Once upon a time there was to be a bio pic made based upon the adventureous life of Robert Ripley, the creator of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” (listen to a past Slice of SciFi episode about the film). Funnyman Jim Carrey was to headline the cast. Then, something happened and it was shelved. What happened? The same thing that usually happens in cases where money is involved, funding either came up short or way over budget, actors/crew weren’t happy, script was unsatisfactory to the director, producer, actor – whatever.

In the case of this film, its budget, way back in June of this year had already swelled to $150 million before production was even in full swing and no one at the top was overly pleased with what had been written on the page, so director Tim Burton and Carrey put their commitment on hold and the studio shelved it until further notice.

Now we are happy to report that Paramount Pictures has dusted off the project and has hired screenwriter Steve Oedekerk to take the existing script and give it a total overhaul. The movie’s director, Tim Burton and the film’s big star, Carrey are both pleased with Paramount’s choice of writer (Carrey and Oedekerk are old friends who have worked together for years) and have jumped back into the project with glee. Somehow, Paramount has found a way to slash $45 million from the budget, giving the picture a $105 million benchmark to achieve, so the brass at the studio are also content.

As it stands now Paramount is shooting for a late 2008 release in the U.S. and the following year in the rest of the world.