Peter Jackson‘s next movie is not the kind of fantasy epic that King Kong was. It is The Lovely Bones, based on Alice Sebold’s bestseller, in which a murdered girl watches her family fall apart from heaven. Susan Sarandon will play Grandma Lynn in the early scenes, shot stateside.
“It’s shooting in Pennsylvania so I wrap in Pennsylvania,” said Sarandon, who goes to work in October. Jackson’s crew moves on though to complete the rest of the drama, sans Sarandon.
For the conclusion, Jackson returns to home territory. “After Christmas, I think heaven is in New Zealand but I’m not in heaven so I don’t get to go there,” lamented Sarandon.
The role of Susie Salmon, the 14-year-old girl who is brutally victimized and killed, will be played by young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan; look for the up-and-comer to garner more attention with turns in Joe Wright‘s Atonement, Gillian Armstrong‘s Death Defying Acts, and next year’s family fantasy City of Ember.
Rounding out the main cast will be Ryan Gosling and Rachel Weisz as Susie’s parents, Stanley Tucci as the Salmons’ neighbor George Harvey, and Michael Imperioli as police detective Len Fenerman.
