"I see empty seats! I was told this was sold out," Bill Maher yelled into the crowd at Toronto's Ryerson Theatre Sunday afternoon. To his right, "Borat" director Larry Charles had a suggestion as to why. "Its for the Archdioceses of Toronto." Charles and Maher, in Toronto to promote their upcoming doc, "Religulous," were joined on stage by Toronto International Film Festival programmer Thom Powers, who moderated a discussion between two of America's most prominent comic geniuses. Charles and Maher remarkably had not met prior to making "Religulous". "If there was a God, this would be fate," joked Charles. "This was our passion project." Lionsgate teased the unfinished film- twenty minutes of which were shown to constant and resounding laughter, as it chronicles Maher and Charles as they travel the world discussing religion with various "experts" (focusing mostly on the "big 3": Islam, Christianity and Judiasm). "We explore the origins of the beliefs and then show you what's going on today," said Charles. "It's a suspense film."

When asked about other comedic takes on religion (such as this summer's "Evan Almighty"), Charles explained that while those films "poke fun," "we stab it to death." Their goal was evident throughout the nearly 90 minute presentation, in which both men brought the audience into bursts of applause for comical quips on the absurdity of current religion. "I should be an anti-preacher," Maher decided. "This is my Sunday service."

Both Maher and Charles discussed their own relationships with their subject matter. "Its been an evolution," Maher deadpanned. "I used to make a career out of making fun of my religious childhood." Half Jewish and half Catholic, Maher joked that he "used to go to confession with a lawyer." Charles, technically Jewish but with secular parents, actually had at one point wanted to be a rabbi. "Are you out your goddamn mind," his parents had reacted. "Get bah mitzfahed and get the hell out of there!"

But not everything was about getting a laugh. Charles spoke poignantly about what motivates people's religious beliefs. "We should be mature enough as a species to not need that crutch to be nice to each other," he said. Maher warned about the severe reprecussions of religion, summarizing it as "stupid and dangerous." He added that "religion is just like a movie. It needs an ending." Cue uproarious applause.
Though they could not say with certainty when "Religulous" will find its way to theaters, they agreed that they were eyeing a Spring release. When an audience member inquired if the release made either of them nervous for their personal safety, Maher simply answered: "No. Its a comedy."

[Bill Maher and Larry Charles before showing off about 20 minutes from their new film, "Religuous" on Sunday. Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE]