What happens now that the new Jim Carrey movie has been shut down

The B!tch Replies: The project is not dead. That's according to a Hollywood-based insider close to this B!tch, a fellow who follows all the action on the backlots. However, Jim Carrey's massive salary may be headed for a crash. And if that's the case, we may start to see a whole mess of celebs slashing their asking prices like a carnival-glass dealer on eBay.

That's right. Instead of being worth somewhere in the high eight figures, celebrities like Scarlett, Orlando or Angelina might, just might, plummet into the ghetto of the low eight figures. Angie might not be able to afford flights to Africa anymore, forcing her to focus her well-digging and malaria-vaccination campaigns to whatever poor villages she can find in Malibu.

But you at home should not fear this strange new world. We commoners should remain unaffected.

Here's the background: Until recently, Carrey had been planning to make a film based on the Ripley's Believe It or Not! franchise. He would play the lead, the adventurer Robert Ripley, a real-life collector of oddities. (Think of a rubbery-faced Indiana Jones who says everything SO LOUD IT JUST HAS TO BE FUNNY!)

Anyway, according to my source, Carrey charges about $20 million for gigs these days, plus 20 percent of a film's gross income. (With some of his movie deals, says my source, he could have made up to $80 million a picture in recent years.)

Also, the Ripley movie was to be directed by Tim Burton, and such big-name directors tend to charge at least $5 million. They also like their back-end deals. In total, according to the Hollywood Reporter, about 30 percent of the film's back-end income was already spoken for--before the thing even started shooting. And by the way, Jordan, the budget was soaring closer to $150 million than $100 million.

One recent afternoon, the suits at Paramount came bouncing into their offices—energized as they were after their egg-white-omelet lunches at Barney Greengrass—and somehow saw their Jim Carrey deal with fresh eyes. And they plotzed.

"The movie became too expensive for the studio," my Industry follower says. "And the movie wasn't shut down—it never started."

There is a chance the film could be resurrected, but it's too soon to tell. This follows the shutdown of another Carrey showcase, Fox's Used Guys with Ben Stiller, a futuristic comedy about "pleasure clones." Maybe the world's better off without it. Meanwhile, Carrey has fired his agents and chosen other representation.

"It will be interesting to see whether the new agents can get Jim his usual quote," our source says. If not, well, ol' Rubber Face could be in for a salary slash. After all, studios like Paramount are employing "cost-cutting measures" these days. And that, in turn, could mean even leaner days for the likes of Kate Bosworth, if such a thing is possible.

"It's a different world now," Mr. Insider tells this B!tch. "I don't think the stars are charging less--yet. But then again, studios are going to have to do things more cheaply, and they can always turn to up-and-coming actors."

Cameron Bright, your time has come.