Evan Almighty Change The World
Gwenda Gronert
But researchers were quick to connect that idea to further claims for which there was no scientific consensus at all. These included claims that rapid action was necessary to avoid catastrophe, that practical solutions were at hand that would allow for rapid reduction in greenhouse gases, that the costs of slow or no action were far higher than the costs of action, that public acceptance of the scientific consensus about climate change was a necessary precondition for government action to reduce emissions, and that disinformation from fossil fuel interests was the main reason the public was not sufficiently supportive of climate action.
None of these claims followed from the consensus that the researchers had ostensibly documented. All of them are, in fact, deeply uncertain and often contested in the relevant scholarly literatures. But the claims were quickly repurposed by politicians and activists, and in the popular media, to support the argument that most scientists agreed that strong action was necessary, that irreversible and dangerous climate change would occur if warming were not halted rapidly, and that the failure of governments to act was primarily due to disinformation and resistance from fossil fuel interests.
But for many, the new term served a less obvious purpose: to elide the reality that much of the reduction in carbon emissions in the United States and many other places in recent years has been driven by the switch from coal to lower-emitting natural gas, not by green-approved policies or technologies.
None of these realities are inconsistent with climate action. For decades, there has been strong evidence that a less apocalyptic and polarizing politics, paired with a meliorist view of environmental progress and a more ecumenical approach to the technological solutions, offers far more fulsome and sustainable (in the political sense) possibilities. And yet, the movement abides, committed to its catastrophism, naturalistic fallacies, and millenarian fantasies.
Evan Almighty is a 2007 American fantasy comedy film[3] that is a spin-off and sequel of Bruce Almighty (2003). The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, based on the characters created by Steve Koren and Mark O'Keefe from the original film. It stars Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman reprising their roles as Evan Baxter and God, respectively, with new cast members Lauren Graham and John Goodman. The film is a modern-day retelling of Noah's Ark, which Evan reluctantly re-enacts because God commands him to do so at the same time Evan pursues a new career in government.
Production of the film began in January 2006. Several visual effect companies were used to provide CGI for the numerous animals and the climactic flood scene. By the time the film had completed production, it had become the most expensive comedy film ever, later being overtaken by Men in Black 3.
Newly elected to Congress, former local television news reporter Evan Baxter leaves his hometown of Buffalo, New York and moves with his family to the community of Prestige Crest, located in the fictional town of Huntsville, Virginia, where his congressional campaign officially declares that he will change the world. Evan prays to God to give him this opportunity. His wife, Joan, also prays that she, Evan, and their three sons will be closer together as a family.
On his first day in Congress, Evan receives a letter from a greedy colleague, Congressman Chuck Long, who provides him with a prime office and gives him the opportunity to join him as the junior co-sponsor to his Citizens' Integration of Public Lands Act (CINPLAN) bill. Over the next several days, strange events in Evan's life occur:
Evan comes to realize that the number actually refers to verse 14 in chapter 6 of the Book of Genesis, where God instructed Noah to build an ark in preparation for a coming flood. Although Evan initially rejects this idea, God himself starts appearing to Evan and assures him that the flood will come and the only way he can change the world will be through recreating the ark instead. Evan finally decides to start building it using the tools and materials provided, giving him an opportunity to spend more time with his sons, but Joan sees this as a midlife crisis.
While Evan still maintains his career in Congress, his appearance alienates his staffers and the animals that follow him everywhere become more disruptive. God reappears to Evan and provides him a robe, later warning him the flood will come mid-day on the 22nd of September. When God indefinitely exposes Evan's robe, Long gets him suspended from Congress and have him removed from the Public Land Act bill. Believing that Evan has gone insane, Joan leaves him behind, causing Evan himself to continue building the ark alone. Meanwhile, God disguises himself as a waiter in a restaurant and speaks with Joan. God assures Joan that she should see this as an opportunity for the entire family to get closer to each other. Joan is inspired and finally returns to help Evan finish building the ark together to prepare for the flood.
On September 22, Evan's three staffers show him evidence that Long had planned to build Prestige Crest after damming off a nearby water source, but Long had cut many corners in building the dam. They suspect Long would do the same with the Public Land Act Bill. With the ark finally complete, the animals board two by two. However, the local police threaten to demolish it with a wrecking ball as the ark violates land codes and a small amount of rain falls. Evan realizes that the flood will not be due to the rain, but as a result of Long's dam failing. The dam eventually fails, destroying all the homes of Prestige Crest. The entire community manages to safely board the Ark, which rides the floodwaters to Washington, D.C.. The ark then comes to its final destination in front of the Capitol, interrupting the vote for Long's Public Land Act Bill. The flood results in Evan criticizing Long of being responsible for cost-cutting leading up to the dam's failure.
