UPDATE: Kim Masters over at Slate is saying that “the break with Gosling may lead to litigation, though it’s still unclear what the fight was about.” She also points out that “if [Gosling]’s managed to tick off Peter Jackson and DreamWorks honcho Steven Spielberg simultaneously, that could not be considered a good career move.”
Now this is an odd twist as Variety is reporting that only one day before shooting began on Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones Ryan Gosling has left the production and been replaced by Mark Wahlberg. Apparently Gosling gained 20 pounds for the role, but that hasn’t stopped him from leaving due to what is being called “creative differences” allowing Wahlberg to step into the part just after he wrapped The Happening for M. Night Shyamalan.
While a lot of the fanboy sites remain excited about The Lovely Bones due to Jackson’s involvement and his recent Lord of the Rings trilogy, I don’t think this is a film that will usher in a ton of comic book movie fans as it is far from a tale anything like Ring. In fact this is a tragic story about a young girl (Saoirse Ronan) that is murdered and watches over her family and her killer from heaven. Wahlberg will star alongside Rachel Weisz as the parents of the young girl.
I am currently smack dab in the middle of reading the Alice Sebold novel the film is based on and am curious to see how Jackson is going to pull off the imagery of the flick. The film also stars Stanley Tucci as the killer, Susan Sarandon and Michael Imperioli.
Jackson wrote the script with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and filming begins today in Pennsylvania. DreamWorks Pictures will distribute.
