Film-goers aged between 15 and 18 will get the chance to see Brüno - Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy documentary about a camp Austrian fashion reporter - thanks to an unprecedented move by Universal Pictures to cut back the 18-rated film's most sexually explicit scenes. When the edited film goes on release on July 24 it will be the first time in British film history that two versions of a film have been in cinemas at the same time. The studio hopes that the new teen-friendly, alternative Brüno, which runs 1min 50sec shorter than the original version, will boost box office takings by tapping into the younger market. Universal says hordes of teenagers were turned away from cinemas on Friday, when the 18-rated version went on release. Brüno set a UK box office record as Britain's biggest 18-rated film to open on a Friday. The film also claimed top spot at the US box office on its first weekend. The sex scenes have been edited but not removed entirely. They include a scene between Brüno and his boyfriend, a visit to a swingers' party which includes a real sex shot as well as a sequence in which Baron Cohen's character simulates oral and anal sex with a ghost during a visit to a spiritual medium. "A lot of that scene" has been edited out, said Universal president David Kosse.
It is not the first time Brüno has been back to the cutting room. A scene in which Brüno attempts to get Michael Jackson's phone number from his sister La Toya was removed following the singer's death "out of respect".
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