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Sacha Baron Cohen and the editors of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm reveal newfound inspiration behind editing the sequel in the form of Mike Pence.

The editors ofBorat Subsequent Moviefilmhave a clip of Mike Penceto thank forthe story idea of the film.Sacha Baron Cohen'slatestmovie was released fourteen years after its popular predecessor,Borat,with Cohen reprising his title character Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakhstani reporter who visits America once again to give his daughter away to Pence. The film featured breakout newcomer Maria Bakalova as Borat's daughter Tutar.

The sequel to 2006 mockumentary film was shot in secret from the end of 2019 to throughout 2020 and was set on being released before Election Day.Much like its predecessor, the sequel has had it shares of success and controversies, becomingone of the most streamedfilms oflast yearwhile also having conflicts with its featured subjects, most notably Pence and arevealing scene involving Rudy Giuliani. Due to the major events occurring during filming, theplot of the film kept evolving to fit the relevancy of the story and thepeople involvedhad to stay on their feet witha short amount of time before releasing the finished product.

Related:Borat 2: How Every Person Has Reacted To Being Fooled By Sacha Baron Cohen

Per Deadline, Cohendisclosed that editors Craig Alpert and James Thomas found a moment while editing thatled to the story of the film.That moment comes duringone of the many stunning feats featured in the movie where Borat goes to the CPAC convention disguised as Donald Trumpwith his daughter while the former Vice President is giving a speech regarding the coronavirus cases in the United States. Despitehaving that scene be the original ending of the movie, Cohen and the editors realized that there was more to the story they were trying to tell that examined the issues deeper. During an interview with Crew Call podcast, Cohen explained whythis particular moment changed the course of the whole film:

"CPAC was the culmination of act 3: I rescue Tutar from Giuliani. She trips while Im being chased and Mike Pence is speaking and thats the end of the movie. Weve been shut down due to Covid. Myself and my producer Monica Levinson, we decide to keep the edit going.James (Thomas) says You gotta see this!' Cast your mind back to March and people were treating Covid like it was a tropical storm[We] had this epiphany. This is a movie were releasing before the Election and making to show our protest against Trump and Trumpism and the conspiracies that the government was propagating. We see the Vice President spreading this calamitous lie that were ready for Covid. We knew the numbers would get to the hundreds of thousands in America.

"It was a way to show the incompetence of the Trump government. This was an emotional father-daughter movie, this had questions about the patriarchy, but fundamentally it was a catalog of wrongdoings of Trump and Trumpism in 90 minutes. There was a realization that his greatest, most catastrophic wrongdoing was the willful incompetence on Covid that led to the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and here he is, the Vice President, on the day hes been put in charge of the Covid task force saying Its alright guys! Weve got it under control! That moment that these editors found transforms the whole movie, and transforms the whole production.

Since the production was shut down due to the pandemic, Thomas and Alpert had to assess the hours of footage alreadyshot to edit everything down to a reasonable length for a movie. And it is usually during the editing process where the basis of the film is put into focus, which putsincredible pressureand responsibility towards the editors. With the former Vice President blatantly spewing dangerous lies about a significant illness thatwould impact millions, it makes sense to shift the narrative of the sequel that involves a worldwide catastrophe to blend in with the borderline humor and controversial jokes.

Despite the popularity of Borat and the courageous stunts he pulls, it is refreshing to see him assert himselfinto the transformative eventsof the current times, howevercomicalthat may be.And the editors have done a wonderful job maintaining thehumorof the filmwhile also telling a much bigger story. While Borat Subsequent Moviefilmis at its very essence a comedy movie, it does shine a light on the serious subjects that shape society as a whole and reveals the tremendous effects it has on individuals; all ofwhich just makes the process and creation of the film all the more impressive.

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Source: Deadline

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Borat 2 Editors Found The Movie's Story In A Particular Mike Pence Clip - Screen Rant

Vice President Mike Pence (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

President Trump made a bold declaration in his State of the Union address Tuesday calling on Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years. Together, we will defeat AIDS in America.

The House chamber erupted in an ovation and among the first to stand applauding was Vice President Mike Pence.

If that doesnt seem like the response one would expect from an anti-gay bigot who supports so-called gay conversion therapy, thats because it isnt.

Despite false accusations made against him, Mike Pence is not anti-gay.

As a gay man myself and someone who not only cares deeply about these issues but advocated on behalf of the LGBT community myself for years this is not an assertion I make lightly.

INSIDE TRUMP'S PLAN TO END THE HIV EPIDEMIC AND WHAT SPARKED IT

There is absolutely nothing nothing at all in Mike Pences record to indicate he sees himself as a culture warrior who believes LGBT Americans are the enemy.

Yet false accusations that the evangelical stalwart is a virulent homophobe who went out of his way to target gay people for harassment, oppression, and even physical torture have dogged Pence for years.

