Stanley Tucci May Join Cast of Film 'The Lovely Bones'

According to The Hollywood Reporter, stage and screen star Stanley Tucci may join the previously announced Rachel Weisz and Ryan Gosling in the upcoming film version of Alice Sebold's novel The Lovely Bones.

Tucci, who is now in talks to join The Lovely Bones, would play "the pivotal role of killer George Harvey" in the film, which will be directed by  Peter Jackson (King Kong, The Lord of the Rings, Heavenly Creatures).  Weisz and Gosling "will play the parents of Susie Salmon (newcomer Saoirse Ronan), a 14-year-old who has been raped and killed by a neighbor she refers to as Mr. Harvey. Alice Sebold's best-selling 2002 novel is told from the perspective of Susie, who looks down on her family and Harvey from the afterlife."

The film will feature an adapted screenplay by Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, and will be produced by Carolynne Cunningham, Jackson, Walsh and Aimee Peyronnet, with Tessa Ross, Ken Kamins and Jim Wilson.  It will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Tucci received a Tony nomination for his work in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and has also been seen on Broadway in Execution of Justice, The Iceman Cometh, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Misanthrope and The Queen and the Rebels. Screen credits include The Devil Wears Prada, Robots, Shall We Dance, Road to Perdition, Sidewalks of New York, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Life Less Ordinary, Deconstructing Harry, The Pelican Brief, Prelude to a Kiss, Billy Bathgate and Prizzi's Honor.  He has also appeared on numerous TV shows.

The Lovely Bones begins shooting in October, in Pennsylvania as well as in Jackson's native land of New Zealand.