What's real in "Borat"?

Everything you wanted to know about the Kazakh road trip -- what was staged, who was an actor, and who was just hapless comedy roadkill.

By David Marchese and Willa Paskin

Read more: Pamela Anderson, Attack, Salon Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Entertainment Features

Nov. 10, 2006 | The devilish pranks of "Borat" have made him the powder-blue polyester breakout hit of the season. But how many of Sacha Baron Cohen's gags are real, and which ones are staged? Which of Borat's victims were legitimately goofed, and which ones just played along for giggles?

With few exceptions, the real folks featured in "Borat," the movie, have been happy to talk about their experience, and outing them has turned into a mini-media craze, with tons of news outlets trying to sniff out the stories behind the making of the film. To save you time and satisfy your curiosity, we tracked down some of Borat's victims on our own and also compiled a guide revealing which figures were in on the joke (Pamela -- say it ain't so!) and which weren't.

But even after our sleuthing, some mysteries remain -- like where the heck did that naked wrestling match take place? No one seems to know. If you have a clue -- or any great additional information -- please send it to us. This is a work in progress, so be sure to check back in. We think you'll find it very niiice.

The Scene: Borat goes to the rodeo
Where: Salem Civic Center, Salem, Va.

Borat arrives at the rodeo, with plans to sing the national anthem. The rodeo's producer, Bobby Rowe, helpfully advises Borat to shave his mustache, so as not to be mistaken for a Muslim. When Borat tries to kiss him on the cheek, Rowe tells him never to do that, that people might get the wrong impression that he's gay. After Borat declares, "We hang homosexuals in my country!" Rowe smirkingly responds: "That's what we're trying to do here."

Before launching into the anthem, Borat shrieks, "We support your war of terror" -- to thunderous applause. The crowd's enthusiasm tapers off as Borat voices his wish that "George W. Bush will drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq" and turns into all-out booing once Borat begins to sing the Kazakh national anthem -- during which point a horse, apparently spooked by the crowd, freaks out and falls to the ground with his flag-waving rider.

What happened: The event caused quite a stir. John Saunders, the Salem Civic Center's assistant director, told the Roanoke Times that if Borat and crew hadn't high-tailed it out of the arena, "There would have been a riot. They would have been killed."

Rowe told Salon that he'd agreed to let Borat sing, believing the story that Borat was a Kazakh journalist traveling across the country. Rowe says he requested a sample track, but was sent a blank CD. And what about those anti-gay comments? Rowe, who says he hasn't seen the film, didn't disavow them, but instead offered a curious rationale: "As long as [homosexuals] don't mess with me and get me involved, if that's their choice, just have at it. Just don't come in my household and try to demand, as they're doing now, all sorts of things. All this marriage and this mess. If you want to go live together, go live together, but don't drag everyone else into it. It's, like, before you could just pump your gas, but the thieves ruined it for everyone. Now everyone has to go pay for their gas first. Homosexuals, they want their rights for marriage and all this stuff, and they want respectability. If you want to live that life, live that life, but don't involve the whole rest of the country."

Is Rowe concerned about how he comes off in the film? "I'm not really worried about it," he says. "It can't be so bad that I can't survive. No one's coming and trying to eat me."

The Scene: Borat almost stays at a bed-and-breakfast
Where: Though the film suggests the bed-and-breakfast is somewhere between Atlanta and Dallas, it's actually in Newton, Mass.

Borat arrives at a bed-and-breakfast only to realize that, to his horror, the kindly owners are ... Jewish. Scared into playing nice, Borat hesitantly takes a bite out of a pastrami and rye sandwich they bring to his bedroom -- then spits it out the minute they turn away. Later that night, convinced that the shape-shifting couple has transformed into a menacing pair of insects, he throws money at them and runs screaming, with his producer Azamat, into the night.

What happened: Mariam and Joseph Behar, the proprietors of the kosher bed-and-breakfast, tell Salon that they rented out three rooms to what they thought was a Kazakh documentarian and his film crew. The location had been scouted and photographed, with the Behars' knowledge, prior to the taping. Speaking on the telephone, Joseph, with Mariam chatting in the background, says they saw the film and thought it "was not anti-Semitic at all. It was outstanding. I think [Sacha Baron Cohen] is a genius."

Though Borat never broke character, and no one in the production let the Behars in on the joke, Joseph found Borat to be "very lovely and very polite, very attractive."

Joseph says that he first started to have doubts about Borat's authenticity when Borat told him he was going to be married in Malibu. "I know what kind of people live in Malibu," Joseph said, "and I didn't think someone in Malibu would marry this kind of man." Mariam also overheard Borat using Hebrew words (Borat's Kazakh is a mix of gibberish Hebrew and various Eastern European languages).

The producers did ask the Behars to bring food to Borat's room -- something not usually done for guests -- though they did not say what kind of food to bring.

Next page: "I don't think he made a fool of us"