Gosling out of Bones

Ryan Gosling is out and Mark Wahlberg is in. It hardly seems like a fair trade-off but that’s exactly what’s happening on THE LOVELY BONES. Just one day before filming was scheduled to begin on Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel, Ryan Gosling abruptly left the project to be replaced by Wahlberg. Gosling was to star as the grieving father of a young girl who was killed and even gained 20 pounds and grew a beard for the role. The departure was chalked up to “creative differences,” which would indicate Jackson felt that even after the beard and the weight, Gosling was too young for the role. Wahlberg was apparently on the shortlist and sent the script over the weekend. He read it on on Saturday and signed on the dotted line yesterday. He joins Rachel Weisz and Saoirse Ronan as the murdered young girl. It’ll be an extended stay for Wahlberg in Pennsylvania, where BONES will film, as he just wrapped the M. Night Shyamalan film THE HAPPENING in Bucks County. Wahlberg was able to squeeze this project in before he starts on THE FIGHTER with Brad Pitt and Darren Aronofsky next year.