Bill Maher's "Religulous" Out Of Oscar Contention

Bill Maher's documentary exploring religion, "Religulous," is out of Oscar contention after being left out of the final 15 list released by the Academy in the Best Documentary category.

Other notable snubs: "Dear Zachary," "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson" and "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired."

Instead, the final 15 are:

"At the Death House Door"
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"Fuel"
"The Garden"
"Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts"
"I.O.U.S.A."
"In a Dream"
"Made in America"
"Man on Wire"
"Pray the Devil Back to Hell"
"Standard Operating Procedure"
"They Killed Sister Dorothy"
"Trouble the Water"

The film was directed by Larry Charles and has made almost $13 million on a budget of just $2.5 million since its October 1 release.

Comments

[FirstShirt]

I'm waiting for the movie making fun of Maher like the one making fun of Moore. The best defense is a good offense. Maher IS a joke and just doesn't have insight.

[ralph10]

Maher is a genius and don't think they'll be making a film about him because the film about Moore lost millions cause of lack of stars and stupid premise.

[lesterbud]

"Maher doesn't have insight"?
You have no defense, nor do your unsupported comments.
Instead of trite put-downs, let's see you put some meat behind this and open a dialogue.
Bill Maher had the guts to sit in front of dogma-spewing religious idiots and get them to admit they had no understanding of the own premises and no evidence to back their fears.
The only honest character he found was the senior Vatican priest that admitted it was all for show.
He made people who don't make a habit of ever thinking pause and try to find some reason why the believe what the do. Politicians, clergy and entrepreneurs that prey on the credulous were openly exposed for the crooks they really are. That is insight. That is guts. So bring it on if you have something to share.

[notb observer]

You need to spend many, many nights at a Holiday Inn.

Rather than worrying about a "defense" of your uninformed beliefs in myth, lies, exaggerations and convoluted logic, why not spend time critically examining what's been programmed into your brain, and researching the origins of your belief system (the old testament and the bible). This isn't about attack and defense, it's about being rational, intelligent, seeking truth and spending at least as much time vetting your religion as you do choosing a babysitter. If you do that without prejudice, you might earn some respect as a fair minded person who invested some time developing an informed opinion, instead or regurgitating stale, ridiculous and unsubstantiated dogma.

Or, you could just continue to be intellectually lazy and paranoid.

[jaschrod]

No surprise, you do not make fun of mythology.

[PaxMundis]

If anybody, the people who choose the documentary category are not very likely to be strong religionists. I think that rather they decided it wasn't very good as a documentary, an opinion I would definitely agree with.

[lesterbud]

Even in my middle class enclave, with more churches than gas stations + McDonald's combined, I watched this movie in a packed theater and it got a standing ovation during the credits. Strangers stayed in the theater for several minutes to discuss the movie with each other. That is something I have never experienced before.
I am sure the 12 people that saw some of these other documentaries feel just as strong about those movies, after all, they were directed and produced by their child or grandchild.

[noralou]

You are lucky, I live in the North Olympic Peninsula of Washington State (Port Angeles) and the closest the movie got to here was about 75 miles away. I am going to have to wait until it comes out on DVD.

Mocking Mythology isn't "politcally correct" much it surely is necessary in a time when someone like Sarah Palin can say that her entering politics in this country was because of prayer and a message from God and nobody thinks that's a little scary in our democracy (ain't quite a theocracy yet).
Its like in the movie "Dogma" where The Voice of God" (played by Alan Rickman) said that "if someone says they have been talking to God, they've been talking to me -- or most likely themselves".

Go Bill Maher -- we need people to question superstitions when they become intricately involved in the running of our government.

[Sapphdia]

Wow! I wanted to see this and forgot about it. Wish that I could have been a part of that experience.

[PaxMundis]

"I am sure the 12 people that saw some of these other documentaries feel just as strong about those movies, after all, they were directed and produced by their child or grandchild."

Have you read the reviews of Man On Wire, Trouble The Water, and (especialy) IOUSA? They have been nothing less than ecstatic. Think before you write.

[iamseancarney]

Man on Wire has got to be one of the best documentaries ever made.

[UltraClassic]

Thank "God" I don't watch movies. What a waste of time.

[daedelus]

Too busy writing snooty internet posts, I imagine.

[krisgarfield]

RIGHT ON!!!

[VoteforPedro]

Yes, NASCAR is so much better!

[edgemo]

Or read books. You take such great pride in ignorance; you must be good at it.