The claim resurfaced last week, when lesbian actress Ellen Page appeared as a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS. Page used a discussion of the recent alleged racist and homophobic hate crime against Empire television star Jussie Smollet to criticize the vice president.

There is absolutely nothing nothing at all in Mike Pences record to indicate he sees himself as a culture warrior who believes LGBT Americans are the enemy.

Vice President Mike Pence who, like, wishes I couldnt be married. Lets just be clear, the Gaycation star said. The vice president of America wishes I didnt have the love I have with my wife. He wanted to ban that in Indiana. He believes in conversion therapy. He has hurt LGBTQ people so badly as the governor of Indiana.

Page continued: If you are in a position of power and you hate people, and you want to cause suffering to them you go through the trouble, you spend your career trying to cause suffering.

Pages words represent a distillation of every anti-gay charge that has ever been hurled at Mike Pence and theyre all false.

At the root of the vice presidents erroneous mislabeling as an anti-gay extremist is Pences admittedly poor handling of the passage of Indianas version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015 during his term as governor of the state.

The legislation asserted that government may not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion a rather specific law with narrow applications.

Although similar legislation was passed at the federal level in 1993 after it was approved 97-3 in the U.S. Senate and signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, liberals pounced with declarations that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act would open a door to rampant discrimination.

Opponents of the law claimed it would allow any business in Indiana to refuse service to members of the LGBT community simply by citing deeply held beliefs. Of course, that wasnt the case, but the false narrative spread across the nation, sparking outrage.

Pence went on the offensive, declaring: If I saw a restaurant owner refuse to serve a gay couple, I wouldn't eat there anymore, while calling for a dtente between advocates of religious liberty and those working toward LGBT equality.

The kerfuffle concluded with just such a rapprochement. The Republican-controlled Indiana state Legislature passed and Pence signed an amended version of Religious Freedom Restoration Act that stated it could not be used to discriminate against the LGBT community.

Pence then became the first governor in Indiana history to sign protections into law based on sexual orientation and gender identity hardly the actions of an anti-LGBT crusader.

After ascending to become then-candidate Donald Trumps vice presidential pick, false accusations of homophobia against Pence arose again.

Soon slanderous memes started appearing online falsely stating that Pence wanted to use electric shock treatments to shock the gay out of people.

Speaking on MSNBC last year, liberal activist Brandon Wolf said Pence wanted to round up gay people and put them in concentration camps a ludicrous assertion that was not questioned by host Joy Reid.

The accusation is totally false with no basis in fact, Pences press secretary, Alyssa Farah, responded when questioned about the conversion therapy smear.

When asked for proof of Pences penchant for converting people from gay to straight, the best indeed the only example people provide is a 19-year-old entry in a campaign website in which Pence stated he supported reauthorizing HIV/AIDS funding only if resources were directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.

Changing ones sexual behavior is far different than changing ones sexual orientation. In fact, at the time of Pences proclamation, LGBT advocates were working to promote safer sexual behaviors themselves with condom distribution programs and public education campaigns about HIV transmission.

Pence proudly and personally conducted the swearing-in of United States Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell with a Bible held by Grenells longtime partner Matt Lashey.

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I know (Mike Pence), Grenell tweeted in response to Ellen Pages Late Show attack. Hes kind, personable, smart and a man of great faith.

Despite the continued wails of liberals intent on keeping the lie alive about his supposed homophobia, Mike Pence has acted with grace, a spirit of inclusion, and a commitment to be a vice president for all Americans.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM GREGORY T. ANGELO

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Mike Pence is NOT anti-gay Im a gay man who knows hes ...

Mike PenceMichael (Mike) Richard PenceOvernight Health Care: Biden administration ups vaccine distribution to states | HHS pick to get Senate hearing next week | Average daily new coronavirus cases dip below 90K Fauci says he was nervous about catching COVID-19 in Trump White House Republican support for Trump to play role in party up 18 points from early January MORE has emerged as a key figure in former President TrumpDonald TrumpBiden: 'I'm tired of talking about Trump' Hacker claims to have stolen files from law firm tied to Trump: WSJ Texas governor faces criticism over handling of winter storm fallout MORE's Senate impeachment trial, but those close to the former vice president say he has no intention of getting involved.

Pence's name has been invoked repeatedly during the proceedings this week. The then-vice president was escorted out of the Senate chamber on Jan. 6 as pro-Trump rioters stormed the complex, andthe timeline of events has left unanswered questions about when the former president knew Pence was in danger and what, if anything, he did to intervene.

As the Senate mulls how to proceed, Pence has become something akin to what former national security adviser John BoltonJohn BoltonKey impeachment figure Pence sticks to sidelines Bolton lawyer: Trump impeachment trial is constitutional Former Rep. Will Hurd announces book deal MORE was in Trump's first impeachment trial a potentially valuable witness who would fill in gaps but one who has remained on the sidelines.

