Paramount realizes that Carrey is no longer the draw he used to be

From Darkhorizons, "With the budget on the Jim Carrey/Tim Burton flick "Ripley's Believe It or Not" swelling beyond $150 million, Paramount Pictures has refused to give the project a green light.

As a result, the ambitious story of Ripley the explorer/columnist has gone back into development, finances and creative changes being demanded by its key players cited as the reason for its delay of at least twelve months.

It's not all bad news though, as Paramount and DreamWorks are instead putting "Sweeney Todd" on the fast track with Burton at the helm reports the trades. DreamWorks is now rushing to cast that movie, utilising a script by John Logan ("The Aviator") adapting the famous Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical.

Burton already is talking with Johnny Depp for the lead role as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. With Depp's "Shantaram" project falling apart the other day due to its director departing, the actor now has an early 2007 window freed up for the project.

Burton and Carrey remain very much committed to "Ripley" and are continuing to work on the script this week. Unlike the other recent stalled Jim Carrey vehicle "Used Guys", "Ripley" still looks likely to happen - just later than expected. The studio could have made the delay only half a year, but a decision was made to postpone longer so Burton could make the other film."