Weintraub produced the original "Oh, God!," which also starred John Denver and spawned two sequels. Weintraub said he could never figure out how to remake a film in a way that would flatter the original. He was recently approached by DeGeneres, however, and was impressed by her take. Then he got the blessing of the original's director, Carl Reiner, and writer Larry Gelbart.

"Ellen is a strong comedienne and she has always done material about God and questions about God," said Weintraub. "She will help us with the writing, and using her will allow us to do a proper 2005 view of 'Oh God!' that is hip and modern."