Spielberg Chooses ‘Harvey’ as his Next Project

Steven Spielberg has chosen his next directorial project and it involves an imaginary friend. Spielberg will make a modern adaptation of Mary Chase’s play HARVEY, which was first adapted into a feature film in 1950, directed byHenry Koster and starring James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd, a man who is thought by his family to be crazy based on his friendship with an invisible six-foot tall rabbit.

The new adaptation has been written by novelist Jonathan Tropper. There’s no word on casting for the film yet, but the talk is that there’s a good chance Tom hanks may be on Spielberg’s list of candidates based on their working relationship in the past. Hanks would actually be a decent choice for this role, but a name I’ve also seen thrown out there in various blogs is Paul Giamatti. Sure, he’s got a different look but he’d be awesome in the role. The one name I’ve seen tossed around that I disagree with is Jim Carrey. Not that he’s a bad actor, but if he did this Elwood P. Dowd would be lost in the chasm that is Carrey-ville.

All things aside, of course I’d rather see HARVEY not be remade. But, this is what it is and the Hollywood studio machine does what it will. With that said, the one thing I hope for more than anything else is that Spielberg does not choose to show Elwood’s friend at any time in the film. This would simply ruin the magic of the story. The problem is, after seeing what he did with the ending of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, I have my doubts.

Source: Hollywood Reporter