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

[Tatiana]

Is that Christian Bale in the pic?

[Topgun2]

Why wld it even be considered for an Oscar?

[Pacific231]

I will see Religulous, but consensus is it's good but not great. I also very much want to see "Man on Wire" which chronicles Philippe Petit's very dangerous and very illegal multiple high wire walks between the Twin Towers back in the 70s. Petit is an arroant SOB but I think if you are going to risk your life multiple times doing a stunt like this, you had better be an arrogant SOB!

[ramagal]

Um, the reason this may be out of oscar contention I would bet is less that it dealt with a contraversial issue and more that is it just wasn't a very good documentary.

I went to see it, I was open minded, I'm a non-religious person myself. There was some great footage, but by midway through I got tired of Maher cutting off the interesting people he was interviewing so that the 'documentary' could be all about him. Maher isn't a newsman or documentarian, he's a comedian and performer - very different things - and his ego was in the way of this being a good documentary.

By the film's wrap up, it hadn't proved it's point (according to an interview I saw with Maher, that "I don't have the answers but religion exacts too high a price in oppression of women etc. to be worthwhile) because the film becomes more and more vague and off topic as it goes on.

[lauram]

actually, the ending was pretty dang precise: we have evolved to have the intelligence to mass destroy ourselves, but not to outgrow our earlier superstitions which could lead to us mass destroying ourselves. If we didn't have the intelligence for the n bomb and kept our superstitions, that would be ok. If we didn't carry around our superstitions while we developed technical knowledge, that would be ok. it's the combo that we have now that's bad news.

[ramagal]

The premise is totally fine, but the FILM actually didn't make the point.
Only interviews with Maher outside the film AND his speech at the end did,
but that point wasn't made in the film. it was all sidetracked. He's not a good
enough filmmaker to know his editing, keeping on message, and building
a narrative.

[NoOtherWay]

Of course the winner will be about the Holocaust. It always is.

[ftprairiedog]

Ever notice it's always about that special Holocaust.

[daedelus]

You're both creeps.

[daedelus]

The Jesus-thankers of the Academy would never condone its inclusion.

[linnilue]

My husband and I saw Religulous and we had one of the best nights ever at the movies. This film is loaded with truth and sarcasm and cynicism and that is why I think that Bill got snubbed. Not fair. My favorite show is "Real time with Bill Maher" because he has that raw sense of humor thaat dares to derail even the most fervent politician. He dares to question those in power while chuckling at the very core of american Democracy. Back to the movie, I think the Academy finds themselves in a place of having to be politically correct, brings has taken over the United states and they dare not nominate a film that directly challenges religion. Like Bill, I too was raised catholic but my grandmother was a Jew but so scard by Hitler that she hid this truth her entire life for fear of retribution. Instead she chose to pretend to be Catholic because that was the preferred religion of her time or so she thought. She even has my father become an Alter boy and "god knows" what that really meant. He is dead so I can't ask him the dreaded question of the priests he worked for. So, I say that the academy got it really wrong this time. And I'll say a few "Hail Mary's"(just kidding) for the movie and maybe a miracle will occur and it will magically be added to the list.

[LollieDotCom]

Love the mind and movie of this man. Fvck the Academy. I'm already having "Real Time" withdrawals.

[whillice]

Puh-lease. This was NOT a documentary and more than Borat was, and was NOT that funny. Maybe if he spent some more time hitting up the Eastern religions, too, it might have been more evenhanded, (but that might have offended all the faux-Buddhists in the audience.)

IOUSA and Man on Wire are two of the best documentaries this year. However, Oscar did snub "King of Kong" which is one of the best documentaries ever.

[thundermummy]

It was funny. You must have a thin skin.

[Sorates]

I am assuming by your comment, you didn't watch the movie.

[PaxMundis]

"
I am assuming by your comment, you didn't watch the movie."

I saw it, and Whiice is pretty much right on target.

[Pacific231]

Compared to the truckloads of material Christians and Muslims have given Bill Maher, I am proud to say Buddhists have been quite a bit stingier in that regard. Still I have no doubt he would have enjoyed interviewing that kid who supposedly meditated for a year in the jungle.

I'd like to see a more serious documentary on the subject of fundie religion in America but instead of being a comedy it'd be a horror movie. As powerful as Max Blumenthal's work is, I can't imagine watching 90 minutes of fundy our-worst-nightmare material in one sitting.

[soonerdru]

Hmmm . . . The topic of religion appeals to us all, one way or another, I found the film funny while thought-provoking. The Academy? Not so much. Haven't watched those shameless ceremonies in years.

[donklinestiver]

I wont watch the Oscars as this slight proves its just another fixed system. Vote Justice dont
watch!

[PaxMundis]

Again, have you seen, or even heard about the movies that were nominated. IOUSA is about how more Americans are going into debt - gee, I wonder why someone thought that might be relevant. Trouble the Water is a film about Hurricane Katrina done by people who were actually in the middle of it. Either one is more relevant that Maher's vanity project.

[MIMom]

BOOOO!!!!

(Who cares what "Oscar" thinks anyway? Does anyone watch them anymore?)

[EllaBee]

Have not seen any of these movies that are nominated

[BlackJAC]

It was the Scientology jabs he made in London's Speaker's Corner that did it.

[Shazzbot]

When was Bill Maher in London, and how did I miss the opp to see him at Speaker's Corner?! That would've been a hoot.

[ScoutandBuckGoodDogs]

That's an excellent point! Probably didn't help matters... I've not even heard of any on the list. I thought Religulous was hilarious in some spots (ex. like when Kirk Cameron says you have to circumvent your intellect to find religion) and VERY disturbing in other parts. It is a great movie. Bill Maher knows his stuff. His mother is hilarious too!