Oh, God! is a 1977 comedy film, starring John Denver and George Burns. Based on a novel by Avery Corman, the film was directed by Carl Reiner from a screenplay written by Larry Gelbart. The story centers on unassuming supermarket manager Jerry Landers (Denver), chosen by God (Burns) to spread his message, despite the skepticism of the media, religious authorities, and Landers' wife (Teri Garr).
Serious moviegoers would not miss a chance to catch George Burns' follow-up role after winning an Academy Award at age 81. Likewise, Denver was at the height of his popularity and his star would never again shine quite so bright as in the mid 1970s. Even Gelbart, coming from TV's M*A*S*H and director Carl Reiner were known commodities, although Reiner had been conspicuously low-key in the years preceding Oh, God!. In fact, this movie became his ticket to directing Steve Martin in three consecutive films.
Oh, God! is a 1977 comedy film, starring John Denver and George Burns. Based on a novel by Avery Corman, the film was directed by Carl Reiner from a screenplay written by Larry Gelbart. The story centers on unassuming supermarket manager Jerry Landers (Denver), chosen by God (Burns) to spread his message, despite the skepticism of the media, religious authorities, and Landers' wife (Teri Garr).
Warner Bros and producer Jerry Weintraub have tried long and hard to mount a remake of the 1977 George Burns comedy Oh, God! I'm told Weintraub just pitched the studio a new version of the film, with Hollywood's hottest octogenarian--Betty White,--as the title character. Paul Rudd was pitched for the role of the hapless mortal played by John Denver in the Carl Reiner-directed original. Weintraub, who produced the original, has been trying for years on the remake, most recently with Ellen Degeneres attached for the lead. This incarnation is nascent--the studio doesn't have a script it loves, and I'm not sure White and Rudd have been contacted. But keeping in mind how vociferously Deadline readers endorsed White to replace Megan Fox in Transformers 3 and to play the new Spider-Man, this made enough sense to note.
