Back when Tim Burton was going to direct a biopic of Robert Ripley (the journalist behind Ripley’s Believe It Or Not), I could not wait to see the project get off the ground. With its epic nature and colorful period piece-ness, it seemed like a mixture of Big Fish (a movie he’d just directed) and Ed Wood and Indiana Jones. Burton seemed perfect for the project.
Now, that may be a different story. And the script itself will be a different story, because (according to Deadline Dalesville) Paramount has hired Eric Roth to do a completely clean slate script re-write.
What does that mean? The screenwriter behind Forrest Gump will most likely make this a sprawling travelogue that focuses on the people more than the oddities. The movie (the script at least) will be huge but feel close to home.
Granted, Roth tends to steal from himself a lot, so Robert Ripley (still set to be played by Jim Carrey) might look a bit too much like Gump or Button. It remains to be seen, of course, but Roth is an undeniable talent, and his addition to the project seems like Paramount is making a big move in the right direction.
Related Topics: Biopics
