Borat - Subsequent Moviefilm editors; Craig Alpert ACE, James Thomas and Mike Giambra drop in on this episode of The Rough Cut to talk about bringing Sacha Baron Cohen's most notorious character back in 2020. Although Cohen had stated he was retiring his Borat character back in 2007, largely due to the fact that everybody now knows who Borat is and that it would be difficult to pull off the same feat he accomplished in the original film, current geopolitical events dictated that the world needed Borat once again.
The main question is, how do you make this film happen in secret AND during a global pandemic? For one thing, you start with three talented and experienced editors; ones who are both familiar with Sacha and his storytelling sensibilities, but who also have a proven track record in comedic filmmaking. Craig Alpert ACE not only logged some hours on the original "Borat" movie, but also has films such as Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and Deadpool 2 under his belt. Editor James Thomas goes all the way back with Sacha to the classic British comedy series, The 11 O'Clock Show, where characters like Borat and Ali G were born, and James would continue to be a mainstay on Sacha's work from them on. Rounding out the team, Michael Giambra brought his formidable editorial skills in comedy and docu-style storytelling from his experiences on Nathan For You, The Eric Andre Show, Kroll Show and Baskets.
Editing Borat - Subsequent MoviefilmIn our discussion with Borat - Subsequent Moviefilm editors; Craig Alpert ACE, James Thomas and Mike Giambra, we talk about:
- When then idea for bring Borat back came about and working in secrecy
- Closing the cutting rooms and their methods for going remote in the pandemic
- How the story of the film evolved alongside politics and the pandemic
- Balancing the workload amongst multiple editors
- How crucial transcriptions are for finding footage
- Cutting docu-style "man on the street" scenes vs scripted
- The benefit of doing old school "KEM" string outs
- Having fun temping Borat's voice
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