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Rating: R (for some language and sexual material)
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RELIGULOUS
Information Packet
Table of Contents
Main Title Credits
Film Synopsis
Statements from Filmmakers Bill Maher and Larry Charles
Locations Where Filming Took Place and
Key Interviews Completed At Each
Filmmaker Biographies
End Title Credits
RELIGULOUS
Starring
BILL MAHER
Directed by………………………………………………………….LARRY CHARLES
Produced by…………………………..….………………………….…..JONAH SMITH
………………………………………..………………………………..PALMER WEST
Produced by………………………….……………………….……..……BILL MAHER
Executive Producers…………………………………………………CHARLIE SISKEL
……………………………………………………………………....JESSE JOHNSTON
Director of Photography……………………………………..ANTHONY HARDWICK
Editors.……………………………………………………………………JEFF GROTH
……….………………………………………………………..CHRISTIAN KINNARD
……….………………………………………………………...JEFFREY M. WERNER
FILM SYNOPSIS
RELIGULOUS follows comedian Bill Maher (“Real Time with Bill Maher,” “Politically Incorrect”) as he travels to religious sites around the world to interview a broad spectrum of believers about God and religion. Known for his astute analytical skills and for his commitment to never pulling a punch, Maher applies his characteristic honesty and irreverent wit to the question of faith, bringing us on an uproarious and provocative spiritual journey.Directed by Larry Charles (BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN, HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), RELIGULOUS will mark Charles’ first feature project since the critically acclaimed, wildly successful BORAT.
Jonah Smith and Palmer West of Thousand Words (A SCANNER DARKLY, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) and Bill Maher are producing.
RELIGULOUSStatements From Filmmakers Bill Maher and Larry Charles
Since starting on Politically Incorrect in 1993, it has been my pleasure over the last decade and a half to make organized religion one of my favorite targets. I often explained to people, “I don’t need to make fun of religion, it makes fun of itself.” And, then I go ahead and make fun of it too, just for laughs.
With religious fanatics like George Bush and Osama bin Laden now taking over the world, it seemed to me in recent years that this issue -- this cause of debunking the man behind the curtain -- needed to have a larger, more insistent and focused forum than late night television. I wanted to make a documentary, and I wanted it to be funny. In fact, since there is nothing more ridiculous than the ancient mythological stories that live on as today’s religions, this movie would try to be a real knee slapper. Unless, of course, you’re religious, then you might not like it.
Who could I get to direct me on such an epic quest? In reality, there was only one man, and his name is Larry Charles. I hope that together we fulfilled that quest. Which really isn’t that hard, considering that comedically speaking, the topic of religion is pretty much hitting the side of a barn.
As a comedian, religion has always interested me -- it was the single easiest subject to make jokes about. I think that tells us something: comedians look for things that don’t make sense, that are illogical.
Even as a young comedian, routines I did that got the biggest laughs and got me invited back on the Tonight Show were the religious ones -- like the one about being half Catholic and half Jewish and bringing a lawyer into confession: “Bless me father for I have sinned -- and I think you know Mr. Cohen . . .”
Politics is a rich area, but even politicians, although they promise some ridiculous stuff, don’t approach the level of, for example, the Mormon practice of promising couples a planet to rule over in the after life if they have a really good marriage on earth. They give you a planet -- kinda like when someone gives you a certificate that says a star has been named after you -- except here, they really give you the star!
Join me in the final battle between intelligence and stupidity that will decide the future of humanity. Coming soon to a house of false idols near you.
- Bill Maher / OK. 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. Or, how bout this one? This same space God who lives in the sky and has power over everything decides he wants a son, so he impregnates a woman but she remains a virgin. And, the child can walk on water and raise the dead. But his father, the sky God, sends him on a suicide mission to save humanity. After he dies, he rises from the dead and flies into space to be with his father (who is also him.)
Greek myths? The latest installment of the “Lord of the Rings”? Disney’s new animated movie? No! These are the foundations of Western religion. The tenuous shaky belief systems that our entire civilization rests upon.
What do you believe, why do you believe it, and why do you need to believe it? Can we be good without God? Is religion a calling or a mental illness? Were Jesus, Moses and Mohammed prophets and visionaries, or crackpot nut cases who today would be put away? Is religion an obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Comedian, acerbic commentator, raconteur, skeptic, seeker Bill Maher and I set off in search of answers to these questions in a raunchy, rude, irreverent, outrageous, and shocking nonfiction film about the greatest fiction ever told.
From the Western Wall to the Vatican, from self-professed messiahs to self professed Pariahs, we will not only expose the hypocrisy and corruption in organized religion but the absurdly hilarious logic that holds it together.
