Carrey hunts freaks for Burton

By Joshua Tyler Nov 29, 2005, 15:54 GMT

A movie loosely based on the real life of adventurer Robert Ripley. The film picks up Robert\'s story after he\'s already established in his career as an explorer and hunter of freakish oddities. Together with his friends (each of whom has special abilities) he travels the globe looking for the strange and the weird. ...more

Jim Carrey is up for the weird, freakish, and bizarre. He’s in negotiations to star in Tim Burton’s upcoming action-adventure movie ‘Believe It or Not!’ as Robert Ripley, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ripley was a cartoonist who turned to the world of the strange and unusual for ideas. He traveled the world looking for oddities and finding adventure, becoming a larger than life public persona in the process. The man’s life seems like perfect fodder for Burton, who has himself spent his career delving into the weird and sometimes odd.

When he signs on the dotted line, this will be the first collaboration between Carrey and Burton. It seems like a good place to start. If Jim can keep from talking out of his ass, he should be a perfect fit as the strange and freakishly talented Mr. Ripley.

Today, with or without Burton’s movie, Robert Ripley’s legend lives on in the form of touristy museums across the globe showcasing some of his craziest discoveries. His journeys also spawned a couple of television shows. Burton’s take on the man will likely be a little more fictionalized version. ‘Believe It or Not!’ was written by Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander, and picks up Ripley’s tale after he’s already established as a purveyor of oddity.

Reportedly, Paramount is considering an entire series of adventure films based on Ripley, as he travels the globe exploring its darkest corners with a group of friends… each of whom has special abilities. That’ll only happen of course, if the first move is a hit.

Jim Carrey’s next trip through theaters will come this December with the release of the much delayed comedy remake ‘Fun with Dick and Jane’. He’s also about to start work on ‘The Number 23’ for director Joel Schumacher.