There'll be no mocking Russia's allies. Russia will not issue a distribution licence for the Borat mockumentary . Here's why, according to the BBC story:

A culture ministry official in Moscow told the BBC it had refused to issue a distribution licence because the film could potentially humiliate different ethnic groups and religions. 

Ho, ho! So Russia's not into humiliating ethnic groups any more? Then could the government there please explain its recent treatment of Georgians?

Now, onto the serious, world-shaking stuff. The New York Post's Page Six column reported the following on Wednesday:

November 8, 2006 -- PAMELA Anderson looks completely caught off guard and highly distressed as a bag is thrown over her head and she's chased through a bookstore by Sacha Baron Cohen in the box-office smash "Borat" - but the buxom blond beauty was actually in on the joke.

Unlike other pranks in the movie that bring together real people and Cohen in his role as the imbecilic Kazakhstan journalist, Anderson's gonzo confrontation with him was loosely scripted, then carefully choreographed with jerky camera movements to make it look real.

An insider told us, "There's no way Sacha and a camera operator could have gotten past her bodyguards in real life and then manhandled her . . . It was filmed by pros so it looks completely realistic, as if Pamela had no clue. There is improvisation, but nobody was in the dark."

Not that anybody connected to the film will admit that. Neither 20th Century Fox nor Anderson returned our calls. When MTV News confronted her about her participation, Anderson said cryptically, "I can't really say. I'm sworn to secrecy." She also gushed, "I love Sacha, he's such a nice guy."  

Actually, my feeling watching the movie was that the scene had to have been staged, to a certain extent. Anderson is a seasoned celebrity who's probably endured encounters with her share of wackos and probably goes nowhere without her security staff. I couldn't see Borat getting close enough to her to put a Kazakh wedding sack over her head. There's simply no way her security people would have allowed it. And if it had happened, they likely would have "disabled" Borat rather quickly.

Just think of how Brangelina's staff reacted with photographers who allegedly got too close in India, let alone tried to make aggressive physical contact with their clients.

The NYP column also notes that most people in the film didn't get a head's up as to what would happen to them. They got offered a few hundred bucks and were made to sign waivers against "offensive behaviour." Well, that's a fair trade: A few hundred bucks to help Borat make $26.4 million in its first week.  Some lawyers say the waivers might not be valid because of the deception. If so, 26 mil is a b-i-i-i-g target!

Jageshemash!