Deleted Scene: Brüno Sits Down With Pete Rose

Brüno was damn funny in small doses, but as an entire movie, it kind of lost its way. But when the film comes out on DVD November 17th, it will have a few more small doses, like this deleted scene with Pete Rose.

If you saw the film, you know that Sacha Baron Cohen tried the same stunt with Paula Abdul, using "migrant workers" as makeshift furniture for an interview. I didn't think it would be funny the second time through, but I was kind of wrong about that. I don't love the clip, but it's so weird to see Pete Rose here that it's worth a quick look. The only trouble is, Rose is so well-known for taking any payday at this point that this one could be a complete plant. Sure, he's seen a lot of strange things in his day, but I think I'd be a little less go-with-the-flow than Charlie Hustle is here.

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Box Office - 'Potter' Cools Off, Still Hits $160 Million

Even though the film dropped below ballooning expectations following one of the biggest opening days ever, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince still generated $160 million in five days, $79 million of it coming on the traditional three-day weekend.

Historically, of course, it's too early to tell where this weekend will guide Potter, but it should hit $220 million by this time next week almost by default. Once it clears $250 million, it will be in that comfort zone where most films in the series have wound up. After that, it will just depend on how long it can keep wind in its sails; $300 million is definitely possible. Looking around at the rest of the top ten, Brüno suffered one of the biggest drops I can remember: Nearly 73% from last weekend. The comedy only made $8.3 million, outgrossing the seven-week-old Hangover by about $50,000. Among movies that opened at number one, I can only find the recent Friday the 13th that suffered a bigger stumble, losing 80% of its debut audience. Doom was number one a few years ago and also dropped 72.7%, although its opening weekend was about half of what Brüno's was.

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Sacha Baron Cohen Retires 'Brüno'

I hope you enjoyed Brüno if you are a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen, because the comedian says, just like Borat three years ago, the character is done.

With three movies now devoted to characters featured on Da Ali G Show, Cohen says each of them have hit the end of their road. The chameleon tells WENN, "It's wonderful that the films are successful, but every new person who sees the movie is one less person I can be Borat or Brüno with again, so finishing a movie means having to say goodbye." "Admitting that you're never going to play the character again is like saying goodbye to a loved one. And that's hard."

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'Brüno' Gets Banned in Ukraine

A note to our readers in Ukraine: Wait for the DVD. And make sure it's sent in an inconspicuous package. The culture ministry in that country has banned Sacha Baron Cohen's new comedy Brüno on the grounds that it is "immoral."

In particular, the offending scenes included displays of sex organs, gay intercourse, and plenty of bad language. The film was scheduled to be distributed this weekend in Ukraine, but the ministry told the international distributor, Singergia, that the film was a no go. Variety suggests the ban comes in an effort to avoid offending highly religious members of the population. Boy, what is this, Russia? (Sorry, but who could resist the joke?)

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Sacha Baron Cohen Angers "Terrorist" with 'Brüno'

There's more trouble for Sacha Baron Cohen and Brüno. As you know, Cohen has been sued countless times for the way he wrangles interviews in his films. The bottom line, usually, is that people sign release forms and there's nothing they can do after that.

But one of the key participants in Brüno is angry at Cohen not for putting him in the film but for insinuating that he's a terrorist leader. Ayman Abu Aita tells WND - that's WND - claims he's not a leader of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, nor could he have kidnapped Brüno as the character would have liked in a bid to become more famous. There is an Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Aita was a member between 2000 and 2003, but he has since spent time in an Israeli prison and reportedly worked with Israeli officials while with the terrorist organization to return to Israeli soldiers who had gotten lost in Bethlehem.

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