New York, December 2, 2009 – A slew of stars turned out for the New York premiere of The Lovely Bones, a drama based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold.  Patricia Clarkson, Courtney Love, John Leguizamo, Rachel Dratch, violinist Joshua Bell, Helena Christensen and Nick Rhodes were among those who turned out to see how director Peter Jackson handled the sensitive material. 

Stanley Tucci stars as a creepy murderer and 15-year-old Saoirse Ronan, who was Oscar-nominated for her role in Atonement, plays the victim.  Tucci said he did a lot of “horrifying” research for the role, and yes, he admits that working with such material was, at times, depressing.

Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Michael Imperioli also star. Susan Sarandon provides comic relief as the glamorous, booze-swilling, chain-smoking grandmother.  The Lovely Bones, which opens on December 11, marks Peter Jackson’s departure from mega-blockbusters like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong.