The filmmaker will direct a remake of the 1950 movie "Harvey," which starred Jimmy Stewart as an eccentric who claims to be friends with an invisible 6-foot rabbit. It was based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1944 play by Mary Chase.Spielberg is finishing work on the first of a new series of movies based on the French comic strip "Tintin," which are being co-financed by Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures. He had been considering directing several other projects in development at DreamWorks, including one about Abraham Lincoln and an adaptation of the children's book series "The 39 Clues."
His surprise decision to go with Fox's "Harvey" once again illustrates how, for the entertainment industry's most powerful director, it's always difficult to predict what's next.
The movie will be co-financed by 20th Century Fox, where it has been in development for more than a year, and newly reformed DreamWorks Studios. It's expected to start production early next year. DreamWorks is said by a person familiar with the situation to be near completion of $325 million worth of debt financing, which will be matched by a $325 million investment from Indian media company Reliance Entertainment. DreamWorks also has a loan of up to $175 million from Walt Disney Pictures, with which it signed a distribution deal earlier this year. © Los Angeles Times 2009