We will talk to clergy, extremists, scholars, politicians, ex-cons, the man on the street and even the man upstairs (that's right, we interview God.)
The funny will be scary, the scary wildly funny. The crazy will seem sane and the sane absolutely and undeniably crazy. All lines are blurred. All bets are off. We will get inside, on top of, behind, and in front of religion.
- Larry Charles
LOCATIONS WHERE THE FILMING OF “RELIGULOUS” TOOK PLACE AND KEY INTERVIEWS COMPLETED AT EACH
ISRAEL (December 2006)
Jerusalem locations:
Al-Aqsa Mosque, TempleMount, Dome of the Rock (Dr. Muhammad Hourani, PhD, Coordinator, Center for Peace and Reconciliation)
Chapel of the Ascension (Jesus’ Footprint)
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Golgotha, Jesus’ Tomb (Rabbi David Rosen, Father Dr. Kamal Farah, David R. Parsons)
Via Dolorosa, Birthplace of the Virgin Mary, Muslim Quarter (Rabbi David Rosen, Father Dr. Kamal Farah, David R. Parsons)
Institute for Science and Halacha (Rabbi Shmuel Strauss; Rabbi Levi Halperin, Director of the Institute)
Jaffa Gate (Temple Marchers/Temple MountFaithful)
Modin (Temple Marchers/Temple MountFaithful)
Mount of Olives
OldCity
TempleMount, a/k/a Noble Sanctuary (Radical Jewish ActivistYehuda Etzion)
The TempleFaithfulCenter (Temple Marchers/Temple MountFaithful)
WesternWallPlaza and Tunnel
Other locations in Israel:
Megiddo – JezreelValley
Sodom and Gomorrah – Dead Sea
QumranCaves (Dead Sea Scrolls) – Dead Sea
ENGLAND (December 2006 – January 2007)
Cerne Abbas (Giant of Cerne) – Dorset, England
Avebury -- Wiltshire, England (Stonehenge)
London:
Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park
Oxford Circus (Ben Jones, street preacher)
London subway/tube station (Aki Nawaz, a/k/a Propa-Gandhi, Rapper)
THE NETHERLANDS (January 2007)
Amsterdam:
Habibi Ana (Muslim Gay Bar/Jimmy Turkmani)
Red Light District
Sensi Coffee Shop / Seed Shop (Ferre van Beveren, Cannabis Ministry)
Taibah Mosque (Mohamed Junas Gaffar)
Greenhouse Coffee Shop
Zeeburg District (Fatima Elatik, Dutch Politician)
Other locations in the Netherlands:
The Hague/Parliament (Geert Wilders, Dutch Parliament Member)
ITALY (January 2007)
Rome:
Vatican (Father Reginald Foster, Senior Vatican Scholar and Principal Latinist for the Pope)
USA (January 2007)
Calvary Assembly Exchange Ministries – Winter Park, FL (Pastor John Westcott)
Carnegie Institution Auditorium - Washington, DC(Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health)
AmericanUniversity biology lab, Washington, DC (Dr. Dean Hamer, author, The God Gene)
EzraConferenceCenter - Raleigh, NC (Jeremiah Cummings, Founder and Pastor, Amazing Life World Outreach)
St. Raphael’s ParishCenter, Raleigh, NC (Father George V. Coyne, S.J., PhD, Director Emeritus, Vatican Observatory)
Grand Central Station - New York, NY (Dr. Andrew Newberg, MD, author, Why We Believe What We Believe)
Growing in GraceMinistry - Miami, FL (Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda)
Holy Land Experience - Orlando, FL (Employee portraying Jesus; Tourists; Holy Land Employees and Performers)
Jackie Gleason Theatre – Miami, FL (Bill Maher stand-up performance on stage)
Ritz Carlton Hotel – Coconut Grove, FL (Dr. Brian Weiss, author, Many Lives, Many Masters)
Jefferson Memorial – Washington, DC (Ray Suarez, journalist, author, The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America)
Neturei Karta HQ - Monsey, NY (Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, Anti-Zionist)
Our Lady of Mercy Church - Park Ridge, NJ (Bill Maher’s Sister Kathy Maher and Mother Julie Maher, at the Maher’s childhood Church)
SenateOfficeBuilding - Washington, DC (Senator Mark Pryor, Democrat, Arkansas)
US CapitolBuilding – Washington, DC
Truckers Chapel/Truck Stop Ministries - Raleigh, NC (Reverend Joe Copeland and congregants)
USA (February 2007)
CreationMuseum, Petersburg, KY (Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis, U.S.A.)
