BY ANTONY TEOFILO | The term "buddy movie" usually apples to a flick about two guys (or gals) on some sort of a road trip. There is another, newer connotation however. Hollywood has come to embrace a trend that includes famously creative friends teaming up to write movies: you've got your Soderbergh and Clooney, your Damon and Affleck, your Donner and Gibson, and now, your Shadyac and Carrey.

Famous pals coming together to make flicks isn't always a great idea, historically speaking -- with Lethal Weapon 4, it's hard to see any sort of story through the fog of sentimental back-patting and chummy inside jokes. With Ocean's 11 (the original, and the new one) the movie sort of serves as a pallid back-drop for a bunch of real-life, ultra famous friends looking for a reason to hang out, point cameras at each other, and make some sweet coin on the side.

With Bruce Almighty, however, three close friends (Director Tom Shadyac, screenwriter Steve Oedekerk, and megastar Jim Carrey) got together in a cabin in Canada and cobbled together an entertaining flick that, like LIAR LIAR before it, uses a heartfelt, human message as the bedrock of a story that also relies heavily on Carrey's gift for physical humor.

While you may not immediately recognize Tom Shadyac's name, you will recognize his credits. A bit of a prodigy on his way up, Shadyac was the youngest staff joke writer for Bob Hope at the age of 23. Shortly thereafter, he broke big with his freshmen effort Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and went on to blockbuster success as the director of The Nutty Professor and Patch Adams.

Shadyac, and Jim Carrey sat down to chat about Bruce Almighty, how it was created, and how much fun it was to make the movie and the fact that, though kicking and screaming are a part of any friendship, they have also have a proper place on a movie set.

Q: Do you prefer comedy or drama?

Jim Carrey: I like being creative, so I like comedy better. I like being creative, period. [Tom Shadyac and I] always have a blast when we get together, whether we're doing a movie, or we're locked in a cabin somewhere in Alaska stripping each other of our... what was it?

Shadyac: Our main modes of operation.

Jim Carrey: We had a very strange game we played up in Alaska last time we were there, where Tom wasn't allowed to control, and I wasn't allowed to say "me", or "I". We had nothing to say to each other. It was hilarious.

Q: After your more serious work with The Majestic, what was it about Bruce Almighty that made you decide to do this particular script?

Jim Carrey: I think it's important to never look a gift horse in the mouth, or to overlook your talents and what you're good at. Tom came to me and said "We have this concept that's really cool." And I said, "Wow, that sounds like a blast." And we got to sit in a room together again, Steve Oedekerk included, and hash it out like we did with Ace Ventura, and Liar Liar. It just sounded like a great creative challenge to me, so it didn't matter whether it's was dramatic or comedic.

Q: Did you have any fear of going back to more overt comedic acting?

Jim Carrey: Everybody has those thoughts. I've been lucky enough to do a lot of different things, so I feel very good that way. We all face how we define ourselves. I don't have that many limits on myself. Maybe other people will try to limit me, but I'll never limit myself. This movie is more about somebody being grateful for what they have.

Q: How much of your performance was improvised on set?

Shadyac: Most people think that because Jim is so creative and has this genius about him that you put Jim in a room with another actor and say "Improv!" This [movie was] very carefully thought out. Jim and I and Steve Oedekirk, we go through every scenario. It's not unusual for Jim and I and Steve to take a whole day to write one joke. Based on that structure and thought process, Jim gives us twenty options that may not have been there had we not had that day to sit there and think about that scene.

Jim Carrey: You have to know what youre doing going in, because you'll have fifty other ideas as you're doing it, so it's always been a combination of everything.

Shadyac: On this movie, Jim and I decided we're going to let people in a little bit on the process, because we've done this so many times together. When you get the DVD, you'll see how I literally have twenty options when Jim lit the candles with God's powers in this movie.

Q: Bruce Almighty offers a down-to-earth picture of who God is as opposed to movies like The Ten Commandments. Do you think this says anything about the way society views God?

Jim Carrey: I think people always try to humanize God in some way. He's probably just a shaft of light in a doorway somewhere. To me, I wanted the God in this movie to be the guy who's absolutely dignified, and has this austere quality to him, but also has a sense of humor. God made our sense of humor. I love that Morgan was able to come out of that thing that he does so well and mess with my character and be silly.

Q: How do you feel about the Dumb and Dumber prequel that's coming out?

Jim Carrey: I dont know. I've never seen it. I have no idea what it's like. I wish them luck with it. I've got a lot of people coming up to me thinking I'm in it. I guess in a little sin of omission, they did a lot of campaigning without saying who was in [the movie].

Q: With all the success you've had, do you see yourself as a member of comedy's senior lineage?

