The Lovely Bones Trailer

Narrated by 14-year-old Susie Salmon, who was raped and murdered and now watches her grieving family from heaven, The Lovely Bones became an instant bestseller in 2002. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson bought the rights to Alice Sebold's novel and many wondered how the murder-mystery tale would play out onscreen. Finally, a few answers: The trailer for the film has been released, and luckily, the half-dreamy, half-terrifying snippet—complete with Stanley Tucci in full-on creepy neighbor role—looks as if it will do justice to the much-loved book. Atonement's young star Saoirse Ronan headlines the dark coming-of-age story, and with the film slated for release in December of this year, she may be gunning for an Oscar nomination. Production of the film was not without its faults—Ryan Gosling dropped out of the role as Salmon's father, and was replaced by Mark Wahlberg, seen in the trailer with an appropriately '70s shaggy haircut. Rachel Weisz (who, in our opinion, can never have enough starring roles) plays Susie's mother, Abigail, and Susan Sarandon and Michael Imperioli round out the rest of the pedigreed cast. Only one question remains—will the film version get the same Oprah stamp of approval as the novel?