Liturgical ApostolateCenter - Boston, MA (Steve Burg, Ex-Jew for Jesus)
Mormon Tabernacle – Salt Lake City, UT
McCuneMansion - Salt Lake City, UT (Ted Bachman and Bill Gardiner, Ex-Mormons)
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
BILL MAHER
For the last fifteen years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television. First on “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC, 1993-2002), and for the last six years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him twenty-one Emmy nominations. And in October of 2008 this same combination will be on display in the movies when Maher’s uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, RELIGULOUS, directed by Larry Charles (BORAT) hits theaters.
In addition to his television program – which has featured such regular visitors as John Edwards, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Arianna Huffington, Alec Baldwin and Michael Moore – Maher has written four bestsellers: True Story, Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits, When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden and most recently, New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer.
Maher started his career as a stand-up comedian in 1979, and still performs at least fifty dates a year in Las Vegas and in sold out theaters all across the country. Two of his eight stand-up specials for HBO – 2007’s “The Decider” and 2005’s “I’m Swiss” – have been nominated for Emmy® awards.
Maher was born in New York City, raised in River Vale, N.J. and went to CornellUniversity. He now resides in Los Angeles.
LARRY CHARLES
Larry Charles has served as writer, producer, supervising producer, executive producer, and director on some of film and television’s most successful comedies, including BORAT, “Seinfeld,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and “Entourage.” Throughout his career, he has won two Emmys®, a Golden Globe® and a Peabody Award and received multiple Emmy®, DGA, WGA, and Golden Globe® nominations.
His controversial theatrical directorial debut, MASKED & ANONYMOUS, co-written with and starring Bob Dylan and featuring an all star cast including Jeff Bridges, Jessica Lange, John Goodman, Luke Wilson, Penelope Cruz, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer and Mickey Rourke, was the 2003 centerpiece premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
Charles has been profiled in numerous publications and periodicals, including WMagazine and Esquire.
PALMER WEST and JONAH SMITH
Palmer West and Jonah Smith’s production shingle, Thousand Words, is devoted to identifying unique voices: stories and storytellers whose visions invent rather than abide by cinematic convention. Founded by West in 1998, Thousand Words is a privately owned, Los Angeles-based development, production and finance entity with a revolving credit line through JP Morgan, which affords the company the ability to develop, finance and produce films both with and without domestic distribution commitments.
West was born and raised in Philadelphia and moved to New York City upon graduating from the University of Montana. Smith, raised in Connecticut, graduated from NYUFilmSchool and later co-executive produced PI, Darren Aronofsky’s film debut. West and Smith both reside in Los Angeles. Under the Thousand Words shingle, West and Smith have produced Darren Aronofsky’s REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, Richard Linklater’s WAKING LIFE and A SCANNER DARKLY, THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND and THE CLEARING, starring Robert Redford.
END TITLE CREDITS
Unit Production Managers / CHARLIE SISKELCRAIG J. CONOLLY
First Assistant Directors / CHARLIE SISKEL
DALE S. STERN
CRAIG J. CONOLLY
Line Producer / KEVIN O’DONNELL
Associate Producers / LISA RUDIN
ALEX LAMBRINIDIS
Camera Operators / ANTHONY HARDWICK
MARK SCHWARTZBARD
First Camera Assistant / RYO KINNO
Sound Mixer / SCOTT HARBER, C.A.S.
