Carell Talks Evan Almighty
Steve Carell, the comic star who will headline Evan Almighty, told SCI FI Wire that the follow-up to Jim Carrey's 2003 hit Bruce Almighty is envisioned as the beginning of a series of movies, each with a different star.
"It's a completely different story," Carell said in an interview at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, where he was promoting his NBC series The Office. "Same director [Tom Shadyac], same writer [Steve Oedekerk], and I know Tom Shadyac is hoping that it is a series, and then a couple of years down the road ... Will Ferrell or Ben Stiller or somebody else, God comes to them and they need to achieve something and sort of learn, and it'll be a very sweet movie. It'll be a nice family movie."
In Evan Almighty, Carell reprises his Bruce role of TV anchorman Evan Baxter, whose bumbling supporting character almost stole the show from star Carrey. ("I didn't know that scene was going to make the final cut. So when I went to the premiere, I had no idea that that would even be in it. So I was pleasantly surprised," Carell said of his key scene.)
Morgan Freeman also returns as God in Evan Almighty, which isn't really a sequel. "It involves God coming to my character and instructing him to build an ark," Carell said. "And it sort of starts from there. ... I think it will be [hilarious]. I read the script, and it's really funny. ... He undergoes a learning curve, emotionally and spiritually, in the building of this ark."
Carell booked the job before learning that his sitcom, The Office, would be renewed for a second year and before he took home a Golden Globe for best performance by an actor in a comedy TV show.
"[It was] a few months ago that I signed on," Carell said, adding: "They'd had this script for a second one. And then he came up with the idea of basing it on my character from the first one. And came to me and offered it."
Carell will wrap production on the current season of The Office in April. "Then I'm going to take off and literally the next day I'll be shooting the movie," he said. Production will take four months in Los Angeles and Charlottesville, Va.
As for whether all of his recent success has gone to his head? Carell said that he and his wife, Nancy, went home after the Golden Globes ceremony on Jan. 16, slipped into their pajamas and ate take-out hamburgers. The Golden Globe sits on a shelf next his bobblehead doll from Anchorman.
(NBC and Universal Pictures, which is co-distributing Evan Almighty, are both owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.)

Evan Gets Holiday Date
Universal Pictures has slated Evan Almighty, the Bruce Almighty sequel starring Steve Carell, for Dec. 22, the Friday before Christmas, Variety reported. Competition on the date includes the fantasy comedy Night at the Museum from Fox and Charlotte's Web from Paramount.
Sony is claiming Dec. 8 for the Nancy Meyers-helmed comedy Holiday.
The Weinstein Co., meanwhile, will open David Zucker's spoof Superhero! in December as well, though a date hasn't yet been set.

Graham Cast In Evan
Lauren Graham has been cast as the female lead, opposite Steve Carell, in Universal's Evan Almighty, Tom Shadyac's sequel to Bruce Almighty, Variety reported. The movie has just begun shooting. John Goodman also joins the cast.
Graham (TV's Gilmore Girls) will play Carell's wife. Goodman will play a congressman who mentors Carell's character. Morgan Freeman returns as God.
Steve Oedekerk and Shadyac wrote the script, which centers on Carell's Evan Baxter anchorman character, who babbled on air in the original Bruce. Evan has become a politician in the sequel and ends up getting an audience with God, who instructs him to build an ark to prepare for a massive flood.
Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.

'Harry Potter,' 'Pirates,' 'Die Hard': Buzz On 2007's Biggest Flicks
Sequels rule list of anticipated blockbusters, which includes Steve Carell comedy 'Evan Almighty,' Matt Damon's 'Bourne Ultimatum.'
by Shawn Adler
Daniel Radcliffe in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (Warner Bros.)
In an age when international-ticket receipts, DVD sales, video games, merchandising and other ancillary markets can transform a box-office dud into a worldwide behemoth, Hollywood has had to rewrite the rules on blockbusters. For one, they had to change their name.
