Bill Maher is planning to strum up some good controversy and debate with his new untitled religious documentary. According to Variety, Lionsgate has bought the rights to the film project.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan director Larry Charles, also a writer for Seinfeld, directed the film. The project follows Bill Maher all over the world as he interviews people about God and religion.

Lionsgate's Tom Ortenberg stated "The idea of working with Larry and Bill on a project that is exciting, fun and a little controversial made us salivate, and we were unrelenting." Though religion is a touchy subject, Maher and Charles were determined to make the film funny. This despite the fact that they were shooting in Israel and other parts of the Middle East.

Charles stated, "Being in a place like Israel, you can feel how violence exists just under the surface of mundane life. The trick here is, the darker and more serious the subject, the more absurd and funny it is when you push and the humor reveals itself."

Maher continued by saying, "Comedically, the topic of religion is hitting the side of a barn; it's literally hard to miss. This movie will make you laugh so hard you'll pray for it to stop."

The film opens next spring.