International
Michael Jackson scene cut from ‘Bruno’
MUMBAI: The unexpected death of Michael Jackson has prompted a series of discussions at Universal Pictures that resulted in the studio cutting a Jackson-related sketch from Bruno hours before the film‘s premiere at Los Angeles.
The studio removed a scene in which Bruno, the flamboyant Austrian journalist played by Sacha Baron Cohen, interviews an unsuspecting LaToya Jackson about a number of topics, including her brother.
There was a joke about the King of Pop‘s high-pitched voice as well as a reference to his trademark white glove all done in Baron Cohen‘s characteristically absurdist tone.
The scene played at press screenings earlier in the week, where it did not stand out as unusually outrageous in the context of Baron Cohen‘s other antics.
But after Jackson‘s demise, the studio and filmmakers decided to delete the scene for the premiere screening out of sensitivity to the Jackson family.
On Friday, the studio confirmed that the scene would be out of the theatrical version of the film and said that removing it won‘t be expensive because the prints have not yet been made or shipped.
