Originally a play written by Mary Chase, Harvey is the story of a man who befriends a 6 1/2 foot tall invisible rabbit. The rabbit is a pooka named Harvey, a pooka being a benign but mischievous creature from Celtic mythology. The classic 1950 film starred Jimmy Stewart and was directed by Henry Koster.
Spielberg aims to begin production early next year. It is expected that he’ll look to Tom Hanks or Will Smith to star.
Other projects Spielberg is interested in include Lincoln written by Tony Kushner and set to star Liam Neeson and The 39 Clues written by Jeff Nathanson, however, neither project is ready for production yet.
Harvey is the first script by novelist Jonathan Tropper. He and Spielberg developed a relationship while working on Minority Report. Spielberg and his DreamWorks partner Stacey Snider “felt that while the source material is 65 years old, its themes are timely, uplifting and relatable.”
For a while there was a remake of Harvey in the works with John Travolta attached, but it eventually fell through the cracks.
While there is no denying that Spielberg is a fantastic director, the original Harvey is perfect film. It will be interesting to see what he can bring to the material.
Source: Variety
