Palestinian files $110M libel suit over ‘Bruno’

(Washington) A Palestinian shopkeeper and father portrayed as a terrorist in the movie “Bruno” is suing film star Sacha Baron Cohen, David Letterman and others for libel and slander.

The lawsuit filed last week by Ayman Abu Aita in District of Columbia federal court seeks $110 million in damages.

In the movie, …

NYC Cabbie kicks out gay couple for hugging

The New York Post reported today that a New York City taxi driver kicked a gay couple out of his vehicle after he saw them hugging in the backseat.

Paul Bruno, 27, and his partner were sitting close to one another after hailing a taxi at 13th Street and First Avenue …

Apple using double-standard for gay iPhone apps?

Apple is maintaining a double-standard when it comes to gay-themed iPhone apps, a developer claims. Attempting to draw publicity, Terry Ray claims that his iGaydar title was rejected from the App Store on the same day as Bruno — an app based on the Sacha Baron Cohen movie — was approved. iGaydar was rejected for “objectionable content,” despite being considerably less graphic than the Bruno app, according to Ray.

iGaydar pretends to detect a person’s sexuality, first displaying a random percentage and then announcing a tongue-in-cheek statement, such as “Honey, not even your priorities are straight.” By contrast the Bruno app lets users undress Cohen’s character, and touch various body parts which can elicit potentially offensive responses. Bruno is only on the App Store as a result of major studio backing and publicity, Ray charges.

Apple has rejected a number of apps with sex-related themes in the past, even when the titles did not show anything explicit. Naughty Loaded Dice was briefly blocked earlier in July, while an e-book reader, Eucalyptus, was temporarily blocked in May. Though only meant as general-purpose reading software, one of the books available for Eucalyptus is the Kama Sutra, a centuries-old Indian religious text that Apple deemed “inappropriate sexual content.”

See Apple using double-standard for gay iPhone apps?

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Socially Significant: ‘Bruno’ offers mixed messages on gay community

Sasha Baron Cohen’s first large scale movie, “Borat,” was a tremendous financial and critical success.

It both entertained audiences and also functioned as a tongue-in-cheek examination of xenophobia in the United States.

Those looking for that same combination in Baron Cohen’s new film, “Bruno,” are going to have to look a little harder. “Bruno” does challenge American society, but its attempts to lampoon homophobia while generating laughs confuses more than it enlightens.

If you’ve heard anything about the movie during the last few weeks, you’ve probably heard some rather polarized opinions on it.

Most people seem unable to find a middle ground with the film and can’t decide if the movie hurts the national view on the gay community and culture, empowers it or does nothing except make people laugh at the movies excessive use of penises.

Baron Cohen plays Bruno, a German fashionista trying to get work in the U.S. after his fashion commentary show is canceled in his home country. Bruno’s campy actions throughout the film attract the derision of nearly everyone he meets until he figures out the problem — he’s gay. The remainder of the film involves more wacky escapades as Bruno tries to straighten-out and eventually embrace his homosexuality. See Socially Significant: ‘Bruno’ offers mixed messages on gay community

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Bruno tops box office weekend at $30.4M

Conservatives want Bruno banned

A Christian group wants Bruno banned for “pornographic, offensive content.”

GLAAD: `Bruno’ reinforces negative gay stereotypes

(Los Angeles) The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said that “Bruno,” the new film starring Sacha Baron Cohen, reinforces negative stereotypes and “decreases the public’s comfort with gay people.”

GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios, who saw the film Friday, said that “the movie was a well-intentioned series of sketches – some …

Brüno’ Actor Shucks Clothes for Gay Mag Cover

Homophobic Film Ever Made?” That’s the blurb on the cover of Attitude, a British gay magazine, where comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, posing nude to promote his new film, appears.

The film in question–and the name of the character, whom Cohen continues to portray in live promotional appearances–is Brüno, in which Cohen plays a gay fashionista seeking redemption during a global road trip.

The production reportedly drew trouble for Cohen, who was arrested several times during the shoot.

But the film’s reception has also been mixed, with dubious and even hostile reactions coming from the GLBT community.

Though the film reportedly seeks to skewer homophobia, some GLBT equality advocates worry that “Brüno” will actually threaten social progress made by gays in the last several years by presenting audiences with a flamboyant gay character.

A July 1 article at the UK newspaper The Daily Mail reported that Cohen’s appearance on the cover of Attitude was meant to “appease” gay audiences.

The article pointed out that Cohen also appeared nude on the cover of GQ magazine.

Last month, Cohen appeared at the film’s London premiere in character, and in a revealing costume that riffed on the traditional uniforms of the Queen’s Guards, drawing headlines in the process. See Brüno’ Actor Shucks Clothes for Gay Mag Cover

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Original Bruno ending involved violent gay bashing

(WARNING: SPOILERS)

According to Movie Line, the original ending planned for Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie “Bruno” involved a violent gay bashing. Though the ending has since been changed, audience members for a February screening of the movie say that the film ended with Bruno (Cohen) and his assistant Lutz (Gustaf …

GLAAD asks studio bosses to add positive message to ‘Bruno’ San Francisco Chronicle

America’s leading gay rights group is asking the studio heads behind Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie “Bruno” to add a tolerance message at the end of the film because activists fear the funnyman’s stereotypes in the film go too far.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation claims Cohen uses every negative gay stereotype in his portrayal of outrageous Austrian Bruno, and leaders feel executives should make amends for the movie’s depiction of gays by adding a positive message at the end.

GLAAD spokesman Rashad Robinson tells Eonline.com, “We have very mixed emotions about the movie. Those of us who saw the film agreed that you can’t critique it as a single film because it’s more like 90 minutes of individual sketches. Some are funny and hit their mark but others hit the gay community instead.”

Universal studio bosses have refused to add the pro-gay message.

A statement from the studio’s press office reads, “Bruno uses provocative comedy to powerfully shed light on the absurdity of many kinds of intolerance and ignorance, including homophobia.”

But Robinson insists, “This movie does not unmask stereotypes. … As someone who sat at the back of a focus group audience … I felt they were laughing at us at times.”

See GLAAD asks studio bosses to add positive message to ‘Bruno’ San Francisco Chronicle

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