'Borat 2' director explains why he told Sacha Baron Cohen that making a sequel was 'a mistake'

• "Borat 2" director Jason Woliner admitted to Insider that when he was told Sacha Baron Cohen was making a sequel to his hit comedy, he thought it was a mistake, which he told the star himself.
• "I basically said that 'Borat' is the funniest movie ever made and that it's almost certainly a mistake to do a sequel," he said.
• Baron Cohen appreciated Woliner's honesty and hired him to direct the movie.
• Once inside the writer's room, Woliner realized they might be able to pull it off, after seeing the story's structure. And there was also something he wanted to spotlight about America.
• "It was important for me in this movie to not just be revealing negative qualities of real people," he said.

Director Jason Woliner didn't sugar coat his thoughts when Sacha Baron Cohen first approached him about making "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm."

"I came on very strong," Woliner admitted to Insider. "I basically said that 'Borat' is the funniest movie ever made and that it's almost certainly a mistake to do a sequel."

Woliner's scepticism was legitimate. Historically, sequels of classic comedies never work - think the sequels to "Caddyshack," "The Blues Brothers," and "Fletch" just to name a few.

"I said in almost every version of this it's a disaster," Woliner recalled. "Most comedy sequels aren't good, the long-delayed sequels are extremely tough, and because of the nature of the movie, Borat is one of the most popular comedy characters of the last century so you have to find people who don't know who he is."

Instead of being thrown out of the meeting, Woliner said Baron Cohen agreed with everything the director addressed.

"I think he respected that I came in with eyes open that I knew what a daunting task it was," said Woliner.

A couple of days after that meeting, Woliner was invited to the "Borat 2" writer's room to see if he could fit in. There he saw the master plan Baron Cohen had laid out - which included the outlandish Kazakhstani journalist now teaming up with his daughter and the movie's main target being the personal attorney of President Donald Trump and former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani (that's right, he was the mark from the start).

Woliner said what drew him into the project was the chance to showcase American differently than the original movie.

"It was important for me in this movie to not just be revealing negative qualities of real people," he said.

"I remember very early on saying that the big difference to today and 2006 when the first 'Borat' came out is watching someone revealing they are racist is not shocking and compelling as it was back then. I felt what would be more surprising is revealing people's positive qualities and patience."

"Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" is available now on Amazon Prime Video.

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