First look clip from Sacha Baron Cohen's 'Who Is America-'
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Sacha Baron CohenWho is America?
In a seven-episode series launched on US cable channel Showtime on Sunday, the British prankster takes on four different personas as he satirises the political and cultural life of the United States in the era of President Donald Trump .
The first is Dr. Billy Wayne Ruddick, founder of fictional right-wing news site Truthbrary.org, whose aim is to take down the “mainstreme” media. In the first episode his target was Bernie Sanders. Dr Nira Cain-N’Degeocello is an extreme liberal shocking Republican Trump supporters.
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There is also freed criminal Ricky Sherman, whose 'personal' paintings are taken to one fine art expert and Erran Morad is a harsh Israeli anti-terrorism expert waving the flag for a new program he calls “Kinderguardians,” which would train kids aged to 16 how to use gun
In the first episode Morad gets two US congressmen to voice support for his fake "Kinderguardians" scheme for children as young as three.
The scheme includes a fake instructional video featuring children's songs and "gunimals" -- weapons adorned with soft toys -- that would purportedly help kids confront the school shootings that have plagued the United States for the past decade.
Show all 14 1 /14Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Kicking us off is Phil Lord and Christopher Mille’s bizarre animated film about a scientist who creates a machine that transforms water into food. So far, not too crazy, but then the machine gets stuck in the sky and it starts raining food. Everything goes wrong and Flint Lockwood must save the day by flying up to the machine and kicking fried chicken butt. Yeah, a pretty crazy premise, but a fantastic film.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 2. Frank Michael Fassbender may be one of the most bankable stars of the moment - having starred in the likes of Steve Jobs, X-Men and Macbeth - but in 2014, instead of flaunting his face, producers decided to make him wear a weird papier-mâché mask for the film’s near entirety. The plot see’s Fassbender’s titular character front a rock band, play SXSW and make ‘likeable’ music. It’s all just a bit strange.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 3. Groundhog Day Almost anything with Bill Murray in it is a win in my book, but when you say the premise of Ground Hog day out loud - a weatherman who must relive the same day over and over again - it sounds quite boring. What transpired was one of Murray’s funniest films.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 4. Star Wars With Star Wars being so prevalent in pop-culture, it’s hard to imagine a time when no-one except George Lucas knew what a Lightsaber was. Producers must have been shocked when this young director came into the office trying to sell a script about Luke Skywalker, R2D2, Darth Vader, Chewbacca and Stormtroopers. Thankfully, they believed in his vision and now we have one of the best sci-fi sagas of all time.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 5. Incepetion A dream, within a dream, within a dream. Even those who watched Inception were left confused, let alone those who only heard what the film was about. Christopher Nolan’s final flick, however, was a masterclass in storytelling and one of the best films of the last ten years.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 6. Speed The high-concept Speed is quite ridiculous really. Keanu Reeves can’t let a bus go below 50 miles per hour or it will blow up. It’s quite amazing how Jan de Bont managed to make his debut 116 minutes long in the first place, let alone making it a decent film in the process.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 7. Edward Scissorhands Tim Burton is a director who could fill this entire list up. While he may have chosen to reboot numerous films in the past few years (Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the upcoming Dumbo 2) it was his original concepts that set him apart from everyone else. In Burton’s head, the love story of a man with scissors for hands and a young woman made complete sense, while for everyone else - from just the premise - it seemed entirely weird. Luckily, he was given the opportunity to make the film and a cult classic was born, all while Johnny Depp’s ability to play the outsider was solidified.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 8. Mrs Doubtfire Post-Hook and Aladdin, Robin Williams was on a role. One of his standout performances was as Mrs. Doubtfire, the father-turned-drag-housekeeper. As a premise, dressing your lead male as a woman wasn’t exactly new (see Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie), so the filmmakers ran the risk of it all seeming like an overdone joke. Luckily, Chris Columbus managed to pull off the ridiculous plot (how wouldn’t the kids know it’s their father, really?) leading to one of the funniest films of the 90s.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 9. The Lobster Like Burton, most of Yorgos Lanthimos’s films could probably feature on this page, but we’ve gone with The Lobster. The film tells of a hotel where residents must find a suitable partner within 45 days otherwise they will be turned into an animal. Try to run away and the other residents will hunt you down with tranquillisers. The result was one of the best love stories of 2015.