Now, we're probably some of the biggest Spielberg fans out there (and yes, that includes 1941, Always and Hook) but even we're relieved at this one. All we can say is "phew, that was close..."
After successfully bailing out of the dreaded Oldboy remake with Will Smith, a project that couldn't have been more doomed if it tried, Spielberg has now gone one further and ditched Harvey, a proposed remake of the 1950 James Stewart classic and his next scheduled movie as director.
DIrected by Henry Koster and adapted by Mary Chase from her Pultzer Prize-winning stage production, Harvey is one of old Hollywood's sacred cows, a movie that's so beloved by so many that the idea of remaking it reeks entirely of mental. It's like trying to reimagine Casablanca, or The Maltese Falcon - you can't improve on perfection, right?
Thankfully, it seems that Hollywood's A-list agreed. After failing to secure either Tom Hanks, who allegedly didn't want to go anywhere near James Stewart's revered performance, or Robert Downey Jr, who helped develop the screenplay but couldn't commit to the material, Spielberg has announced his intentions to step away from the project to co-backers Twentieth Century Fox.
All of this flip-flopping has left Spielberg's reputation intact and his slate clean, leading to speculation about future projects.
Depending on the availability of one Mr. Liam Neeson (currently toiling away on Joe Carnahan's big-budget A-Team reboot) our money's on the long-gestating Lincoln biopic which Spielberg's been trying to get off the ground for years. A return to historical drama would suit him well after the popcorn fluff of Crystal Skull and next year's mo-cap Tintin extravaganza (co-produced with Peter Jackson, no less, from an Edgar Wright/Joe Cornish screenplay.) And we all know what happened the last time Spielberg and Neeson worked together...OSCAR GOLD.
Of course, if the Lincoln film's still not ready to go, there's always an adaptation of Michael Crichton's final novel Pirate Latitudes in the works... A Spielberg pirate movie? Consider us 100% on board...
Variety has the "Harvey" story HERE.
Thank goodness for that!
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