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Due next year, Evan Almighty will be the first sequel Shadyac will direct, if it can truly be called a sequel. The plan, hopefully, is that it will be the second in a series of parabolic films in which supernatural events affect ordinary people.

Originally titled The Passion of the Ark, Shadyac thankfully changed it when Carrey declined to play Bruce again and the lead fell to Steve Carell (Evan in Bruce Almighty). Evan is contacted by God (Freeman again) to build an ark for the sequel to the Great Flood.

Based on his work so far, we can expect more hysterical and supernatural explorations of humanity for all it is, journeys toward redemption, and love stories from Tom Shadyac.

Eric David , a writer and maker of short films, is working on Movies to Live By, a book on faith and film, and Bridge Over Troubled Water, a feature film about civil rights. He and his wife, Jana, live in LA with their children Chandler, 6, and Dylan, 3.

Filmmakers of Faith>,an occasional feature at Christianity Today Movies, highlights directors who adhere to the Christian faith—sometimesstrongly, sometimes loosely, and sometimes somewhere in between. This series will include everyone from biblically-minded evangelicals to directors who may only have a "church background" and perhaps a lapsed faith … but their films are clearly informed by their spiritual history.

© Eric David 2006, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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