'Almighty' writer takes a family vacation

By MICHAEL FLEMING

"Bruce Almighty" marks the fourth time screenwriter Steve Oedekerk has worked with director Tom Shadyac and scored a hit. Eager for a high-five, Universal has staked Oedekerk to a two-year first look deal that starts with him redrafting "The Great Divide" for Shadyac to direct. The comedy's about a full grown family which tries to heal wounds from past disastrous vacations by taking one final trip.
"As a writer, Steve is a terrific problem solver with great audience instincts, so we all wanted him at the studio," said U production coprexy Scott Stuber, who with Mary Parent and Stacey Snider made the deal with WMA.

The ideas a Spielberg would dismiss as being too bizarre and difficult are the ones Oedekerk relishes. He makes a few million each time he scripts a comedy, but he's proudest of his accomplishment on "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist," for which he repurposed a chopsocky film and included himself as star.

"We needed 2,000 effects shots just to make it look like a piece of crap '70s film, and when we passed 'Star Wars: Episode One' in total effects shots, we wondered what the hell we were doing," said Oedekerk. "I have those thoughts often, when I've turned down a big movie job to do another thumb movie, for instance."

He's talking about his six movie parodies where the performers were all thumbs. Six are done, and he's in the nascent stages on "Lord of the Thumb Rings," "Thumbatrix," and a pro grappling parody "WTW Thumb Wrestling." Oedekerk also is responsible for the CGI animation creation "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," which he and director John Davis turned into a hit TV series (Nick has ordered another 60 episodes). And "Santa Vs. The Snowman," a 3-D Imax film which put him several million in the hole but has broken even.

Oedekerk's next CGI pic will be "The Barnyard," a Paramount/Nickelodeon comedy he is writing. The first original project he'll bring to Universal is "Ted of the Backroom," a comedy he promised will be more insane than "Kung Pow." He runs his divisions from headquarters in San Juan Capistrano, where he has two buildings and where he'll house the seven creative execs he'll hire under his U deal.

"When I was a standup comic, I tried to establish a balance where I had half the audience laughing hysterically, and the other half saying, 'What the hell is this guy doing?'," said Oedekerk. "I could make a lot more money taking big writing jobs, and leave behind the thumb projects and other things. It'd be easier but I don't want 30 years to go by and just have a lot of money."