Alright, even I'm starting to think this whole Borat thing is getting out of hand. Funniest movie of the year it may be, but that doesn't guarantee it'll make big money and it certainly doesn't mean that Sacha Baron Cohen's movie will do the same. Universal Pictures doesn't see things my way.

The Hollywood Reporter says Universal has just shelled out a ridiculous $42.5 million for a film that doesn't exist, Sacha Baron Cohen's next project, a film about his third (and least funny) HBO character "Bruno". They weren't the only ones willing to pay an insane amount of money for Sacha's services. They're just the winners of an intense bidding war which bumped the price up beyond all reason. Well, actually I guess we won't really know if they were winners till Bruno's box office receipts are in will we?

Out of that 42.5, $20 - $25 million will go for production costs. Since Bruno will be shot using the same gonzo-style as Borat, I'm actually surprised it'll even cost that much. Apparently release forms cost more to print up than you'd think. No word on what the remaining $20 million will be used for, probably lawyers to protect them from the right-wing wacko lawsuits that are bound to ensue after one of Bruno's trademark, flamboyant forays into a southern gun show.

Bruno starts shooting this summer, and Borat opens this weekend.