Behind the Scenes of Evan Almighty

The new comedy Evan Almighty opens in theaters all across the nation today. CBN was invited to sit down with the stars and director at the Universal Studios backlot in Hollywood.

Steve Carell plays the starring role of Evan Baxter in this new flick. You may recognize him from NBC’s hit television series, The Office.

His character goes through a lot of changes in his life during this new movie. But, the major turning point, according to Carell, was when he was ask to build the ark.

"He rejects the idea outright," Carell says. "And I think that when he finally realizes that he has to make a leap of faith and build it. That is the defining moment because it goes against everything his family is thinking he should do, everything his co-workers and he knows it is going to bring all sorts of negative press to himself." 

Tom Shadyac produced and directed this film. His past credits include directing some of the biggest comedy hits in Hollywood, including Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty, and The Nutty Professor.

In this latest movie, Shadyac says it ties to his own personal faith.

“People say, what is your biggest film influence? And I actually say, Jesus. I was interested in and so fascinated by that man, that story, that thing. That really is the beginning of this journey because I don’t think that’s an accident that 30, 40 years later here I am ending up doing movies that are Bible parables essentially,” Shadyac says.

Funny woman Wanda Sykes plays Evan’s assistant. One of her biggest challenges was being so close to her animal co-stars.

"A lot of times, they were there," Wanda recalls. "Like the scene, we walk in and he’s just covered with birds and bird poop. There’s like a vulture right there. I say, 'we should not be this close to vultures.' It was pretty bizarre." 

Gilmore Girl’s Lauren Graham had the task of playing Evan’s wife. 

"I more thought of the challenge really is — these unbelievable things are happening and how to make it seem real," Graham says. "And just to try to give a sense of that these people are in a good relationship. And they’re trying to be there for each other. And so, but in real life, if my husband woke up with a full length beard ... I don’t know what I’d do. But in the movie i have to be like, 'honey are you OK?' I just tried to make it as real as possible and just let him do his thing." 

Like Noah, Evan’s obedience pays off in the end. 

After experiencing this film, moviegoers walk away encouraged that God answers prayer and that doing whatever He asks is always the best thing to do.