1st Assistant Editors / SILJA TONISSON
JEFF MEE
DAVID EGAN
Assistant Editors / TOM CABELA
ASIM MATIN
Field Supervisors / ALEX LAMBRINIDIS
CHELSEA BARNARD
Field Coordinators / ROBERTA BRODSKY
CARA CASEY
CLASSIETTA DAVIS
MATT SHIRE
Booker / MARY KNOWLES
Researchers / ROBYN ADAMS
CHELSEA BARNARD
SOPHIE CHARLES
Stock Footage Researcher / KATE COE
Production Assistants / MIKE DIAZ
DAVID HERMANN
DAVID MICKLER
RIEKO TAKAGI
Legal Services by / WEISSMANN, WOLFF, BERGMAN, COLEMAN, GRODIN & EVALL LLP
ALAN GRODIN
ANJI MANDAVIA
KATHY SARREAL
MATT SUGARMAN
Production Accountants / MARC R. SNIDERMAN, CPA
DANA OSTROFF
Assistant to Mr. Charles / LISA RUDIN
Assistants to Mr. Maher / ESTEE SEWARD
MICHELLE CORNELIUS
Assistant to Mr. Smith & Mr. West / SHANNON MURPHY
Transportation Captain / JARED ROBBINS
Transportation Coordinator / LORI CHAVEZ
Transportation Drivers / TOM JENKINS
JEFF HYLAND
International Crew
England
Field Producer / LEILA LAK
Production Supervisor / KEVIN KOLOVICH
Stylist / JASON ALPER
Production Assistants / BHANU BHATNAGAR
OCTAVIA HARTLAND
CALUM LATHAM
Israel
Field Producer / ALON TUVAL
Location Manager / ALON FARAGO
Field Coordinator / FOUAD ABUGHOSH
Researcher / NOAM SHARON
Production Secretary / DALIT KOREN
Transportation Coordinator / ELI (KIKO) COHEN
Drivers / MEIR TABCZNIK
SHALOM KLEIMAN
Italy
Field Producer / FLAVIA OERTWIG
Production Supervisor / TOMMASO COLOGNESE
Production Assistant / CLAUDIO DE SIMONE
Drivers / MASSIMILANO TAGLIONI
ANDREA BONANNI
GIANFRANCO RENZONI
The Netherlands
Researcher & Field Supervisor / JAN DIEDEREN
Post Production Supervisors / BRADLEY M. GOODMAN
MARY PRENDERGAST
Post Production Coordinator / EVAN GOLDSTEIN
Post Production Associate / MIKE FORD
Sound Design & Editorial / SOUNDELUX
Supervising Sound Editors / GEOFFREY G. RUBAY
JASON GEORGE
1st Assistant Sound Editor / JOHN CANNON
Re-Recording Services / TODD-AO STUDIOS
Re-Recording Mixer / GEOFFREY G. RUBAY
Re-Recording Recordist / RICK CAMARA
Music Editorial Services / MICDI PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Music Editor / MICHAEL DITTRICK
Assistant Music Editor / BEN ZALES
Titles, Graphics & Visual Effects / YARD VFX
Visual Effects & Graphics Supervisor / SCOTT DAVIDS
Graphics Animator & Digital Compositor / JALAL JEMISON
Main Title Designer & Graphics Animator / BENJAMIN LOCKE
Digital Intermediate / HOLLYWOOD-DI
Online Editor & Digital Colorist / AARONPEAK
Digital Film Recording / EFILM
Film Color Timer / LEROY WOLF
Dailies Transfers / MODERN VIDEOFILM
Music Consultant / RICHARD HENDERSON
Music Clearances / DIAMOND TIME
CHRIS ROBERTSON
Dolby Sound Consultant / JIM WRIGHT
Production Insurance / FRANKEL & ASSOCIATES
MAX GOTTLIEB
International Legal Contacts / PETER DALLY
MASSIMILIANO MOSTARDINI
ARMAND KILLAN
MANO JANSSEN
AMIRAN GICELTER
Production Security / MARK MONTO
GILL HAVIVI
GIOSUÈ ARCURI
Production Travel / TRAVEL CORPS
JULIE SHAPIRO
Travel Coordinator / LAUREN JACKSON
Final Cut Pro Systems Support / BIG TIME PICTURE COMPANY
JOHN KLOS
The Seeker
Written by Pete Townshend
Published by Universal Music – Careers o/b/o Towser Tunes, Inc. (BMI)
Performed by The Who
Courtesy of Polydor Limited/Geffen Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises / Rat-it-ta-tat
Written and performed by Rob Bryton, Neil Cross, Tony Daniels, Justin Kahn
Vocals by Tony Daniels, Rob Bryton
Produced by Rob Bryton
© 2008 BWP inc.
Travelin Band
Written by John Fogerty
Published by Jondora Music (BMI)
Performed by Credence Clearwater Revival
Courtesy of Concord Music Group, Inc./
Fantasy Records / The Bird and The Bees
Written by Herbert Newman
Published by Spirit Two Music, Inc. o/b/o Pattern Music Inc. (ASCAP)/Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP)
Performed by Jewel Akens
Courtesy of K-Tel/Elektra Records
Boy Beat
Written by Rob Bryton
Performed by Rob Bryton, Vocals by Rob Bryton, Tony Daniels, Rosanne Dimasi
Produced by Rob Bryton
© 2008 BWP inc. / Lovie
Written and performed by Tony Daniels
Produced by Rob Bryton
© 2008 BWP inc.
Christ For President
Written by Jay Bennett, Woody Guthrie & Jeffrey Scot Tweedy
Published by Woody Guthrie Publications (BMI) / Titanic Majesties Music (ASCAP) Administered by Bug / Warner Chappell Music Co. o/b/o Warner Tamerlane & Words Empersand Music (BMI)
Performed by Billy Bragg And Wilco
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group by arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing / Star Spangled Banner