The term for such films is "tent poles" now, and just as well — it describes them better. With their sequels, prequels, spin-offs and adaptations, these films hold up a studio's schedule and protect the rest of its library from disaster.
Whatever you call them (we prefer "popcorn flick"), you'll have a hard time avoiding these 10 movies, the ones we're most excited to see in 2007:
10. "Transformers"
Their tagline promises they're "More than meets the eye," but with Michael Bay directing, we're not so sure (see " 'Transformers' Set Has Flashy Cars, Robot Models, Exploding Furbys"). The king of quick cuts and explosions — oh yeah, and $100 million movies — Bay may not be known for plumbing emotional depths, but who cares? "Transformers" is based on a toy line and centers on an intergalactic war between two groups of shape-shifting "Robots in Disguise." It's not "Anna Karenina." Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron ... the only thing we care about is whether they look cool (see "Did Your Favorite Make The Cut? 'Transformers' Writers Reveal Robot Roster"). Based on the trailer, the answer is a resounding "Yes."
9. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer"
What do you get for a near-omnipotent galactic herald who's able to change matter into pure energy and feeds on planets (he already has a kick-ass surfboard)? How about a sense of compassion? That's what die-hard "Fantastic Four" fans all want to give Norrin Radd, a.k.a. the Silver Surfer (see "Alba Breaks Car, But There's A Silver Lining On 'Fantastic' Sequel Set"). The original Stan Lee/ Jack Kirby story line saw the Surfer battle Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm, the Thing and the Human Torch, but refuse to destroy Earth after learning kindness from Alicia Masters, Thing's girlfriend. Speaking of girlfriends, none come hotter than Frankie Raye (Beau Garrett), both metaphorically and literally. The blond bombshell figures to play a prominent role in the film, setting up an even bigger appearance in "Fantastic Four 3" when she becomes Nova, a creature of fire, the Surfer's replacement and the devourer of worlds.
8. "National Treasure: The Book of Secrets"
Sic semper Bruckheimer! Having billions of dollars means never having to say you're sorry — even if, like Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage), you've stolen the Declaration of Independence, kidnapped the head of the National Archive and led the FBI on a manhunt through the bowels of New York. All's fair, after all, in love and treasure hunting. After unwrapping the riddles of the Founding Fathers in 2004's "National Treasure," Ben and his motley crew are back, this time searching for Confederate gold and the meaning behind 18 missing pages from Abraham Lincoln's diary.
7. "Evan Almighty"
It might be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the men who made this movie to enter the kingdom of heaven. That's because at a budgeted cost of more than $140 million (and climbing), "Evan Almighty" is the most expensive comedy ever made. We doubt the filmmakers are worried, though. Starring Steve Carell as Evan Baxter, the erstwhile news anchor from "Bruce Almighty" who has since been elected to Congress, "Evan Almighty" is that rare beast, the comedy blockbuster — and we promise you they don't come two by two. It'll be more than 40 days and 40 nights till we see Carell build an ark and escape the Flood: "Evan Almighty" opens June 22.
6. "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass"
Not many popular children's stories claim inspiration from "Paradise Lost," but not many children's stories are as oppressively dark and despairing as "The Golden Compass," Philip Pullman's first book in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. A condemnation of religion, "His Golden Compass" follows Lyra Belacqua, a young girl who ventures to rescue her uncle, the Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), from the clutches of a band of war-mongering, anthropomorphic bears and the evil Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) — a state representative who not only kidnaps children, but kills them by removing their souls, which are called daemons in "Compass" and exist outside the body. Here's hoping director Chris Weitz ("About a Boy") has the guts to end the movie as the book ended: with a death, a decision and a major cliffhanger.
