Hello, my name-eh lawsuit: Perry Hall Driving School Instructor Sues Borat

By: Abigail S.

The 2006 comedy Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan was groundbreaking in its approach to casting.  Except for a select few, the actors weren’t acting—nearly all of them were unaware that they were even in a mainstream movie.  Unfortunately, this new format had its drawbacks.  After the movie’s release, 20^th Century Fox was flooded with lawsuits from people who had unwittingly participated in the film. 

            Among them was Perry Hall Driving School teacher Michael Psenicska.  Those who saw the movie may remember him as the man who taught Borat (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) how to drive.  During this scene, Cohen attempted to drink liquor while behind the wheel, propositioned a female pedestrian, and asked Mr. Psenicska if he would be his boyfriend.  Mr. Psenicska has filed a lawsuit in Manhattan seeking $100,000 dollars in damages, saying that he was tricked into participating in the film. 
            In May of 2005, Mr. Psenicska says that he was approached to participate in a documentary about immigrants and their assimilation into American life.  He agreed, and arranged a meeting in Columbia to shoot the scene.  Before they began filming, Mr. Psenicska was asked to sign several contracts, which he readily admits he did not read. He explains that at the time, he didn’t realize what was going on: “My wife said to me ‘Why couldn’t you figure that out?’  I’ll tell you why I couldn’t figure it out:  I was in a moving car.”   After they had finished shooting, Mr. Psenicska says: “I went over to the producers—this one guy in particular— and I said ‘Did you see what he was doing in the car?  Did you hear what he was saying?’ And he looked at me…not saying a word.  So I said ‘Look—You set me up.  What did you set me up for?’” 

            He only found out in 2006, when previews for the film started airing.  “My middle son called me and he said ‘Dad, my friend just called me.  He was in a movie last night, and he saw you in a trailer.’”  Mr. Psenicska soon began seeing himself all over television—even in a clip aired on the David Letterman Show.  When he saw the movie, one thing in particular caught his eye: “Before they showed the movie they showed this thing—I guess they put it on all DVDs—‘If you use this image for profit we’re going to fine you $5,000 and throw you in jail.’  I thought ‘Isn’t that interesting?  They kind of used my image for profit.’”

            Mr. Psenicska hired a lawyer in December of 2006.   He was approached by 20^th Century Fox’s lawyers in April.  He says that they made him a “monetary offer,” but by August had begun avoiding his phone calls.  This was when he decided to file a lawsuit.  “I knew all along [that] what they did wasn’t right.  My son said ‘Well Dad, you signed a contract.’ And I said ‘I don’t care what I signed, that’s fraud.  You can’t tell somebody you’re doing one thing and then do another.’”  However, if the case does make it to trial, the contracts Mr. Psenicska signed could be a problem.

            Mr. Psenicska feels that it is unlikely the case will make it that far, and said in a January 11^th interview with Hallmark that his lawyers were in negotiations with 20^th Century Fox.  He fully expects that the suit will be settled out of court. 

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