All Ages Aboard

What Graham loves the most about Evan Almighty is that it’s a “very inclusive” story. And unlike Bruce Almighty, which had some sexual content and innuendos, something that Shadyac says underscored the flawed nature of humanity, the film’s “mild rude humor” is of the scatological variety, given all the animals on set.

“It would be insane not to invite everyone to this movie,” Shadyac says. “I wanted everyone from a two-year-old to a grandmother to see particular movie this because I think they’ll all find elements that relate to them, whether it’s kids liking the animals or an adult connecting with the importance of family.”

And while it’s not presented in a heavy-handed way, it was also important to Shadyac to communicate a message about social responsibility, environmentally speaking—a message the crew also modeled during the movie’s production.

“Our goal has always been to be a green film,” Shadyac, who often rode his bike more than 30 miles to the set, comments. “We recycled during filming. Every piece of material—lumber, windows, door and window treatments, flooring, hardware, etc., that was salvageable was recycled, repurposed and donated somewhere, as opposed to just throwing it into a landfill.” Wood from the ark itself was donated to Habitat for Humanity.

Working with The Conversation Fund, 2,050 trees were also planted to zero out carbon emissions and to contribute to the community. “Because you fly production planes to transport your crew, you try to zero that by planting trees. They absorb carbon and release oxygen. Zeroing out kind of heals the damage.”

Starring Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham and John Goodman, Evan Almighty opens nationwide on June 22, 2007.  It runs 90 minutes and is rated PG for mild rude humor and peril.  Click here to watch the Evan Almighty trailer.