Religulous (2008)

Director:

Larry Charles

Writers:

(more)

Release Date:

3 October 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Comedy

Tagline:

Do you smell something burning?

Plot:

Bill Maher's take on the current state of world religion.

Plot Keywords:

Jew | Muslim | Religion | Christian | Trucker

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bill Maher	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tal Bachman	...	Himself
Jonathan Boulden	...	Himself
Steve Burg	...	Himself
Francis Collins	...	Himself
George Coyne	...	Himself (as Father George Coyne PhD)
Benjamin Creme	...	Himself
Jeremiah Cummings	...	Himself
Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda	...	Himself
Fatima Elatik	...	Herself
Yahuda Etzion	...	Himself
Reginald Foster	...	Himself (as Father Reginald Foster)
Mohamed Junas Gaffar	...	Himself
Bill Gardiner	...	Himself
Ted Haggard	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rabbi Halperin	...	Himself
Ken Ham	...	Himself
Dean Hamer	...	Himself (as Dr. Dean Hamer)
Mohammad Hourani	...	Himself (as Dr. Mohammad Hourani PhD)
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Jesus (archive footage)
Nelson Leigh	...	Jesus (archive footage)
Julie Maher	...	Herself
Kathy Maher	...	Herself
Aki Nawaz	...	Himself (as Propa-Gandhi)
Andrew Newberg	...	Himself (as Dr. Andrew Newberg MD)
Fred Phelps	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mark Pryor	...	Himself
Shmuel Strauss	...	Himself (as Rabbi Shmuel Strauss)
Ray Suarez	...	Himself
Jimmy Turkmani	...	Himself
Ferre van Beveren	...	Himself (as Reverend Ferre van Beveren)
Yisroel Dovid Weiss	...	Himself (as Rabbi Dovid Weiss)
John Westcott	...	Himself (as Pastor John Westcott)
Geert Wilders	...	Himself
Jim Bakker	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Osama bin Laden	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kaya Bousquet	...	Model (uncredited)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kirk Cameron	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Johnny Carson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Larry Charles	...	Himself (uncredited)
Tom Cruise	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jerry Falwell	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Billy Gibbons	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Theo van Gogh	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Charlton Heston	...	George Taylor (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dusty Hill	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Benny Hinn	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mike Huckabee	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kim Hunter	...	Zira (archive footage) (uncredited)
Michael Jackson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Bishop Don Magic Juan	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Larry King	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Joe Lieberman	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Marilyn Manson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
John McCain	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pope John Paul II	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Elvis Presley	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Prince	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Oral Roberts	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pat Robertson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
George C. Scott	...	Abraham (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gene Simmons	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Britney Spears	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Paul Stanley	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Travolta	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Max von Sydow	...	Jesus (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kanye West	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Larry Charles

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bill Maher		written by (uncredited)

Produced by
Jesse Johnston	....	executive producer
Leila Lak	....	field producer: England
Alexandra Lambrinidis	....	associate producer
Bill Maher	....	producer
Kevin O'Donnell	....	line producer
Flavia Oertwig	....	field producer: Italy
Lisa Rudin	....	associate producer
Charlie Siskel	....	executive producer
Jonah Smith	....	producer
Alon Tuval	....	field producer: Israel
Palmer West	....	producer

Cinematography by
Anthony Hardwick		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jeff Groth
Christian Kinnard
Jeffrey M. Werner

Production Management
Chelsea Barnard	....	field supervisor
Tommaso Colognese	....	production supervisor: Italy
Craig Conolly	....	unit production manager (as Craig J. Conolly)
Jan Diederen	....	field supervisor: The Netherlands
Brad Goodman	....	post-production supervisor (as Bradley M. Goodman)
Kevin Kolovich	....	production supervisor: England
Alexandra Lambrinidis	....	field supervisor
Mary Prendergast	....	post-production supervisor
Charlie Siskel	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Craig Conolly	....	first assistant director (as Craig J. Conolly)
Charlie Siskel	....	first assistant director
Dale Stern	....	first assistant director (as Dale S. Stern)

Sound Department
Rick Camera	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Rick Camara)
John Cannon	....	first assistant sound editor
Jason George	....	supervising sound editor
Scott Harber	....	sound mixer
Geoffrey G. Rubay	....	sound re-recording mixer
Geoffrey G. Rubay	....	supervising sound editor
James Wright	....	sound consultant: Dolby (as Jim Wright)
James Bailey	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Fabrizio Donati	....	audio restorer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Scott M. Davids	....	visual effects & graphics supervisor: Yard VFX (as Scott Davids)
Jalal Jemison	....	digital compositor: Yard VFX
Jalal Jemison	....	graphics animator: Yard VFX
Benjamin Locke	....	graphics animator: Yard VFX
Benjamin Locke	....	main title animator: Yard VFX

