Shadyac is, in fact, so enthusiastic about Evan while talking to reporters that he strays into some hyperbole.

"We had to determine how Steve was going to participate in the building of this boat," he says. "Steve actually had to learn how to build a boat. He had to learn about the keel and the rib pieces. How it all works."

Not so much, chuckles Carell.

Morgan Freeman in Evan Almighty. Click here to see more movie stills. Photo by Ralph Nelson © 2007 Universal Studios

"I got training?" says Carell, shaking his head incredulously. "A guy came up to me one day and said, 'This is an auger. You put it here and you press down there.' I didn't get training. [laughs] I am so not handy. It would take me several hundred years to build one of those ribs for that ark."

When Shadyac later claims to be a "Jesus freak," Carell once again brings things decidedly down-to-earth.

"I think [religious beliefs] are such a personal thing that I don't want it to infuse my promotion of this movie," he says. "I don't see it as a Biblical comedy, and I don't see it as a religious comedy. The movie really is for everyone, for any faith, or even for non-faith. The message behind it is that people can be a little kinder and take care of each other and the world we live in. That's a universal theme."

With the rocky waters of Evan calming as the movie prepares to hit theaters, the question turns to whether or not Shadyac would be up for a God Trilogy. Maybe he could pull in Evan Baxter's former co-news anchor Catherine Bell for a trip to Sodom and Gomorrah — hey, we can hope, right? So what do you say, Tom: Is there a Susan Ortega Almighty in the future?

"Someone said that they noticed that God only comes to reporters from Buffalo to save the world," he smiles. "[Catherine] is quite almighty, and she's a great lady. We do have an idea for another one, but we're keeping that under wraps."