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 10. Ant-Man Some comic book superheroes should not be adapted to the big screen (*cough* Howard the Duck *cough*). Ant-Man is not one of them. Against all the odds, Paul Rudd and Peyton Reed managed to make a compelling film about a man who could shrink down in size and control ants. What’s incredible is that - somehow - the film quickly became one of Marvel’s most beloved films. Of course, everyone knew Marvel could pull off weird, having knocked it out of the park with Guardians of the Galaxy the year before.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 11. Beetlejuice Two ghosts living in their old home want to scare away the alive people who now live there. Unfortunately, the new home-owners can’t see them and so the ghosts have to call upon a deranged Michael Keaton to help them out. Add one of the strangest afterlife scenes in film history and you’ve got a brilliant film.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 12. Forrest Gump While not an obvious contender like Star Wars or Beetlejuice, when you think about it, Forrest Gump is a weird idea. A below-average intelligent man, sitting on a bench, waiting for a bus, telling strangers about all the famous moments in history where he observed/effected. Thanks to Tom Hanks, Gump was a magical film of love and hope, winning over the hearts of thousands and becoming an instant classic.
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 13. The Lego Movie Another film from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, The Lego Movie shouldn’t have worked. Making a beloved toy into a film; it was all just a bit silly. Thankfully, Chris Pratt’s turn as Emmett (and a catchy song in “Everything is Awesome”) the film was a huge hit with critics and fans alike, and now we have a cinematic universe of Lego movies to come. Awesome?
Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did 14. I’m Not There “Let’s get Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw to all play Bob Dylan in a single film”, Todd Haynes said. While you would think that would be overkill, the result was stunning, with Dylan himself eventually praising the film in 2012.
Republican members of Congress Dana Rohrabacher of California and Joe Wilson of South Carolina, along with former Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, who is now a lobbyist at a Washington law firm, are shown enthusiastically backing the idea, alongside gun rights advocates and a former congressman-turned-talk radio host, Joe Walsh.
Mr Walsh told CNN on Saturday that he was tricked into reading the words off a teleprompter. Mr Walsh, the former congressman from Illinois, told CNN on Saturday that he had been asked by a documentary crew to read lines from a teleprompter endorsing various supposed Israeli innovations, including the idea of arming four-year-olds to defend themselves against terrorists.
Mr Walsh added that he is a fan of Baron Cohen. "He's a funny guy because he gets people to say stupid things."
Reuters contributed to this report
Show latest update 1531707448 Ricky Sherman is now off to 'make' some art.
It is a portrait of the gallery worker he is talking to done with his own excrement.
To be fair, the poor woman is dealing with it beautifully.
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:17
1531707495 The woman, Christy Cones - a fine art critic - is now offering her own pubic hair for his 'special' paint brush, as he asked for it. Dear me.
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:18
1531707802 Here is the biggest section of the show - using Israeli character Erran Morad getting a number of gun advocates to talk about arming kids.
Firearms include the Uzicorn and the dino-gun for 'Kinderguardians'
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:23
1531707898 We now have a song about where to shoot.
'Heads, shoulders - not the toes, not the toes'
The actions are something else. The gun involves a bunny cover, that gives you a sense of where we are at with this segment.
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:24
1531707935 Seriously, you do have to think 'how do people fall for this?'
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:25
1531708120 Baron Cohen now speaking to former members of Congress about the arming kids idea.
Reminder: They are talking about children aged four.
'The way to stop a bad man with a gun is a good kid with a gun'
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:28
1531708173 Most interesting thing about that is the fact people are Googling the chairs being used for the interviews.
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:29
1531708336 One of the most obvious ways Baron Cohen tried to get his guests was via the autocue.
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:32
1531708796 That was one of the most-shared elements of the show. I'm sure you are all aware, but those are all musicians in that statement. That is why you should never blindly read an autocue.
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:39
1531709080 Some of the members of Congress involved - past and present - will have some explaining to do if the Twitter reaction is anything to go by.
Kristin Hugo 16 July 2018 03:44
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