One film that has been through the ringer time and time again in the past few years is trying its luck once again. Paramount is attempting to give “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” one more shot this time with Academy Award winning screenwriter Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump,” “The Insider,” “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button“) behind the pen. Word is Roth is being brought in to do a complete rewrite of the entire script in hopes of finally getting the film off the ground.
In 2007, Paramount pulled the plug on the then Tim Burton production just weeks before the film was set to begin shooting in China after star Jim Carrey came up with ideas to better the film, in return, causing a major overhaul on the Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski script. Sadly, the delay caused the production to lose Burton and its $175 million budget. The following year, Chris Columbus was in talks to direct with “Master and Commander” scribe John Collee stepping in to take a stab at the screenplay, but sadly the film once again could not take flight, instead sinking deeper into development hell.
The good news is that Carrey is still attached in the lead role as newspaper columnist Robert Ripley, who searched the world for the most unusual people and places. Along the way he learns that the weirdos he encounters are real people, too, with feelings and stuff. Aww. With Roth now attached to add his Oscar touch to the film, things are finally looking up for the project. —Aaron Fowler