Lionsgate to Release Larry Charles/Bill Maher Anti-Religion Documentary
Posted on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 2:51 am by: Peter Sciretta
We’re really excited about this one. Someone has finally acquired US distribution rights to the Larry Charles/Bill Maher anti-Religion documentary. From what I understand footage from the film was shown at Cannes in an attempt to nab a buyer. The footage was said to be amazing, but most studios were afraid to make a move due to the controversial nature of the doc. Not much is known about the film. This is Charles first project since directing Borat. Maher promises that “this movie will make you laugh so hard you’ll pray for it to stop.” Lionsgate hopes to expand into 1,000 screens with this release which makes me wonder if it is expected to have that much mass appeal. The film has been hyped as “Borat” meets “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
When it was first announced, the documentary was described as “examining the presence of religion in many of the big news stories of recent years, from Muslim riots over cartoons to the Ten Commandments in front of courthouses, a born-again Christian in the White House and Scientology in the birthing room.” “Is religion an obsessive-compulsive disorder?” asks Charles, who bills his movie as “Bill Maher vs. the Anti-Christ (or is Bill Maher the Anti-Christ?)”
