AceShowbiz -

Set to put an antagonistic role in his acting resume, "Road to Perdition" star Stanley Tucci is reportedly engaged in negotiations to portray the pivotal role of killer George Harvey in "The Lovely Bones", which DreamWorks Pictures is currently gearing up for production.

Project has already signed newcomer Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, a teenage girl murdered by Harvey, as well as Hollywood stars Rachel Weisz and Ryan Gosling who will play the teen's parents. Story, based on Alice Sebold's best-selling 2002 novel, centers on Salmon who finds herself in the afterlife where she later observes her family also her killer from.

Principal photography is scheduled to start this October in Pennsylvania and New Zealand under the direction of Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson who will helm from the script he wrote alongside Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. The man is also taking charge as the producer together with Walsh and Aimee Peyronnet, while Ken Kamins and Tessa Ross are both executive producing.