Jim Carrey: My career has been a weird under-the-radar kind of place. I never made it on Saturday Night Live where all my friends did. I was at the Comedy Store getting standing ovations every night, but I couldn't find my picture anywhere. This is how it's always been for me. I have had incredible blessings, unbelievable fortitude.

At the same time, there's always a balancing factor to my life. Generally, you pick up the book on comedians, and I'm not in it. And that's okay. I think once that happens, you're completely defined and it's all over. People have figured you out and put you on the shelf that suits you. You do the best work you can. Ive always concentrated on the work and loved what I did. I dont know who gets their picture on the wall, who gets the trophy, who gets all that stuff. It's not a consideration for me. Pantheons are for other people.

Q: What was your working relationship like with Jennifer Aniston on this movie?

Jim Carrey: She's tremendous. We worked well off each other because Jennifer is a completely different type of person than me. I throw myself out there and do all kinds of wild stuff. She's like the center of the wheel. She's the type of person that can sit there and allow things to come to her. I seek them out and destroy them. She's very solid and very centered.

Q: Bruce Almighty is frenetic, but it also examines some serious issues about faith...

Jim Carrey: The wonderful thing about this movie, is that like Liar Liar, it has a very serious notion underneath it. It was comedic in a way that allowed me to go incredibly crazy, and go off the deep end. And yet... all of us get to a point where we're screaming at God in our own way, and saying "Why are you doing this to me?" And then we get to a point, hopefully, where we say, "Oh, ok. That's what I had to learn." Tom and I are both very spiritual people, and I've always been big about faith. Everything in my life has happened for a good reason. The blessings come one after another like rain. It's unbelievable when Im in the right place.

Q: Where would you say your beliefs fall?

Jim Carrey: I've gone multi-denominational and I've studied a lot of different things, and basically I don't know what God is, but I know he's at least an energy that rules the laws of the earth. I really think there are laws, and maybe they're within ourselves, but I call that God, too. Here we go -- the secrets of life. [Laughs] My interpretation of the secret to life is don't do anything that makes you feel like you deserve to lose in life. Be grateful for what you have, and protect what you've got that is beautiful, too. If you've got a talent, protect it.

Shadyac: I never thought about this in forethought, but the movie is kind of a window into who Jim and I are. Comedy is our roots. When we get together, we laugh a lot. Jim, Steve, myself... we're on this journey, we're on this quest, and I think you see that walk in the movie.

Q: There's a scene in this movie that has one of the longest sustained audience laughs I've ever heard in a theater. It was also surprising because Jim's not at the center of the scene, another actor is. Was that a concerted effort to get the spotlight off Jim for a few minutes?

Jim Carrey: No. You throw it against the wall, and those things happen, luckily. I love funny people, man. Put me with somebody funny, and I'll have a great time. I don't care who gets the laugh. I dont care who gives me a joke. If the gaffer gives me a joke, it's great. I want the people to leave the theater having a great old time, whether I got the laugh, or someone else did.

Shadyac: That scene was a surprise to me in editing, because we've both been a part of set piece scenes where you don't want it to be too long, and you want it to be just right, and the laughs just kept going. It puts people into that happy place. We really milked it, but we took it as long as the laughs were coming. Jim and [spoiler omitted] worked off of each other.

Jim Carrey: I don't laugh a lot at my own stuff. But that scene made me laugh. I laughed hysterically.

Shadyac: That's a good example of something that's scripted in one line, like, Bruce [does something] and then these two comedic minds really get together and had a good scene.

Q: The two of you have been friends and writing partners through several movies. Does that affect your ability to work together?

Shadyac: I think its easier. There's a mutual respect, and a shorthand. I just look at Jim while we're filming and say, "We're doing another take aren't we?" I can tell when he's done.

Jim Carrey: Or when I come [to the set] in the morning with an idea...

Shadyac: I know what the morning routine is. I know that what we have set up will not be what we do, because Jim will have an idea. We work really well together because I'm not afraid to invite that. I want to get the best out of this guy.

Jim Carrey: We've had our moments on other films. We've had screaming fits. The idea that we might not get along from time to time shows that we're honest with each other. Most of the time, it's absolute bliss. But you can't have a friend without having some conflict.

Jim Carrey: That's in the movie, too. People have asked, "Are you worried about the idea of a character screaming at God?" I don't think you can know God unless you're passionate about him. You're either screaming at him, or you're enraptured with the idea of being around him or feeling him in your life. Either one of those two ways, you're going to have something happen. I don't think God is interested in people who are half interested in him.

Q: You've said that you believe in miracles. Where does that belief come from?

