Ryan Gosling Joins (and then leaves…) Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones
By Norm Schrager at June 28, 2007 | 7:25 am | Print
UPDATE: As many of you know, Ryan Gosling is no longer in the role of the father in The Lovely Bones. In late October, just before the start of production, Gosling left the film due to “creative differences.” Mark Wahlberg was the literal late replacement, having just finished up M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening.
Cinema Blend’s Josh Tyler mentioned another near-famous replacement in a Peter Jackson film: Viggo Mortensen taking over for Stuart Townsend in The Lord of the Rings. Viggo is now an outside Oscar consideration for Eastern Promises. And Stuart was last in a film called Chaos Theory, which I didn’t see and neither did you.
I certainly don’t think Gosling’s career will suffer — at all — as long as he stays away from more films like Fracture.
ORIGINAL POST:
About two weeks ago, we asked which actress you would choose to play the murdered girl in the Peter Jackson adaptation of The Lovely Bones. No word on that yet, but Variety has announced that Ryan Gosling has joined the project, playing opposite Rachel Weisz as the girl’s father.
LOBBY OPINION: Smart move for Gosling, especially after the ho-hum reception for Fracture. The guy is probably one of the five best actors of his generation, and he really excels in films that defy standard genre: In Half Nelson (read my review) and The Believer, he displayed depth and energy that just has to be seen. Hell, even the saccharine The Notebook (read my review) was watchable thanks to Gosling.
Peter Jackson’s version of Alice Sebold’s novel will combine that mature, award-friendly drama, Jackson’s creativity and precision (oh, and fan base), and a built-in audience of those who loved the bestseller.
QUESTION: What’s your favorite Ryan Gosling film? TELL US