The voting of the Public Land Act Bill is suspended due to an investigation on Long for profiteering. After the flood, Evan is reinstated to Congress and all the animals return to their natural habitats. With his appearance returned back to normal, Evan re-encounters God during a family hike. God states that Evan had changed his world as he prayed for and being closer to his family through his one Act of Random Kindness (ARK). God issues a new commandment to the outgoing audience: "Thou shalt do the dance", followed by the film's cast and crew dance to C+C Music Factory's hit song "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" during the closing credits.
The film's screenplay was originally titled The Passion of the Ark and was written by Bobby Florsheim and Josh Stolberg.[4] It became the subject of a seven-studio bidding war in April 2004. The script was sold to Sony Pictures in a deal worth $2.5 million plus a percentage of the profits, a record for a spec script from previously unproduced writers.[5] Universal Studios immediately made a deal to co-produce the script with Sony Pictures and have Steve Oedekerk rewrite it into the sequel to Bruce Almighty. Steve Oedekerk had been involved with Bruce Almighty as an executive producer and co-writer of the screenplay (with Steve Koren and Mark O'Keefe, who wrote the story). The studio later discarded the original The Passion of the Ark script completely, and Oedekerk fashioned a new script from scratch (only he received final credit on the finished film as screenwriter). Jim Carrey was asked to reprise his role as Bruce in the sequel and, when he declined, director Tom Shadyac convinced Steve Carell to accept the leading role.[6] Shadyac, reflecting on the first film, stated "[Carell] delivered some of the funniest stuff in the movie. We thought, 'Why not take that character and spin him off into a different film?'"[1]
Construction of the ark began in January 2006 and the scenes involving the ark were shot in a Crozet, Virginia, subdivision called Old Trail.[1] The ark was designed to meet the actual measurements of the biblical ark, measuring 450 feet (137 m) long, 80 feet (24 m) wide, and 51 feet (16 m) high.[7] The ark's layout was also based on pictures in several children's books that crew members had read in their childhoods.[1] When the characters were filmed during the day building the ark or were on location elsewhere, crew members would further construct the ark at night.[1] A concrete base was built to support the weight of the large ark; after filming was completed, the ark was taken down in a week, and the base in another week.[1]
In disassembling the set, everything that was salvageable from the ark was donated to Habitat for Humanity. "Leave no trace" was the slogan used by the director as part of the DVD's bonus features, "The Almighty Green Set".
To create Evan's beard and long hair, three designers would take three hours each day adding individual hairs using prosthetic adhesive and making Carell wear custom wigs. The wigs consisted of both human and yak hair.[12] With his new look, Carell was sometimes nicknamed "Mountain Man", "Retrosexual", or "Unabomber."[12] For his costumes, designers spoke with textile experts, researched historical information on the clothing that was likely worn at the time of Noah, and used aged fibers for the clothing.[1]
Scenes for the film were filmed in various locations in Virginia, including areas in and around Crozet, Waynesboro, Richmond, Charlottesville, and Staunton, though some filming did take place at Universal Studios in Hollywood, California.[13]
For the CGI used throughout the film, companies Rhythm & Hues (R&H) and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) developed different parts of the film. R&H focused on the animation of the animals, while ILM completed the final scene of the ark rushing through Washington, D.C.[14] Lindy De Quattro, the ILM associate visual effects supervisor, revealed that "This is the first time where we had to do a whole series of shots that were happening mid-day, where you were going to get a really long look at the water and what it was doing."[14] The company initially experienced problems creating the water effects and had to develop new tools which would choreograph the movements of the water. In addition, ILM used similar tools that were used on their prior film Poseidon.[14] Lighting was also an issue as the characters on the ark had been filmed on a greenscreen stage, and the visual effects company had to ensure that the lighting matched that of the characters and the outside setting. Details were added to the ark for long-distance shots to make the design of the ark more appealing and relate the ark's size to scale in comparison to the amount of water. To complete the scene, ILM used thirty to sixty crew members and produced 200 shots over a yearlong period between April 2006 and May 2007.[14]