5. "Live Free or Die Hard"
Long before there was a Jack Bauer, John McClane (Bruce Willis) had a series of very bad days. The first postmodern action star, the indefatigable and often bare-chested McClane winked, prodded and joked his way to saving a skyscraper, an airport and all of Manhattan (not to mention his wife, twice). Now McClane is joined by Justin Long as hacker Matt Foster and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as John's daughter, Lucy, as he battles cyber-terrorist Timothy Olyphant in the series' fourth installment (see "Never Say 'Die': Bruce Willis Fights Terrorists In 'Die Hard' Sequel"). It's a high-tech, high-voltage return to '80s action that has us screaming "Yippee-ki-yay, mother----er."
4. "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Shaky, violent, jumpy — this film's visual style mirrors its title character's behavior and is at last the perfect fit for hand-held action sequences (see "Matt Damon To Be Bourne Again — And Perhaps Again And Again"). We'd love to tell you more about the plot, but even reading the book won't help us here — director Paul Greengrass and writers Tony Gilroy and Tom Stoppard have made a habit out of deviating from the source material. Bank on Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) trying to figure out more about his past as he battles bad guys across the globe. Julia Stiles and Joan Allen return for the final installment in a series that has influenced everything from "Batman Begins" to "Casino Royale."
3. "Spider-Man 3"
Even a spider can be pulled in too many directions. Just ask Peter Parker — in next summer's "Spider-Man 3," the man they call "Amazing" battles three super-villains (Sandman, Venom and the new Goblin), two friends-turned-enemies (Eddie Brock and Harry Osborn), two love interests (Mary Jane and the new Gwen Stacy) an intergalactic space symbiote that attaches itself to his suit and a partridge in a pear tree (see " 'Spider-Man 3' Cast Confirms Love Triangle, Death, Soul-Sucking Costume"). Topher Grace, Byrce Dallas Howard and Thomas Haden Church join the action in a follow-up to what was perhaps the best comic book movie ever made. Tobey Maguire spins his web May 4, a date that was chosen before "Spider-Man 2" was even released.
2. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
The roller coaster first two "Pirates" movies reached such great heights it's a wonder no one got seasick. In "At World's End," the future of piracy is at stake — not to mention the future of Captain Jack (Johnny Depp), perhaps the most original character in recent memory. Last seen in the mouth of a giant Krakken, Jack is rescued from Davy Jones' locker by Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) — a bigger wreck than maybe even his Pearl. Once freed, Jack Sparrow will face Davy Jones and "Bootstrap" Bill Turner, Lord Beckett and Admiral Norrington, Singapore pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat), and, surprise, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of Tums — "Pirates 3" opens on Memorial Day.
1. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
"It is time for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago," Dumbledore tells Harry Potter in "Order of the Phoenix" (see " 'Phoenix' Trailer Reveals A Harry Potter Who's Ready To Fight — And Kiss"). "I am going to tell you everything." And so he does. The real question is whether or not he'll tell us — the explanatory resolutions at the end of Rowling's books have been among the most glaring and obvious omissions from the series' films. And with big characters and plot points that fans reference with capital letters — the Prophesy, the Giant, the Senior Undersecretary, the Death, the Loon, the Order — there's enough here for two movies. After the series' climax in "Goblet of Fire," Harry tries to warn the world of the return of Lord Voldemort to no avail. Fans with a keen eye will be attempting to divine possible plot points for the seventh and final book: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." No time-turners allowed — the film opens July 13.
http://www.vh1.com/movies/news/articles/15...103/story.jhtml

Lauren Graham, Steve Carell, a stable of animals and a whole lot of water will star in this summer's "Evan Almighty," the big-budget "Bruce Almighty" sequel, and Graham told us that if the movie is half as much of a spectacle as the shoot, there will be plenty of reasons to see it. "Because there is a huge flood, because it's the Noah's Ark story to some degree, and because there are animals — I think people will be amazed by how much of it is real," revealed Graham, who plays the wife to Carell's conceited news anchor. "And [you'll be amazed] by how much the animals actually did and how much actual water was poured on our actual heads to replicate this insane journey." The movie will flood theaters nationwide June 22.