Sideshow: Bill Maher? Not an Oscar prayer

Pray it ain't so, Oscar. At least, that may have been what political comedian and movie maker

Bill Maher

said after the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday the 15 semifinalists for next year's best-documentary Oscar. Maher's

Religulous,

the sharp-edged pan of organized religion, was not among them.

Variety reports the bigger short list includes

Fuel,

Josh Tickell

's examination of America's oil dependency;

I.O.U.S.A.,

Patrick Creadon

's look at the American fiscal crisis;

Werner Herzog

's visit to the South Pole,

Encounters at the End of the World

;

Gini Reticker

's celebration of female peace activists in Liberia,

Pray the Devil Back to Hell

;

Daniel Junge

's true-crime account,

They Killed Sister Dorothy

;

Roberta Grossman

's

Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh,

about a Hungarian-born Jew who struggled to save her people during World War II; and

Carl Deal

's and

Tia Lessin

's Hurricane Katrina soggy saga,

Trouble the Water.

Uh, perhaps now Maher will believe that God is almighty.

Yesterday,

Beatles

troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here - for

Tom Hanks

and his wife,

Rita Wilson

, according to an exclusive TMZ report.

It seems Wilson was Jones-ing to get a 1962 vintage Beatles poster for $75,000 as a gift for Hanks. According to legal papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Wilson agreed to the deal, with the condition that the seller,

Melissa Pearl

, showed a certificate of authenticity. When Pearl clammed up on that request, Wilson said

ta-ta

to the transaction.

No happy Hollywood ending here: Pearl "became belligerent" and demanded not only the $75K but also $300,000 extra "for what Pearl absurdly characterized as her time and trouble to obtain the evidence requested by Wilson that the poster was authentic." That's when Wilson went a-courtin'. She's asking the judge to declare she can legally walk away from the deal.

Speaking of lawsuits, rapper

50 Cent

is facing off against the vilest enemy of all celebrities - Taco Bell - says the Associated Press.

Lawyers for the fast-food chain say his federal lawsuit, filed in Manhattan, is another attempt to "burnish his gangsta rapper persona by distorting beyond all recognition a bona fide, good faith offer."

At issue: an open letter distributed by Taco Bell Corp. in an ad campaign, asking 50 Cent to change his name for one day to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent to help publicize its value menu. In return, the company offered to donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice.

The rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, has sued for trademark infringement. Watch out, half-dollar coin, you're next.

Celebrity activists take lots of flak from some among the cynic-erati, but they do bring attention to situations that otherwise might be ignored.

Ben Affleck

is talking to children and aid officials in refugee camps in the war-torn eastern Congo to raise awareness of the conflict that has displaced nearly 300,000 people.

Affleck, of

Gigli

fame, has visited the Central African country four times since 2007 and also has made a documentary about its troubles.

"I'm not an expert in international affairs or diplomacy, but it doesn't take that to see the tremendous suffering here," he told the AP yesterday in Goma, the regional capital by the front lines of the fighting and the humanitarian crisis. "It's not something that we as human beings can, in good conscience, ignore."

We'd write something about today's opening of the sure-to-be-fabulous movie

Twilight

, based on

Stephenie Meyer

's novel, but we're tired of hearing about the film and its gorgeous stars. We're already down to the earthshaking news that

Ellen DeGeneres

gives

Twilight

star

Robert Pattinson

a custom pair of Ellen underwear embroidered with

Bite Me

across the bum on her show that airs today. Just how many girl-meets-vampire-in-Washington-state, girl-falls-in-love-with-vampire-in-Washington-state movie plots is a nation expected to take?

The great thing about reality TV, and many of the people on it, is that they know no shame, and isn't that what entertainment is all about?

After getting dumped from Food Network's

Dinner: Impossible

series in March - oops, turns out he'd exaggerated all sorts of details about himself -

Robert Irvine

is making a comeback on the same show.

Production of six new episodes starring Irvine will begin this month and begin airing in March, the Food Network said in a written statement. The show challenges its chef to prepare meals under extreme conditions.

"Our audience has continued to demonstrate its interest in and support for Robert," the network's

Carrie Welch

said. "He has taken responsibility and made a conscious effort to clear the air, rebuild the relationship with Food Network, and apologize for the earlier inaccuracies."

Irvine had hosted the show for four seasons when, in February, the St. Petersburg Times reported that his claims of having earned a bachelor's degree in food and nutrition from the University of Leeds and having been picked by the

Queen of England

to be an elite Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, among other things, were untrue.

Like a chef nobly trying again after a fallen souffle, Irvine is picking himself right back up. Here's hoping he sticks with basting, not boasting.

.