harvey Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Now that we've all had enough time to get used to the idea that Spielberg is about to remake one of the most respected films in history, maybe it will help a little to know that it might star Robert Downey Jr. According to the LA Times' Hero Complex blog, the announcement is imminent that Downey will be starring in Spielberg's update of the classic film, which marks a change from some of the other names that had been attached, including the obvious heir apparent to Jimmy Stewart (and long time Spielberg cohort) Tom Hanks and Will Smith.

Harvey was the story of a gentle soul by the name of Elwood P. Dowd, and his best friend, who happens to be an invisible six-foot rabbit named Harvey. The original play won the Pulitzer Prize, but most of us probably remember the 1950 film starring Jimmy Stewart as Dowd. News of the remake hit back in August, and according to Complex, during a set visit to Iron Man 2, "the actor spoke with affection and awe about the late Stewart's nuanced timing and camera sense."

Next stop for the world's greatest director: another remake. Steven Spielberg may or may not be the world's "greatest" director, but he is arguably the most influential filmmaker of his generation, so when he commits to make a movie, attention must be paid. Spielberg's next film will not be Matt Helm or any of the other ones that Elisabeth listed for us just a couple of days ago. No it will be ... Harvey, according to Variety. Yes, the one about the invisible rabbit.

The article describes the project as an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1944 play by Mary Chase, but we all know the story better from the 1950 film starring James Stewart and his constant companion, a very tall rabbit named Harvey that no one else can see. Casting and pre-production will begin immediately, and filming is expected to begin in early 2010. Harvey will be a co-production between 20th Century and Dreamworks, with 50% financing provided by Reliance, the new financial backer of Dreamworks. With that kind of schedule, it sounds like the film may be aiming for theaters in Christmas 2010, though no release date has been announced.

The original film was charming almost despite itself, in large measure due to James Stewart's amiable personality and a heartwarming message well-suited for the time. Novelist Jonathan Tropper (This is Where I Leave You) has written the new adaptation. My concern for the project is Spielberg's past tendency to drip too much sentiment on certain sequences (i.e. the ending of War of the Worlds), to the detriment of the material. The other concern: who is this generation's James Stewart? What do you think of the project, and who do you think could play the part?

• Evelyn Keyes (1916-2008) - Actress - Played Scarlett O'Hara's little sister, Suellen, in Gone With the Wind. She also co-starred in The Seven Year Itch, The Jolson Story, in which she also sings, Mrs. Mike, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Union Pacific, Before I Hang, A Thousand and One Nights, The Prowler, Johnny O'Clock, Enchantment and A Return to Salem's Lot and made a cameo appearance in the 1956 version of Around the World in Eighty Days, produced by her then-boyfriend Michael Todd. Her husbands included Artie Shaw, John Huston and Charles Vidor, who directed her in The Desperadoes, The Lady in Question and Ladies in Retirement. She died of uterine cancer July 4, in Montecito, California. (Variety)

• Henry Beckman (1921-2008) - Actor - Appears in The Brood, Niagara, The Wrong Man, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Marnie, Sweet Charity, Silver Streak, I Love You to Death, Death Hunt and Kiss Me, Stupid. He died June 17 in Barcelona. (Variety)
• James "Jimbo" Breen (1955-2008) - Greensman, Carpenter, Actor - Worked on M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable and The Village, appears in Lady in the Water and can be heard in The Happening. He also worked on Beloved, In Her Shoes, Two Bits and Annapolis. He died of cancer July 3, in Pennsylvania. (Philly.com)

Some people like parkas, but others like pookas -- spirits from Celtic mythology who show up in a very large animal form. In 1950, the world got Harvey, the cinematic adaptation of Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize-winning play -- a film that won co-star Josephine Hull an Oscar. James Stewart starred as Elwood P. Dowd, a strange, but thoughtful man whose best friend is a 6-foot, three and one-half inch tall pooka rabbit named Harvey.

Oh, Harvey. When Easter comes, some people think of the bwok-ing Cadbury bunny, others think of fluffy little lops, but I think of the super-tall, white friend of Elwood's. There's all sorts of strange premises these days, but modern times definitely don't have a complete hold on strange stories -- like a sweet-natured man who might get committed for his seemingly imaginary friend. And, there's not many men who could pull off a friendship with a rabbit, without having it be animated. Oh, Jimmy Stewart.

• Doogal - A saccharine, cheap-looking CGI import from Britain about a lazy, cowardly, sugar-addicted pooch (with a mullet cut) who must find a way to save the world from an icy death is not the follow-up to Hoodwinked that Disney escapees Bob and Harvey Weinstein hoped for...or we asked for. At least they've got the swell Over The Hedge in theaters this week. Formerly titled The Magic Roundabout and re-dubbed (Doogal, that is. Not Over The Hedge.)

• Duma - With most arthouse films rated "R", it is always a pleasure when one comes along that culture mavens can take their kids to, and The Black Stallion director Carroll Ballard's latest nature trek -- a visually lovely adventure -- certainly does fit that bill. It is about a 12-year-old South African boy (Alexander Michaletos) who must return his pet cheetah to the wild, encountering and overcoming a number of obstacles along the way, the biggest one being our initial reluctance to accept its premise.