Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Harvey

12/4/09 - Variety reported that Steven Spielberg has withdrawn from Harvey. He spent the past half year developing the film.  Spielberg delivered the news this week to 20th Century Fox, which had earmarked soundstages on the lot for an early 2010 production start. Fox had agreed to have DreamWorks finance 50% of production through its new funding relationship with Reliance, and either distribute domestically or internationally through its arrangement with Disney.  Thefilm, an adaptation of Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a man who befriends a six and a half foot tall invisible rabbit, has been a challenge to pull together since Spielberg committed last August. One of the biggest challenges has been setting a star to play Elwood P. Dowd, the character played by James Stewart in the 1950 film.  Spielberg’s first choice was Tom Hanks, but the actor who is often regarded as a modern day Stewart wanted no part of taking over a role played by the iconic star. Spielberg and Fox spent several months courting Robert Downey Jr. While the star didn’t commit, he made suggestions on rewrites of the Jonathan Tropper script. He and Spielberg never found themselves in creative sync on the script, and the director finally called the whole thing off.

10/2/09 - LATimes.com reports a rumor that Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr. will star in Steven Spielberg's remake of Harvey.

8/3/09 - DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox announced on Sunday that Spielberg will direct a contemporary adaptation of Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Harvey, about a dotty man and his friend, a 6-foot invisible rabbit, as his next movie.  Harvey is the first screenplay by the best-selling novelist Jonathan Tropper.  Harvey is the story of an amiable eccentric, Elwood P. Dowd, and his friendship with a 6-and-a-half-feet tall invisible rabbit and how this affects every member of his family and his community.

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