Borat 2: Rudy Giuliani Tried To Have The Crew Arrested, Says Producer
Rudy Giuliani tried to have the crew of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm arrested. Sacha Baron Cohen's latest movie was released fourteen years after its popular predecessor, Borat, with Cohen reprising his titular character Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakhstani reporter who visits America once again to give his daughter away to former Vice President Mike Pence. The film featured breakout newcomer Maria Bakalova as Borat's daughter Tutar, who has since been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
The sequel to 2006 mockumentary film was shot in secret from the end of 2019 to throughout 2020 and much like its predecessor, the sequel has had its share of controversies, having conflicts with its featured subjects, most notably Pence and a revealing scene involving Giuliani. The scene involved Tutar impersonating a reporter interviewing Giuliani and retreating to a bedroom where Giuliani reaches down his pants before being interrupted by Borat. Giuliani has since been condemned for the action and was recently nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. But apparently Giuliani went further after finding out the whole thing was a ruse.
Per Deadline, Monica Levinson, who is a producer on Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, stated at a Producers Guild panel that following the scene, Giuliani tried to have the crew arrested for extortion. Levinson also commented that she had spent a number of hours in jail during filming of the first Borat, so she wanted to avoid that for the crew. Levinson's full statement can be read below:
"He claimed we were trying to extort him at the time, which we didn’t ask for anything. He called all of his New York City cops and said extortion, which was a federal crime. Very smart to bring that up...We would hide tapes in our pants. There’s always ways to make sure we got out the data. We actually had to rent new equipment. It was a really stressful time that evening because the hotel wouldn’t let us take anything out of the rooms. We ended up confabbing with our lawyers. I called the production team and said, ‘Let’s get everyone to New Jersey tonight.’ It was 11 o’clock at night. I didn’t want a repeat of what happened to me on the first movie happening to the entire crew."
Shooting a film in secret will definitely bring its share of problems and controversies with people but fortunately, Levinson had history and experience from shooting the original Borat to prepare for filming the sequel. Given the current political climate, including a scene with Giuliani was always going to have a tumultuous consequence, regardless of the scene's context. Luckily, everything seemed to work out, and the crew was able to get the footage without being put in handcuffs.
The Borat movies are known to really push the envelope to produce insane and comedic moments. The scene with Giuliani is a prime example of that, and it goes to show the length to which the cast and crew were willing to go. Cohen was put in serious danger during the Pro-Gun rally scene after the crowd turned on his character, and filming a scene with Giuliani was just as risky. It probably didn't come as a big surprise to the crew when the police were called, but the fact that they were able to pull it off while keeping Borat Subsequent Moviefilm a secret from the public is quite an impressive feat.
Source: Deadline
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