Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

Skip the Flood
Thursday, June 21, 2007

The reviews are atrocious and some friends in Hollywood went to a preview and found it incomprehensible. "Should have stuck closer to the source material," they sent via Blackberry after asking for a primer on Noah. But the press can't avoid linking Evan Almighty to supposed finding God in Hollywood. Yawn.

In Hollywood, long considered an encampment of liberal-minded showbiz sinners, God has found an ally in director Tom Shadyac, whose big-budget comedy "Evan Almighty" debuts in movie theaters Friday.

And watch out, Washington, D.C., Shadyac and his movie are headed your way, too.

Throughout its history, Hollywood has made popular biblical movies, such as 1956's "The Ten Commandments" about Moses leading the Jews from Egypt. But the studios often are criticized by religious and conservative groups for pushing the boundaries of good taste and morality in mainstream movies.

In "Evan Almighty," those groups likely have nothing to fear. The politicians in Washington, however, catch plenty of flak about honesty, faith and protecting the environment.

"There is no more a Jesus freak in this room than me," the director of the biblical comedy told reporters recently.

"When I was as young as I can remember -- having cognition and thought -- I was looking at that Jesus guy, going,'Whoever this is, this is somebody that is blowing my mind."'

"Evan Almighty" modernizes the tale of Noah's Ark and the biblical flood that destroyed all of humanity except for God's chosen, Noah, his family members and the animals he loaded two-by-two onto his hand-built ark.

The film is a follow-up to Shadyac's 2003, $485 million global box office smash "Bruce Almighty," which starred Jim Carrey as a TV reporter to whom God grants his almighty power only for Bruce to learn it's not so easy being God.

Labels: The Bible in Pop Culture

Posted by B Feiler at 7:00 AM
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