The Los Angeles Times has a great story on the new film Evan Almighty, hitting theaters tomorrow -- including the ramifications for filmmakers if it does well:
Hollywood's leap of faith with 'Evan Almighty'
Universal Pictures hopes to honor -- not belittle -- religious devotion with its ark-building comedy.
“Carell plays Evan Baxter, a television anchorman recently elected to
the U.S. House of Representatives. He has vowed to "change the world,"
but it's clear his campaign slogan is an empty promise. He drives a
gas-guzzling Hummer, buys an outsized mansion with cabinets that are
tooled from 300-year-old Brazilian hardwood and agrees to sponsor a
massive land-grab bill he hasn't yet read.
As the film opens,
Baxter's wife tells him she has prayed that their family (including
three boys) will grow closer. Before turning into bed, Baxter gets on
his knees, and, after expressing thanks for his new home and car, he
calls on God for guidance. "Please help me change the world," he prays.
The
next morning, Baxter's alarm clock blinks Gen 6:14 ("Make for yourself
an ark of gopher wood," the passage reads), and other biblical
references start coming from all directions.”
See the whole story here.
