Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- News Corp's Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. was sued by two men who say they were plied with drink and then asked to sign releases allowing them to be included in last weekend's No. 1 movie, ``Borat.''

The satirical film, whose full title is ``Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,'' stars British actor Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, a Kazakh journalist exploring U.S. culture by interviewing ordinary Americans.

Two South Carolina men claim that agents of Fox Film and three other production companies lied to them about the nature of the film and where it would be shown, then made them appear foolish on screen. The men, suing anonymously to avoid further embarrassment, want damages and a court order deleting them from the film.

``Believing the film would not be viewed in the United States, and at the encouragement of defendants, plaintiffs engaged in behavior that they otherwise would not have engaged in,'' said the complaint, filed yesterday in Santa Monica, California.

``Borat'' was released in the U.S. on Nov. 3. The film grossed $26.5 million during its opening weekend, topping all others at the box office, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co.

``The lawsuit has no merit,'' Fox Film spokesman Gregg Brilliant said. The plaintiffs' attorneys, Olivier Taillieu and German Marcucci, didn't return calls seeking comment; nor did defendants Everyman Pictures and Gold/Miller Productions. A fourth defendant, One America Productions, couldn't be located for comment.

`Under the Influence'

The plaintiffs, identified as members of a college fraternity, contend that the filmmakers gave them alcohol and then had them sign forms giving their consent to appear in a ``documentary-style'' film that would never be shown in the U.S. After signing the papers, the men, ``still well under the influence of the alcohol,'' were taken to a motor home where the filming occurred, they say in the suit.

The film portrays Kazakhstan as a country where people drink horse urine and whose national pastimes include rape, incest and shooting dogs. Cohen's creation, Borat, caused outrage among Kazakh officials when the character first appeared in the television series ``Da Ali G Show,'' with some even suggesting he was part of a larger political plot against Kazakhstan.

Funny in Parts

Some Kazakh officials have tempered their criticism. In a letter to the Times of London, Erlan Idrissov, the country's ambassador to the U.K., called the movie funny in parts and said it had ``placed Kazakhstan on the map.''

The Russian government has banned ``Borat'' from theaters because it said the title character's anti-Semitism, misogyny and homophobia could offend Kazakh audience members. Kazakhstan and Russia, which share a common border, were members of the Soviet Union.

Twentieth Century Fox has shelved plans to release ``Borat'' on Nov. 30 in 300 Russian cinemas, a company spokesman said yesterday.

The suit alleges fraud, misappropriation of their likenesses and infliction of emotional distress, among other causes of action.

The case is Doe v. One America Productions Inc., SC091723, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, West District (Santa Monica).

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris at the federal courthouse in Chicago at 5474 or aharris16@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 10, 2006 16:29 EST