Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Borat May Be Sued By Romanians

The Romas peasants of Romania feel taken advantage of by Borat and are looking to sue. The Gypsys -- a slang term they find offensive -- agreed to stage scenes by putting animals in their homes, letting a little boy hold a plastic rifle and so on for the scenes that pretend to depict Borat's hometown in Kazakhstan. They feel taken advantage of, though it's difficult to know what grounds they ahve for being sued. On the other hand, Fox and Cohen should certainly feel embarrassed for paying individuals $3.50 to $5.50 for their time. Sure, different standards for decent pay exist around the world and that was probably money they were thrilled to get (most of the village of 1600+ people is unemployed. But $3.50?
The people aren't happy: The mood in Glod, meanwhile, was tense and volatile, with crowds of angry, shouting villagers repeatedly gathering around reporters.

One man was seen slapping his sister, who had appeared in the film, and slamming the gate to his ramshackle home shut to keep her from being interviewed. At another point, a resident threatened news photographers with a stick, and another pelted their car with rocks.

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