"I can't imagine him getting anywhere near this trial," one source close to the former vice president said.

The source also suggested it was unlikely Pence would incriminate Trump if he did come forward. The relationship between the two men soured in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection, but Pence was unflinchingly loyal for four years before that and still has aspirations of running for president in 2024.

A spokesperson for Pence did not respond to requests for comment about whether the former vice president or members of his team would be willing to testify if called.

The vice president has been featured in Democrats' case against Trump. House managerspresented footage that showed how close Pence came to encountering rioters when he was first taken out of the Senate.

Rioters were heard chanting both "Traitor Pence" and "Hang Mike Pence" as the mayhem unfolded at the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to news reports and video footage played during the House managers' presentation.

It does not appear Trump's defense team or House impeachment managers are looking to call Pence into the chamber to testify, as both sides appearready to conclude the trial as early as Saturday.

But pressure for Pence to share his accounting of the events on Jan. 6 has only grown in recent days.

"To the patriots who were standing next to the former president as these conversations were happening, or even to the former vice president: if you have something to add here, now would be the time," Rep.Jaime Herrera BeutlerJaime Lynn Herrera BeutlerCongressional Democrats say Trump acquittal was foregone conclusion Sunday shows - Trump acquittal in second impeachment trial reverberates Democratic senator defends decision not to call witnesses: 'They weren't going to get more Republican votes' MORE (R-Wash.), one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, said in a statement late Friday.

Some Republican senators who appear open to voting to convict Trump for inciting violence have expressed particular interest in whether Trump knew Pence was in danger when he tweeted that Pence "didn'thave the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution" by refusing to reject electors forPresident BidenJoe BidenBiden balks at K student loan forgiveness plan Biden offers to help woman in obtaining vaccine for son with preexisting condition Biden optimistic US will be in 'very different circumstance' with pandemic by Christmas MORE.

The tweet was the first Trump sent after protesters forced their way into the complex, and former government officials have voiced skepticism that Trump would not have been notified that Pence was being movedby the Secret Service.

Sen. Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyState parties seek to punish anti-Trump Republicans Philly GOP commissioner on censures: 'I would suggest they censure Republican elected officials who are lying' Cotton, Romney introduce bill pairing minimum wage increase with tighter citizenship verification MORE (R-Utah), the lone Republican to vote to convict Trump during his first impeachment trial, askedduring proceedings on Fridaywhether Trumpknew Pence was in danger when he criticized his vice president via a tweet.

"The answer is no," Trump attorneyMichaelvan der Veen said.

But that argument has been undercut bySen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), a staunch Trump supporter, who has been adamant thatTrump called him as Pence was being taken out of the chamber and that he told the then-president what was happening before hanging up.

Sen. Bill CassidyBill CassidyTrump unloads on McConnell, promises MAGA primary challengers State parties seek to punish anti-Trump Republicans GOP official on Toomey: Wasn't sent to 'do the right thing or whatever he said' MORE (R-La.), who voted that the trial was constitutional and should proceed, pointed to Tuberville's statement in a question of his own Friday.

The tweet and lack of response suggests President Trump did not care that Vice President Pence was endangered or that law enforcement was overwhelmed, Cassidywrote in his question.

Pence has remained out of the spotlight since the mayhem of Jan. 6. He did not speak to Trump for days after the insurrection, but he rejected calls to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the then-president from office.

The former vice president hasnot given an interview since Jan. 6 or addressed his experience during the riots at length. He has announced he will join the Heritage Foundation and Young America's Foundation, two conservative groups where he will keep a foothold in Washington, D.C., as he mulls his political future.

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Key impeachment figure Pence sticks to sidelines | TheHill - The Hill

Was Mike Pence a hero in the siege of the Capitol that has been replayed during Donald Trumps impeachment trial?

Certainly Pence was a potential victim, as House managers demonstrated by playing dramatic security video of the vice president being hustled away to a safe place. But the managers also emphasized that Pence had refused Trumps call for him to act illegally and overturn election results favoring Joe Biden.

Vice President Pence showed us what it means to be an American, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) said on Wednesday. What it means to show courage. He put his country, his oath, his values and his morals above the will of one man.

Praise by Democrats for Pence inspired the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal to remark on the strange new respect on the left for Pence. The Journal dredged up a 2019 tweet in which Lieu told Pence: I will pray for you & hope that your hate of LGBTQ employees and students will one day dissipate.

The Journal suggested that it was hypocritical for Democrats to praise Pence for doing his duty after criticizing him on issues such as gay and transgender rights.

As soon as the second impeachment trial wraps, he will go back to being another dark figure in a political Handmaids Tale told to inspire fear and loathing among Democratic voters, the editorial said. But for everyone else, Mr. Pences defense of the rule of law and the Electoral College should stand as a refutation of that caricature.

