At the moment there’s been no confirmation as to whether it’s true or not, but TheWrap has reported that Sacha Baron Cohen has bowed to pressure from certain gay activists and reshot parts of his upcoming movie, Bruno, to make it less offensive to gay people. Changes are said to include a new ending with a spoof pro gay marriage charity video, featuring the likes of Elton John and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
However, before everyone gets all indignant and bemoans the fact that they didn’t do this for Muslims and Kazahks with Borat, I’d be willing to put a small wager that a lot of the fuss and bother is media baiting because they wish it was true. Although a few gay activists have indeed been vocal about not liking the whole idea of Bruno, saying it’s a step backwards for gay rights and comparing it to white perfomer appearing in blackface, it does seem that much of the ‘outrage’ has been manufactured by the media.
Reading between the lines of TheWrap’s article, it sounds as if the changes and alterations may just have been part of the normal editing process (and indeed similar things did happen with Borat, where they asked for opinions from various groups, which didn’t stop the movie pushing plenty of buttons), and to be honest I’m sure Cohen wouldn’t feel he’s done his job if people weren’t already wondering whether Bruno unmasks homophobia or promotes it. And from previews already out there, it appears there’s plenty in Bruno to cause offense to anyone looking to be upset, whether they’re pro or anti gay.
It really does seem to be a case of the media taking the opinions of a small group of people and presenting it as if every gay person in the world feels this way in order to stir up controversy (most people quoted actually say they’re concerned, but it’s presented as if they’re outraged). Universal isn’t saying whether the reshoots took place or not, but they’re obviously happy with any controversy over the movie that comes their way.
And maybe, as with a lot of these controversies, it might be worth people waiting to see the film before they decide whether to love it or hate it.