Director Larry Charles and (l-r) comic Bill Maher. Seinfeld and filming
. Religulous. (opposite) Sara! and Curb Your
Enthusiasm.
been a nice synchronicity to the way it has worked out.‘
No kidding. That Jewish upbringing also planted an early seed for his comedy career. The son of a failed singer (his mum) and a failed comedian (his dad). he remembers being taken to The lid Sullivan Show as a kid and being fascinated by the realisation that there was a whole other reality behind what got broadcast on television. That deconstructionist mind made him a perfect lit as a head writer for .S'einfeld. where he was credited for ratcheting up the show‘s absurdist elements. developing the arcane anti-authoritarianism of kooky Cosmo Kramer in particular. It also made him a perfect lit for Seinfeld co-creator Larry David's genius follow-up. (‘urh Yuur Enthusiasm. which he was tapped to direct. ‘After that I realised I kind of had a knack for directing.‘ he says. ‘That fork in the road came at just the right time.‘
So did Bonn. Having made his feature debut with little-seen Bob Dylan collaboration
‘A LOT OF THE PEOPLE
HAD NEVER EXPLORED THE DEPTHS OF THEIR OWN RELIGION'
Masked A’- .-lnonymmis (2003). he slipped effortlessly into the director‘s chair on Sacha Baron (‘ohen‘s satirical assault on Middle America and quickly realised the power that came from making a raucous. commercially successful comedy. ‘I found with Bum! that the amazing thing about a packed house acting in concert as they respond to a movie is that you can use that to question things even further.‘ That was a guiding principle on Religu/uus. though as with Burut. some participants are now crying foul. claiming the film misrepresents them. ‘Not true.‘ says Charles. 'They're really just seeing a second opportunity
to get some media attention. L'ltimately a lot of
these people are media whores.’
LARRY CHARLES
lit the end. (‘harles reckons it would be great if the people aghast at the very idea of this film found themselves at a multiplex on a Saturday. and having seen everything else. decided to see lv’e/I'gu/uuv despite their resistance. "To reach that group would he very exciting and controversial] he says. failing that. he‘d settle for it acting as a rallying cry for the large. diverse minority of religious doubters out there whose secularity is gradually linding a more prominent. cohesive voiee thanks to books such as Richard I)awkins‘ The (im/ Delusion and ('hristopher llitchens' (ind is Nut (irr'ul. "They're generally okay with not being a part of something. so they‘re not particularly well organised.‘ laughs (‘harles of the film‘s natural audience. ‘There‘s no umbrella organisation. so maybe if this movie could help them get organised in that respect. that would be great.‘
Religulous is released on Fri 3 Apr, and is reviewed on page 45.
f/ f-:,' 7.7: THE LIST 15