A few points:

The Democrats are right to portray Pence as a potential victim on Jan. 6. The insurrectionists chants of Hang Mike Pence! were chilling. But the fact that Pence did his duty doesnt make him a hero.

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Pence was a target of insurrection. He's still not a hero - Los Angeles Times

One of the key questions asked in former President Donald Trumps impeachment trial is whether he knew that his vice president was in mortal peril on Jan. 6. There are only two possible answers: Either he knew and didnt care or he was deliberately and cruelly incurious knowing that he could have easily asked about former Vice President Mike Pence and did not because Pences safety did not matter to him as much as the ambient excitement of the insurrection apparently did.

Trump clearly knew enough to be culpable of knowing. And if he did not, it only proves the House managers point that he was negligent in his duty as commander in chief that day.

One of Trumps lawyers, Michael T. van der Veen, told the Senate on Friday that the former president did not know about the danger Pence was in, which itself is so ludicrous a statement as to demand its own investigation. Trump clearly knew enough to be culpable of knowing. And if he did not, it only proves the House managers point that he was negligent in his duty as commander in chief that day.

Around 2:13 p.m. ET on Jan. 6, Pences Secret Service detail decided to remove him from the Senate floor and take him to a shelter-in-place location below-ground. That security camera footage shown by House managers is, in retrospect, some of the most chilling captured that day. Shortly after Pence makes his way down the stairwell, his military aide, carrying a large briefcase, follows. The briefcase is the nuclear "football" an exact copy of the one the presidents military aide was guarding at the White House that day.

That Pence had a military aide and a briefcase was a surprise to many who arent familiar with the command and control of strategic nuclear forces. Suddenly the import of what happened acquired a new salience: Did Trumps inaction place not only his vice president, but the security of the nuclear deterrent in jeopardy?

Short answer: Yes. About 10 minutes after Pence was evacuated, Trump tweeted in rage, Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.

It was, in fact, Trump whose actions had just compromised national security. Given the chaos of the moment, though, it is not inconceivable that Pence might have been separated from the military aide during the evacuation. It is horrifying to speculate about this scenario because it is reasonable to envision exactly that might have happened.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters this week that he "would not get into discussion about specific command and control over nuclear strategic forces." But I will.

Of everything in the briefcase, the decision book is the most valuable to adversaries.

The worst-case scenario we can set aside: No one can use contents of the briefcase to launch anything. There is no button. There is no way to transmit an emergency war order without involving the Pentagon and a number of other command centers having authenticated the users identity and their status as the surviving commander in chief.

So what might have happened if the football was taken by the protesters? Well, they would have had to figure out how to get into it. It does not open easily. So after a while of fiddling, whether at the Capitol or somewhere else, lets assume an unauthorized user managed to pry it open. They would have found a satellite phone, a copy of the latest nuclear decision handbook and a few other classified documents and objects.

Of everything in the briefcase, the decision book is the most valuable to adversaries. It includes a Cheesecake-Factory-like picture menu of nuclear options that would allow an authorized user to order up massive or targeted strikes at a multitude of targets, along with annotations to show the effects of the chosen strikes, damage assessments, expected retaliation basically, all of our most sensitive war plans and their assumptions, laid out neatly for an average person to digest as quickly as possible.

Right before Trump sent the tweet castigating his vice president, he had spoken with Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who said he told the president that Pence had been taken from the chamber. And we know Trump was watching television where Pence's emergency evacuation would have been hard to miss.

But if Trump had any question about Pences whereabouts, he could have asked a member of his own Secret Service detail. So closely are presidents and their vice presidents joined to the nuclear football that whenever they take an elevator, advance agents ensure the military aide and a doctor are in the same chamber as the protectee. Pences detail, along with its counterassault team, would have immediately broadcast their emergency action to the services Joint Operations Center, which would have just as quickly notified the presidents agents.

And the military aide would have notified the presidents Emergency Operations Center over a different frequency. Any unusual or unplanned movement of a presidential successor would be reported to the presidents chief of staff or the national security adviser as soon as possible.

In short, theres no way Trump could have been ignorant to the danger that Pence was in, no matter what his lawyers told the Senate. Nor should he have been unaware of the broader security risks.

The U.S. nuclear command, control and communication architecture is as robust or as fragile as the physical security around those who must engage with it, among many other factors. On Jan. 6, Trumps state of mind nearly let it all collapse.

Marc Ambinder is a senior fellow at the USC Annenberg Center for Communication Leadership and Policy. A former White House correspondent and political reporter, he is the author of several books about national security, including The Brink: President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983. He is a consultant for Spycraft Entertainment and lives in Los Angeles.

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Trump's actions during the Capitol riot put Pence in danger and national security at risk - MSNBC