'Believe It, or Not' Gong Li rumored for Tim Burton film

Taking this with a pinch of salt an 'unidentified source' claimed at the end of last week that Gong Li was being cast in Tim Burton's Believe It, or Not, a biopic about Robert Ripley and his quest for the fantastic and such. And while it hasn't been confirmed it hasn't been ignored either. The role in question was written into the script and called for a woman of Chinese decent.

This was posted at CRIENGLISH, Chinese rising actress Zhang Ziyi was originally invited to lead the film, but was finally replaced by Gong Li, as the director said Gong is more suitable for the role in the film. Believe It or Not picks up with Ripley at the time when he gained celebrity status through a "Believe it or Not" column that chronicled his search for the greatest oddities in the world. Along the way, he starts to respect his unusual human discoveries as more than mere conquests to be documented.

This was posted today over at MonkeyPeaches, The producers are still at the casting stage and are also considering a Korean actress. The part as it is currently written features a Chinese woman and Chinese backstory. But if they cast the Korean star they may rewrite. Alternatively they may simply ignore the nationality clash and have the Korean lady play a Chinese role.

As stated before, Burton has been attached to this [IMDB] to direct and Jim Carrey is 'in talks' to star. I posted the other day about another actress of Asian decent looking to blow up in the western market. If this comes to any fruition look to Gong Li to make a run at some serious western exposure as well. Suddenly, Ziyi has competition.