God and animals share spotlight in "Evan Almighty"

LOS ANGELES, June 19 (Reuters) 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 on 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 criticised 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'' modernises 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 dollars 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.

CARELL VS CARREY Shadyac said Carrey did not want to be in the follow-up because the character of Bruce learned all he needed in the first film. So, the director hired Steve Carell, star of hit TV show ''The Office,'' who played Bruce's rival in the first film and whose dry wit contrasts to Carrey's wildly physical humor.

Carell plays newsman Evan Baxter, who has won a seat as a US congressman, but when he gets to Washington, God tests his faith by commanding him to build the Ark.

Along with sticking close to the biblical story -- Evan builds his big boat by hand and loads up two of every animal onto it -- the movie has a modern theme about saving the environment from corrupt politicians and businessman looking to profit by diminishing green meadows and animal habitats.

''I was hoping the movie had a strong message, but subtle message, about our environment, taking care of it, taking care of each other and acts of kindness,'' Carell said. ''My goal beyond that was to make it funny without making it preachy.'' Shadyac said he recognised that pro-environmental and conservative politicians often are at odds, and he said he hoped ''to bridge those two groups'' with the movie.

Studio executives at Universal Pictures, which backed ''Evan Almighty,'' also are likely praying the film will bring diverse audience members together because for a big budget movie to turn a profit, mass audiences need to show up in theaters.

With a cost of more than 170 million dollars, ''Evan Almighty'' is widely believed to be the most expensive comedy ever made. Yet, Universal had solid reasons to put its faith in Shadyac given the box office tally for ''Bruce Almighty'' and for other comedies such as ''Liar Liar,'' which earned 303 million dollars worldwide.

Shadyac does not flinch at the expense, chalking it up to building the massive Ark, working with hundreds of exotic animals and devising numerous computer-generated images.

''People will get more for their money and in this very competitive summer (season), we're glad we could offer a lot for the dollar,'' he said.

REUTERS RJ DS1112