Er... This Is Weird... More On The Ripley Film And A Christmas Carol

The Michel Gondry/Ripley story has taken an odd twist...

Bob Hoskins really let the cat out of the bag when he mentioned Zemeckis' upcoming Christmas Carol film. Now the beans have been spilled, however, Variety have fleshed out some of the details: Jim Carrey will be playing Scrooge, sure, but he'll also be playing the ghosts of past, present and future.

According to ImageMovers, Zemeckis' outfit that are producing the film at Disney, Hoskins hasn't actually signed yet. Hopefully they won't boot him for his loose lips.

The same Variety piece goes on to discuss Jim Carrey's crowded schedule: Christmas Carol, I Love You Phillip Morris and Ripley's Believe It or Not. Regarding the latter they say "Paramount, armed with a Steve Oedekerk rewrite, is trying to find a schedule that will allow Tim Burton to direct, even as he completes post-production on Sweeney Todd".

So, was Gondry just a back up? Was he a plan B that won't ever be taken? Or just a human poker chip, used to influence Burton?

Or did the rumour spark up some other way? Perhaps somebody just invented it with no foundation - I mean, it wouldn't be the first time.

I put a call in to Partizan to see if there's any comment - saying Gondry hasn't signed is too easy an out, really, and leaves half of the story untold - and, hopefully, they'll respond.

In the meantime: the director of Ripley's Believe it or Not appears to be none other than Tim Burton.