[RedDogBear]

Ridiculous but not that much of a surprise. These guys have been irrelevant for a while, almost as out of touch as the grammys.

[marymansour]

Religilous didn't show in my Alabama hamlet so am waiting for it on PayPerView. I am a total fan of Bill Maher's and wish his genius could be rewarded with an Oscar or Globe.

[lvogt]

Religulous is an interesting film and I appreciate the idea behind it. I hope a lot of people see it but it's not even close to great film-making.

[realitycheck7]

it is just as good as many others on that list

It was left off on purpose

you see the people that make these decisions are an old, conservative bunch

[jood42]

I agree with lvogt. I thought it was funny and interesting, but it wasn't great movie making. It was more an exercise in entertaining mockery than it was a true analysis of the absurdity of organized religion.

[PaxMundis]

Do you know anything about the procedure for choosing docs? Documentarians are some of the most progressive, not conservative, members of the academy.

[CountryBeforeParty]

I'm sure there are some great documentaries that made the list. God knows the last few years have had some incredible submissions. But I would have liked to have seen Religulous make it.

It was really good. Maybe a tad too long, but I enjoyed it a lot.

[GayIthacan]

So......

When may we expect 'breaking news' about the other 208 independent films that also will not be eligible for an Oscar??

[Bec01]

Who cares about the Oscars. They are not even that important anymore? I would have loved to have seen this movie but in my neck of the woods it was never released. Isn't it sad that the church can control what movie theaters show. From the clips I was able to see it looks very entertaining. I will have to wait to buy it on DVD.

[beantowner]

"I would have loved to have seen this movie but in my neck of the woods it was never released. Isn't it sad that the church can control what movie theaters show."

I'm in the same boat. It was released at one theater about 90 minutes' drive from my house, and then it was gone in an instant. I didn't get there in time. I'll catch it on HBO or DVD, eventually.

As to your point about the church, it's a scary-powerful and influential organization. Just look at how effective the Mormons were with passing the discriminatory Prop 8. Loads of money and a twisted view of what's right and wrong = dangerous combo.

[stsw531]

I thought Religulous was a hoot, and achieved exactly what Maher wanted: To highlight the absolute absurdity of religion as practiced by the zealots, trying to force their views on the world via intrusion into the political sphere or, even worse, through violent means. He also wanted to make the point that there should be limits to what we, as a society, tolerate. People shouldn't be allowed to hide behind their religion as an excuse for injustice, exploitation or violence. Across the nation, battles to get "intelligent design" in the classroom continue, and those of us who recognize the absolute nonsense of such "theory" have to fight back, just as hard, to make sure we keep religion where it belongs - in the church and in the home. If someone wants to brainwash their own child to believe in talking snakes and dinosaurs in the garden of eden, that is their right. But we should not allow them to teach that nonsense to the children of others under the guise of "science." If we allow our politics to be driven by religious ideology, what is to stop our leaders from pursuing "armageddon" as their goal? Will they sacrifice the entire world just to bring "Jesus" back? Suggested read: Kingdom Coming, by Michelle Goldman. If the "Dominionist" movement doesn't scare you, it should. And Sarah Palin is one of them. That movement is a far more serious threat to the US than radical Islam, I think.

[burgeon]

Man on Wire has it in the bag; it's not even a competition in this category.

[Free2Rocknroll]

Whats it about?

[jood42]

Points out the absurdity of organized religion.

It's not terribly well researched and it certainly won't convince anybody on the fence, but it was funny in that let's-embarrass-religious-people-on-camera way.

[ManUnitdFan]

It's about a French tight-rope walker in the 70s that planned to walk across the two World Trade Center towers. I wasn't alive at the time, so I had no idea this happened. But it's fascinating. It plays out like a great heist flick.

[burgeon]

The guy's name is Philippe Petit. A couple of years ago, I saw him in Washington Square Park - he had strung a rope between a lamp post and a tree and was putting on a performance. It was touching seeing him perform in a park that used to be in the shadow of the towers.

[ManUnitdFan]

Seconded. I don't think it was widely released, but if anyone has a chance to go see it, they should. Fantastic movie.

[Arkadin]

From what I've read, the last five films on the list are quite good and would make great nominees.

[bspence]

Well, it's not a serious documentary, it doesn't fit into a neat category, and some it just seemed like rehashed Bill Maher routines. That said, I really loved it and I'll buy it on Blu-Ray or DVD or whatever. I just don't think it was Oscar material, which really doesn't bother me at all. Lots of great movies get overlooked by Oscar.