggum: Hope for Our Future

Posted in Yada Yada, Politics | 2 Comments