Scoop! Lovely Bones Hits A Snag UPDATERSS

Scoop! Lovely Bones Hits A Snag UPDATE

5th May 2008
Source: By Andrew Hedley

Rumour has it there’s trouble in paradise. Our spies have reported that Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones ceased production at one stage due to a rift between the big man and his art director over the best way to depict Heaven. Given that a large portion of film takes place in that very location, with main character Susie Salmon looking down on her family after her murder, this seems a crucial point of difference. The Wellington crew apparently took a break while the creative differences were sorted.

Meanwhile, at the Speed Racer premiere in London, Empire reports that Bones cast member Susan Sarandon has expressed dissatisfaction with her character. “I play the comic relief, an alcoholic grandmother – my first grandma – but she doesn’t really seem like a real grandmother because she has a lot of hair and jewellery and nails and liquor. I don’t think I ever talk without a cigarette and a drink in my hand.”

“Peter Jackson is really a nice guy and very interesting. It was really a very different way of working. We had a good time, I’m really curious to see what it’s like because he kept pushing me to be more and more extreme and sometimes that’s when you make your big mistakes so I’m not sure how it will come off - it will be interesting to see it from the point of view of the audience.”

Time will tell as to whether Bones will overcome its creative troubles, which began when actor Ryan Gosling was replaced with Mark Wahlberg several days before filming began.

UPDATE:

ComingSoon.net have attempted to debunk rumours of the Jackson/art director rift. It happened on Friday, when they queried DreamWorks/Paramount about why the release date for The Lovely Bones had been pushed back half a year. They asked the studio if this had anything to with the ‘rift’ between Jackson and his art director.

Turns out a) there has not been a delay or ‘rift’ of any sort, and b) an late 2009 launch was always the plan. DreamWorks chief Stacey Snider cleared up the issue by saying, "It was a very smooth shoot with no dissent, and all heaven sequences requiring sets or Art Dept involvement were completed on schedule in March. The only shooting remaining involves blue-screen VFX elements, which will be shot in June."

The New York Magazine has created an amusing image HERE.