Over a year after the initial planned production under Tim Burton got canned, the JIm Carrey biopic about Robert Ripley, the explorer who started the whole Ripley’s Believe it or Not phenomenon, is gearing up again.   According to Variety, this time Chris Columbus is in talks to direct.  Carrey is still on board and the entire concept has reportedly been revamped, with the China-based storyline that helped scuttle the first production scrapped.

Columbus needs to finalize his deal before a writer is hired, and Paramount has eyes on a planned 2011 release date, with hopes of a franchise.  Columbus has most recently been working on I Love You, Beth Cooper, starring Hayden Panetierre.  And Carrey has Peyton Reed’s Yes Man and I Love You Phillip Morris, an indie directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa upcoming, as well as Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol.

After making a quick check, it occurs to me that I haven’t seen a Jim Carrey movie in the theatre since way back in Liar Liar, but I have a interest in seeing this, which could potentially be very interesting.  Ripley was an interesting dude and could be the perfect character for someone of Carrey’s talents and ability to mix the serious with the bizarre. 

Hopefully they can CGI in Jack Palance for a cameo or something.