Evan Almighty
A comedy of biblical proportions.
Evan Almighty (2007)
Production
Budget
$175 000 000
Revenue
$174 440 724
Director
Scenario
Steve Oedekerk
Author
Composer
Producer
Actors
Steve Carell
Evan Baxter
Lauren Graham
Joan Baxter
Johnny Simmons
Dylan Baxter
Graham Phillips
Jordan Baxter
Jimmy Bennett
Ryan Baxter
John Goodman
Congressman Long
Wanda Sykes
Rita
Short description
Evan Baxter, a former television news anchor, has been elected to the United States Congress and moves with his wife and three sons to a small town in Virginia to begin his new life. Eager to make good on his campaign promise to change the world, he prays for guidance, and God answers with an assignment far larger than anything he expected: build an ark. As tools, timber and pairs of animals begin arriving, Evan's family, colleagues and neighbours are left bewildered, and his determination to follow the instruction puts his career and his household under strain.
The film is a sequel to Bruce Almighty, with Steve Carell reprising the role of Evan Baxter alongside Morgan Freeman as God and Lauren Graham as his wife Joan. Tom Shadyac directed, as he had the earlier film, from a screenplay by Steve Oedekerk, and the production credits include Roger Birnbaum and Michael Bostick. It was the seventh of the nine features Shadyac has directed, arriving four years after Bruce Almighty and followed later by the documentary I Am.
Released in 2007, it carries a budget of 175 million dollars against a worldwide box office of about 174 million dollars, and so did not recover its costs in cinemas. Ratings place it modestly: 5.4 out of 10 on IMDb from 162,000 votes and 5.6 out of 10 on TMDB from 4,664 votes, while a critics' score of 4.7 out of 10 from 193 reviews sits slightly below both audience figures.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming involving over one hundred animals of various species was conducted under the constant supervision of the American Humane Association.
- The unusual phone number 1-800-GO-4-WOOD actually existed and was used in the film's advertising campaign.
- Evan Baxter's ancient mantle had a hidden zipper on the back for ease of dressing. During its creation, the designers repeatedly consulted with experts in the textile industry and also spent considerable time collecting historical information about what clothing might have been like during the period when Noah was presumed to have built the ark.
- The giant ark built for the film was, in reality, only completed on one side. The starboard side was fully constructed with a finished hull and neatly painted, while the port side was largely left as a rough framework. Similarly, the roof of the ark was, in reality, only supporting structures and a few planks on the stern side, with everything else added using computer graphics during post-production. After filming was completed, it took a week to dismantle the ark, after which all reusable materials were donated to the Christian public organization Habitat For Humanity International.
- In the film, Evan runs past a cinema showing "40-Year-Old Virgin." This is a reference to "40-Year-Old Virgin," in which Steve Carell played the main role.
- Evan Baxter's children (Dylan, Jordan, and Ryan) were named after the children of producer Michael Bostick. Their ages also roughly correspond.
- Applying Steve Carell’s makeup (beard and long hair) required three makeup artists at least three hours each day, using both individual hair strands and special wigs made of human hair and yak wool.
- According to the biblical story of the flood, the ark contained pairs of all living creatures (male and female), but for technical reasons, during filming, in some cases there were two individuals of the same sex. For example, it was decided to forgo using a male elephant, whose behavior could be unpredictable in a new environment, and two female elephants were used instead. Giraffes, on the contrary, have males that are more friendly compared to females, and two males were brought in for filming.
- Robert Florsheim and Josh Stolberg's screenplay "Passion of the Ark" sparked considerable interest in Hollywood in 2004 and was ultimately acquired by Sony Pictures for $2.5 million plus a certain percentage of the project's box office revenue, which became one of the record fees for debuting screenwriters.
- The involvement of animals during the filming of the movie was not without a number of minor incidents. One occurred when a curious giraffe bit off a small piece of the ark made of plastic painted dark. The giraffe suffered no consequences, but a clearly visible white mark from the animal's teeth appeared on the huge ark. The damaged section was later repaired and brought back to proper condition. Another incident occurred during the filming of a scene where Jimmy Bennett and a baboon were rolling a log while building the ark. After several takes, the activity bored the monkey, and it, abandoning work, jumped onto a pile of logs off-camera and then jumped onto the boy's back, knocking him to the ground. The young actor escaped without injury, suffering only a slight fright.
- According to the filmmakers' vision, the size of Evan Baxter's ark was to correspond to Noah's Ark as described in the Bible in every detail – approximately 140 meters in length, 24 meters in width, and 16 meters in height. The ark's appearance was largely based on illustrations from children's books that members of the film crew had read in their youth many years ago.
- For the scene where roaring lions drive away unwanted guests and journalists from the ark construction site, it was decided to forgo the use of real animals for safety reasons, relying exclusively on computer graphics. To assist the actors and the operator, life-sized dolls were placed in the location where the formidable predators were to be in the frame.
- Concerned about environmental protection, the filmmakers purchased a large batch of bicycles for the crew and actors to use for transportation around the vast filming location. For this reason, the use of cars that pollute the air with their exhaust fumes was maximally restricted during filming.
- When Evan unexpectedly wakes up at the beginning of the film, his alarm clock shows 6:14, and the letters Gen. can be discerned in the upper corner. Subsequently, the numbers 6.14 continue to persistently haunt the hero, appearing everywhere in his path. This is a reference to the Bible, verse 6.14 of the book of Genesis, in which God commands Noah to build an ark and gives instructions for its construction.
- Filming took place in the state of Virginia during the hottest days of summer, when the temperature was so high that there were cases of heatstroke among the extras. Due to these weather conditions, in several scenes near the ark, the grass is noticeably scorched and yellowed, but the lawn near the house remained consistently green thanks to the use of artificial turf.
- A significant portion of the animals in the large scene around the ark was added using computer graphics. At the same time, real animals were used during the construction of the giant ark, when the animals 'help' Evan and his family.
- Tom Shadyac considered several actresses for the role of Evan Baxter's wife, including Lisa Kudrow.
- On the truck delivering wood to Evan's house, you can notice the phone number 1-800-GO-4-WOOD. This is a subtly disguised direct reference to the Bible, which states that Noah's Ark was made of gopher wood.
- When God, disguised as a waiter, talks to Joan in the restaurant, the name tag on his uniform reads 'Al Mighty,' which is an obvious play on words (Almighty – All-powerful).
- When Evan receives the first shipment of wood for building the ark, the sticker on it displays the name of the supplier company – “Alpha and Omega Hardware.” This is another obvious reference to the Bible, where God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
