Occasional Harry Potter director Chris Columbus is in talks to direct Ripley's Believe It Or Not, a property that has long been gathering dust in a drawer somewhere on the Paramount Studios lot. The film was already in pre-production last year with Tim Burton at the helm before the plug was pulled on the project for unspecified reasons. Reports suggest that rubber-faced actor Jim Carrey is set to star as newspaper columnist-turned-explorer Robert Ripley. A 2011 release is the objective and the studio hopes that this film will turn into a profitable franchise for them. Jim Carrey + exploring + Chris Columbus = box office gold.
