Archive for December 4th, 2009

Director/Producer Steven Spielberg

Dreamworks and 20th Century Fox were set to begin production in 2010 on a new adaptation of “Harvey,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning Mary Chase play that was previously made into a 1950 film starring Jimmy Stewart, which Steven Spielberg was going to direct until yesterday when he severed himself from the project.

“Harvey” is about a man who believes in an invisible friend who happens to be a six foot tall rabbit.

Reportedly, Spielberg was having a tough time casting for the main role and is likely one of the main reasons he pulled away. He immediately thought to hire Tom Hanks to play the same role as Stewart, but Hanks supposedly wanted nothing to do with a part the was played by the iconic star. Robert Downey Jr. was next considered for the role, but when offered the part he was hesitated to commit and was insistent on making revisions with the script. When it became clear that Spielberg and Downey Jr. could not get on the same page creatively, the director called it quits.

Spielberg is currently involved with the post-production phase of The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, and has had a handful of scripts on the backburner for years, including an Abraham Lincoln civil war drama which will star Liam Neeson.

Source: Variety