Paramount is negotiating with Chris Columbus to direct its long-gestating Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Jim Carrey is still set to star as newspaper columnist-explorer Robert Ripley.
After being unplugged months before a 2007 production start in China with Tim Burton at the helm, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is getting a complete overhaul, based on a concept that Columbus pitched. Both Paramount and Carrey sparked to it, and the China-based storyline will be scrapped.
Once Columbus’ deal is closed, the studio will hire a writer to draft the project, which remains a Par priority: The studio is aiming for a 2011 release and is hoping the pic spawns a franchise. Columbus, who most recently wrapped I Love You, Beth Cooper, is next expected to direct Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, based on the Rick Riordan book.