Jim Carrey: It came from a substitute teacher who came to my classroom in grade 2 for a day. She said that she prayed to the virgin Mary. Even for something material, she'd pray to the virgin. And I sat in the back of the class, and I thought, "Wow, that sounds kind of cool." So I went home, and I prayed to the virgin Mary at night, because my father couldn't afford a bike, and all my friends had these green Mustang bikes with the banana seat. So I went home and I prayed for this Mustang bike. My father would always sort of say, "Well, someday..." Two weeks later, I walked home from school, walked through my living room, into my bedroom, and my brother came in and said, "What are you doing in here? Didn't you see what was in the living room?" I walked out into the living room, and my whole family was standing around a lime-green Mustang bike with a banana seat.

I had won it in a raffle that I didn't enter. A friend of mine had gone into a sporting goods store that was having this raffle, entered his own name, and entered my name separately two weeks before. I don't ask for material things anymore, but I pray. It may not be through the virgin Mary, it may be straight to God, but I do that, and I have done that my whole life.

I just did Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, and I did a scene where I had to be a ten year old in a memory, and it was being erased, and I had to jump on my bike and take off. I showed up on the set, and it was a green Mustang bike with a banana seat. I hadn't told anybody about [the bike]. This is how my life has always been. If I could document it, and I probably should have, you would not believe how amazing my life has been, from the check that I wrote for myself -- everything has had something to do with that power of faith. I'm not a Bible thumper or any of that, but I do believe that The Force is with us...[Laughs]

Q: If you could use those omnipotent powers and change places with someone from history, who would it be?

Jim Carrey: Since we're on the religious subject, and this is not an ego thing, I'd want to be Jesus for a day, just to see what that was like.

Q: Probably not the last day...

Jim Carrey: [Laughs] You don't know me very well, do you...

Shadyac: Sunday versus Friday... Sunday would have been a better day. [Laughs]

Q: Teachers have had a huge impact in your life... would you have liked to have been a teacher if you hadn't been an actor?

Jim Carrey: I think that would be a pretty great thing to do. I don't think they get paid very well, but it's a pretty beautiful thing to do with your life.

I had great teacher, and she never really gets credit. I had this teacher in the seventh grade, Lucy Dervatis. She taught us Beatle lyrics. It was like, "Today's lesson is Eleanor Rigby, and breaking it down, and what it could mean." She also kind of harnessed my delinquency into a show at the end of each day. She said if I was good and didn't bother the other students I'd be able to do fifteen minutes at the end of the day. Instead of bothering everybody, I would write material and think about how I was going to skewer the teachers. She'd confiscated a couple of caricatures I did of her at the back of the classroom. She sent them back to me years later, once I was known. It was kind of neat.

Q: What would you have taught?

Jim Carrey: Art.

Q: What about music?

Jim Carrey: I love music. My father was a saxophone/clarinet player, so we grew up with all the big band stuff playing around the house. My daughter is very much into jazz. She comes over to my house and puts Miles Davis on, and she's fifteen years old. She knows more about it than I do. In New York, we'd go to the Lennox Lounge and watch jazz players and stuff. It's cool, because at this point, I get to do the same thing my Dad did for me. When I was fifteen, I was into comedy, so he used to take me downtown to Yuk Yuk's, which was on Church Street at that time. It was like two lanes of a bowling alley, with a hundred tragically hip people basically cursing everyone on stage. He used to take me there, and I was like, "I can't believe I'm here". Now I get to return the favor.

What kind of music are you into these days?

Jim Carrey: Musically, I like some of the hip hop stuff that's happening, I like anything that's an honest to goodness expression, like Missy Elliot. I love the Vines. The last CD I bought was the White Stripes. Wonderfully, complexly crude. I love it.

Q: Getting back to the movie, was there anything that didn't make it in to the final cut of Bruce Almighty that we might see on the DVD?

Jim Carrey: We've got to put the falling out of the airplane on the DVD!

Shadyac: There are whole bits that are not in the movie.

Jim Carrey: There's a shot we did of me falling out of an airplane, doing a freefall while doing a news story. We had this special effects guy who had this gun that shot air at a fierce rate into my mouth. My mouth is [huge]. You can see my whole skeleton under there. When they said cut and all the stuff went off and all the fans and everything shut down, I couldn't see anybody, because everybody was on the floor losing their minds [with laughter]. It's nice to be able to do stuff like that, to show things that didn't fit in the puzzle.

Shadyac: It's really cool. It's another point of interest. People are fascinated by what made it, and what didn't make it. We have scenes from Ace Ventura but DVD didn't exist then. I can remember some scenes that we took out. Remember the contact lens? We did this scene in a bar...

Jim Carrey: I take out a contact lens and [break it] like a glass, and fight this guy with it.

Q: What would you do if you had the power of God, like Bruce does in the movie?

Jim Carrey: First of all, I'd send anyone who didn't like The Majestic to the fiery pits of hell. [Laughs] Then I'd start a utopian society full of people made of Nerf material so that I could cave the critics' heads in, and they'd pop right back out. No one would be hurt, and I'd get my rocks off.