Director Chris Columbus on why a fantasy version of Ripley..

[jimliker]

Director Chris Columbus on why a fantasy version of Ripley will work

Jim Carrey has been attached to play Robert Ripley, the cartoonist at the center of Ripley's Believe It or Not!, through a series of writers and directors. He was not happy with the biographical script to be directed by Tim Burton. Now Chris Columbus is attached to direct a more fantastic version.

"My take on Ripley is to believe it," Columbus said in an exclusive interview last week in Santa Monica, Calif., where he was promoting the comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper. "My take on Ripley is to turn it into a fantasy film, really: a big fantasy adventure film where we believe that all of these oddities are possible."


The film began as a biopic written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (Man on the Moon, The People vs. Larry Flynt). Now Columbus has John Collee (Happy Feet, Guardians of Ga'Hoole) writing away under his command.

"We should see a draft in the next few months or so, and then we'll make some sort of decisions," Columbus said.

Robert Ripley, who died in 1949, presented oddities from his world travels in his comic strip "Ripley's Believe It or Not," as well as in radio and TV shows and other media. Columbus would not reveal any specific oddities that the movie might portray in chronicling Ripley's travels, but he promised to take inspiration from the source.

"I think we'll certainly relate to the comic strip a lot in the film," Columbus said. "I don't want to talk too much about it, because there are too many surprises."

Ripley's Believe It or Not is due out in 2011 from Paramount


http://scifiwire.com/2009/07/director-c ... mbus-o.php

[fluffy]

2011????? ..........i'll 'believe' it when i see it.........

[YesGirl]

I think a fantasy version of the movie will be much better and more interesting than the biographical one originally planned. Hopefully it'll work out

[Canadian Jayne]

happening today, that is
past and current stuff.
I wonder

[Mhjm6]

If The Three Stooges doesn't go ahead, Ripley's could be filming sooner than 2010, you never know.

[fluffy]

with all the amazing motion capture stuff and new technology they could make it visually stunning........if they mixed all the technology it could be ground breaking........

[Canadian Jayne]

But with the technology it can look so real or possible that people (18-25+)
have a hard time distinguishing what is real or not.
Some actually believe that people similar to X-men truly exist.

[fluffy]

shame, i´d like to meet Wolverine

[Canadian Jayne]

Ce la vie!

[lammy]

Nothing wrong with fantasy.

[g6471]

I would have preferred the Bio. JC might have had a shot at an award for something like that

[Canadian Jayne]

wrong dream.
It's great to have goals but I beleive there is more accomplished in
achieving that goal than in the end result, the trophy only collects dust,
it does say I did it,
but you learned the most from the process.
Awards are good, but they have their place.
I'd rather have one that says, I'm better today than I was yesterday.