Say it ain't so! I want this to be nothing more than hyperbole and ugly rumor mongering. But let's look at it anyway: According to Flicks.Co.NZ, there are troubling stories surrounding the set of Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones.

The first is a bit of a yawner. Reportedly, Jackson is having creative differences with his art director over the best way to portray Heaven -- a pretty key location in the book, if you remember. Things even reached a point where the production had to take a break as the disagreement was sorted out, according to reports.

But then came word (today) from The Bad and Ugly that the film has now been delayed, and instead of a March 13, 2009 release date, it's been pushed to Fall, 2009. No word on whether this was due to production issues or if they'd rather hold the film for a potential Oscar push.

Additionally, Susan Sarandon seemed like she was pretty iffy on the film and especially her performance while speaking to press at the London premiere of Speed Racer: "I play the comic relief, an alcoholic grandmother – my first grandma – but she doesn't really seem like a real grandmother because she has a lot of hair and jewelery and nails and liquor. I don't think I ever talk without a cigarette and a drink in my hand. Peter Jackson is really a nice guy and very interesting. It was really a very different way of working. We had a good time, I'm really curious to see what it's like because he kept pushing me to be more and more extreme and sometimes that's when you make your big mistakes so I'm not sure how it will come off -- it will be interesting to see it from the point of view of the audience."

Now, I haven't finished the book (I hit the part with the dogs in Heaven, burst into tears, and haven't managed to pick it up since. I do plan to pick it up again soon, though), but is this accurate to the character? I cannot remember a grandmother, so help me out. I greatly admire Sarandon as an actor and individual, and criticism from her is sobering indeed. The more I read the quote though, the more it seems like something taken out of context, and Sarandon may not have intended it as a complaint. She would not have taken the part if she disliked the character, so did something change between her taking the role and filming? Did she ever go head-to-head with Jackson about the character's look? So many questions!

Remember, this isn't the first whiff of an unhappy set -- Ryan Gosling dropped out over disagreements with Jackson, and was replaced at the 11th hour by Mark Wahlberg. However, a similar situation occurred with the role of Aragorn, and we all know how perfectly that turned out.

I'm really looking forward to The Lovely Bones -- I may have burst into tears and let the book collect dust, but it was enough to convince me that it would be a terrific film, especially in the right hands. Troubled productions can produce incredible movies, more often than not, so I'm not going to cry doom, doom. The entire story is probably all smoke, and no fire.

[via Slashfilm]