If you were eagerly anticipating the Tim Burton/Jim Carrey collaboration called "Ripley's Believe It or Not!," then you might have an extra year or two to wait, because since Johnny Depp's "Shantaram" lost its director and the actor has some time available, Burton & Depp now plan to reunite for a big-screen adaptation of "Sweeney Todd." Whew. Got all that?

Variety deciphers it all nicely: "Paramount Pictures has postponed its Tim Burton-directed "Ripley's Believe It or Not."

But Par could still have a Burton-directed film on its schedule: The helmer will turn his attention to "Sweeney Todd," a feature adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical developed by DreamWorks. Johnny Depp is attached to reteam with Burton for "Todd." Depp has time in his schedule since his early 2007 project, "Shantaram," fell apart when director Peter Weir ankled.

"Ripley's," which had been earmarked for a November start with Jim Carrey as the titular explorer-newspaper columnist, was pegged as an event film that would help define the studio's new regime. But Paramount has delayed the start of production on that film for at least one year, applying the brakes because of a budget that was north of $150 million and because Carrey and Burton wanted to make significant creative changes."

First Fox cancels "Used Guys," and now Paramount postpones "Ripley's." Mayabe Jim Carrey should lower his asking price a couple a million.

But the good news is that we get another combo effort from Johnny Depp and Tim Burton; the guys have previously collaboarated on "Edward Scissorhands," "Ed Wood," "Sleepy Hollow," "Corpse Bride," and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."