Camera and Electrical Department
Anthony Hardwick	....	camera operator
Ryo Kinno	....	first assistant camera (as Ryo Kinino)
Mark Schwartzbard	....	camera operator
David Mickler	....	camera operator: behind the scenes (uncredited)
Sam Moon	....	camera operator: "c" camera: England (uncredited)
Owen A. Smith	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jason Alper	....	stylist: England

Editorial Department
Thomas J. Cabela	....	assistant editor (as Tom Cabela)
David Egan	....	first assistant editor
Evan Goldstein	....	post-production coordinator
John Klos	....	final cut pro systems support: Big Time Picture Company
Asim Matin	....	assistant editor
Jeff Mee	....	first assistant editor
Aaron Peak	....	colorist
Aaron Peak	....	on-line editor
Silja Tõnisson	....	first assistant editor (as Silja Tonisson)
Leroy Wolf	....	color timer
Mike Ford	....	post-production associate (uncredited)
Micky Hohl	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)
Neil W. Smith	....	digital intermediate supervisor: Hollywood-DI (uncredited)

Music Department
Michael Dittrick	....	music editor
Richard Henderson	....	music consultant
Chris Robertson	....	music clearance: Diamond Time
Ben Zales	....	assistant music editor

Transportation Department
Andrea Bonanni	....	driver: Italy
Lori Chavez	....	transportation coordinator
Eli 'Kiko' Cohen	....	transportation coordinator: Israel
Jeff Hyland	....	driver
Tom Jenkins	....	driver
Shalom Kleiman	....	driver: Israel
Gianfranco Renzoni	....	driver: Italy
Jared Robbins	....	transportation captain
Meir Tabcznik	....	driver: Israel
Massimiliano Taglioni	....	driver: Italy (as Massimilano Taglioni)

Other crew
Fouad Abughosh	....	field coordinator: Israel
Robyn Adams	....	researcher
Giosué Arcuri	....	production security
Chelsea Barnard	....	researcher
Bhanu Bhatnagar	....	production assistant: England
Roberta Brodsky	....	field coordinator
Cara Casey	....	field coordinator
Sophie Charles	....	researcher
Kate Coe	....	archival researcher
Michelle Cornelius	....	assistant: Mr. Maher
Peter Dally	....	international legal contracts
Mike Diaz	....	production assistant
Jan Diederen	....	researcher: The Netherlands
Alon Farago	....	location manager: Israel
Tal Fiala	....	account executive
Classietta Foreman	....	field coordinator (as Classietta Davis)
Amiran Gicelter	....	international legal contracts
Max Gottlieb	....	production insurance: Frankel & Associates
Alan Grodin	....	legal services: Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall
Octavia Hartland	....	production assistant: England
Gill Havivi	....	production security
Dave Herrmann	....	production assistant (as David Hermann)
Lauren A Jackson	....	travel coordinator (as Lauren Jackson)
Mano Janssen	....	international legal contracts
Armand Killan	....	international legal contracts
Mary Knowles	....	booker
Dalit Koren	....	production secretary: Israel
Calum Latham	....	production assistant: England
Anjani Mandavia	....	legal services: Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall
David Mickler	....	production assistant
Mark Monto	....	security
Massimiliano Mostardini	....	international legal contracts
Shannon Murphy	....	assistant: Mr. Smith & Mr. West
Dana Ostroff	....	production accountant
Lisa Rudin	....	assistant: Mr. Charles
Kathy Sarreal	....	legal services: Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall
Estee Seward	....	assistant: Mr. Maher
Julie Shapiro	....	production travel: Travel Corps
Noam Sharon	....	researcher: Israel
Marc R. Sinderman	....	production accountant
Matthew N. Sugarman	....	legal services: Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall (as Matt Sugarman)
Rieko Takagi	....	production assistant
Greg Wishnev	....	researcher (uncredited)

Thanks
Cliff Dorfman	....	special thanks
Ned Goldreyer	....	special thanks
Julie Maher	....	in loving memory of

Production Companies

• Thousand Words

Distributors

• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Albania) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Bulgaria) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Croatia) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Hungary) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Kosovo) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Republic of Macedonia) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Montenegro) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Poland) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Romania) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Serbia) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Slovakia) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Slovenia) (all media)
• A-Film Distribution (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Icon Film Distribution (2008) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Lionsgate (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• Village Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Blue Sky Media (2008) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Sony Music Entertainment (2009) (Japan) (TV)
• TVA Films (2008) (Canada) (all media)

Special Effects

• Yard VFX (title graphics & visual effects)

Other Companies

• ABC News Video Source  footage courtesy of (as ABCNews VideoSource)
• AP Archive  footage courtesy of
• Abel Cine Tech  lenses and cameras (as Abel Cinetech)
• Allstock  footage courtesy of (as All Stock)
• BBC Motion Gallery  footage courtesy of
• Big Time Picture Company  final cut pro systems support
• Budget Films  footage courtesy of
• Cable News Network (CNN)  footage courtesy of (as CNN)
• Classic Images  footage courtesy of
• Conus Archive, The  footage courtesy of
• Corbis  footage courtesy of
• Diamond Time  music clearances
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• EFilm  digital film recording
• F.I.L.M. Archives  footage courtesy of
• Film & Video Stock Shots  footage courtesy of
• Footage Bank  footage courtesy of
• Frankel & Associates  production insurance
• Global Imageworks  footage courtesy of
• HBO Archives  footage courtesy of
• Historic Films Archive  footage courtesy of
• Hollywood-DI  digital intermediate services
• ITN Source  footage courtesy of
• Image Bank Films by Getty Images  footage courtesy of (as Image Bank Film/Getty Images)
• Journeyman Films  footage courtesy of
• Landov  footage courtesy of
• Lions Gate Records  soundtrack
• MacDonald and Associates  footage courtesy of
• Micdi Productions  music editorial services
• Modern VideoFilm  dailies transfer
• Modern VideoFilm  post-production services
• NBC News Archives  footage courtesy of
• Soundelux  sound design & editorial
• Streamline Films  footage courtesy of
• Thought Equity  footage courtesy of (as Thought Equity Motion)
• Todd-AO Studios  sound re-recording services
• Travel Corps  production travel
• Vanderbilt Television News Archive  footage courtesy of
• Video Tape Library  footage courtesy of
• WPA Film Library  footage courtesy of
• Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall (WWBCG&E)  legal services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and sexual material

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew | Arabic | Persian | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44539) | UK:15 | Australia:M | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | South Africa:18 | New Zealand:M | Ireland:15A | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Mexico:B15 | Hong Kong:IIB

Filming Locations:

's-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Thousand Words

Trivia:

The film used the fake working title "A Spiritual Journey" in order to obtain interviews with religious leaders. They did not know that Bill Maher was involved in the film until he arrived for the interviews.

Quotes:

Bill Maher:[in a deleted scene on the DVD] How spiritually advanced is Uranus?
Himself (Creme, Benjamin (II)):Very. Very. Very.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Soundtrack:

Walk Like An Egyptian

Maher's Catechism; Questions, No Answers

With 16 percent of the U.S. population, the un-/non-/anti-religious represent a larger segment than blacks (13%), gays (3%), or NRA members (2%). Never mind the exact figures (which vary from source to source), focus on the question what kind of lobby do the non-religious have, with impact approaching those other groups? None, alas. Why is that?

It could be this: The militantly religious must be *right*, the secular - by definition - will not fight to the death for his truth (or god, not in evidence). My money is on the righteous, the fervent, the militant, the possessed. One day, they may even have an influence over the U.S. government! Meanwhile, in our corner, there is Bill Maher.

His "Religulous," directed by Larry Charles, is an entertaining, funny, angry, thought-provoking journey from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Via Dolorosa, the Qumran Caves, to Stonehenge, Habibi Ana (and a Moslem Gay bar), the Vatican, the Holy Land Experience Park in Florida, the U.S. Capitol, Mormon Tabernacle, and many others.

Everywhere, Maher is asking a few simple questions: What do you believe, why, and how can you possibly...? Half Catholic, half Jewish, and fully agnostic, Maher is incredulous, in every sense of the word, but curiously warm and gentle asking questions about the "the final battle between intelligence and stupidity that will decide the future of humanity."

In Larry Charles' words, the situation confronted is like this: "An old God, a very buff old God that lives in space decides to create the first man from earth dust, then makes a woman from that man's rib. They get to live forever if they don't eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge, but the woman is tricked into eating a piece by a talking snake and all future humanity is cursed." And that, of course, is just the basic tenet of one religion. Discuss.

Maher goes on in his polite crusade to dissect some of the similar Star Wars/Disney scenarios in Scientology, Mormonism, among Orthodox Jews and televangelists. All interviews are interesting, but some are amazing and memorable. Father Reginald Foster - a senior Vatican scholar, principal Latinist for the Pope - will stun you as he agrees with Maher on some points. There is unexpected goodwill and kindness from a group of evangelists "attacked" by Maher; they pray for him, and really mean it.

You may have chills running down your back as you listen to Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas), sitting in his Capitol office, speaking about his belief in Creationism and the literal interpretation of the Bible. You don't need to be a Christian to be offended (and amused) by the commercial Jesus impersonators Maher interviews, and you may feel a bit sorry for the Pentecostals speaking in tongues. (Gov. Palin and John Ashcroft, neither featured in "Religulous," are members of that church.)

After comedy, irony, and sarcasm, Maher turns serious at the end of the film, and asks with deep concern if the future of the world can be entrusted to the many varieties of believers in the unreal, the illogical, the incongruous, the phantasmagorical. Looks like we are well on our way to that eventuality.