Steven Spielberg has taken a turn to adapt the Mary Chase Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Harvey”  as his next film to direct. I must admit I am surprised that Spielberg has committed to a remake classic like Harvey.  I can’t see how a movie like Harvey could be done any better.

The story follows an amiable eccentric named Elwood P. Dowd and his friendship with a six and one-half foot tall invisible rabbit called a pooka (a benign but mischievous creature from Celtic mythology who is especially fond of social outcasts like Elwood) and how it affects every member of his family and community. The popular play won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 and then turned into the 1950 Universal film that starred Jimmy Stewart and Josephine Hull. Stewart played him brilliantly, and I can’t see another actor doing as good as a job as Stewart.

But if it must be done, here is my list of the actors who might play Harvey: Harrison Ford, Steve Martin, Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks.

There is no word when production will start.  Spielberg is waiting for a script from bestselling novelist Jonathan Tropper. Harvey is Tropper’s first screenplay.

(Source)

Spielberg is on the set of  The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn with fellow actors Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis. You can see the whole picture by going to Empire.  When the Empire Magazine hits the newsstands you can read the article about what’s happening with Spielberg’s new motion-capture spectacular movie.

The picture to the right shows Spielberg talking with Tintin (Bell) and Captain Haddock (Serkis). The picture gets bigger at Empire, so you can see the actors with their CGI outfits and dots on their faces. It’s a pretty cool shot.

DreamWorks and Disney inked a deal this last weekend that sets up DreamWorks and Disney for a great future in movie making.  Both companies win from this deal. DreamWorks gets the loan they need to finalize their deal with Reliance and Disney adds six more films to their 2010 release schedule, bringing the total to 20 films.  

DreamWorks remains intact and Disney has yet another blockbuster director/producer Steven Spielberg on their roster. For more details about the deal go to Variety.com.

DreamWorks and Clint Eastwood are in talks about working together on the supernatural thriller Hereafter.

The talks are led by principals Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider. According to Variety, DreamWorks has been encouraging Eastwood to direct the project for months.  

Based on the spec script penned by Frost/Nixon scribe Peter Morgan, the story line is being hush-hush, but described similar to The Sixth Sense.

Eastwood and Spielberg have worked together in the past on Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima.

Just how did the “Indy” visual effects team make the effects look so real?  What exactly did they do to create the world of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”?

The Hollywood Reporter’s article Indiana Jones and the Digital FX by Carolyn Giardina answers those questions and more in her short piece about the sophisticated techniques Industrial Light & Magic applied to the picture.

 

 

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” continues mining the box office with an estimated $126 million since its opening on Thursday.

The total brought in so far includes an estimated $101 million in Friday-Sunday box office revenue, which followed a first-day Thursday total of $25 million. Monday looks like another $25 million. thus giving first Indy sequel in 19 years a five-day total of $151 million.

 

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” excavated $31 million on its second day at the box office generating a two-day gross of $56 million.

As mentioned here on Friday, “Indy” opened Thursday to $25 million, giving a rise to an opening day record for both director Steven Spielberg and headliner Harrison Ford according to Rentrak Theatrical via Variety.

Disney’s “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” placed second on Friday after registering a 66% wane from its opening day a week ago. “Caspian” collected $6.6 million off 3,929 raising its eight-day total to $74.6 million.

It’s a monumental thing to do, reviving a long gone and successful franchise. And while if anyone could do it, it was Spielberg, the initial opinion of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was wary. What do you expect when the producer announces that people should have low expectations for the film? Indeed, when the first “amateur” review came out blasting the film, things weren’t looking good. And yet, the film received a standing ovation at Cannes. There is without doubt a split over the film, but is it nostalgia that is making people love it more than they should, or hate it as if it’s blasphemy.

Well, Indiana Jones 4 is by no means an awful film. There are some exciting action sequences (especially the car chase through Indy’s campus), and a few visual gags. Harrison Ford starts off a little uncomfortable but settles back into the role nicely. But, to those of you who regard the other films as some of the best ever made (and they are), there’s going to be some level of disappointment. Disregarding the plot, which may put some people off, there’s some scripting issues that really stand out, plus an excessive use of CGI, that will certainly spoil the experience for die-hard fans. If you’re interested in a more in-depth analysis (involving a plot spoiler or two), read on. Read the rest of this entry »

 

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” started the weekend on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. Thursday and brought in $25 million in its first day of release.

The return of the swashbuckling, wisecracking archaeologist who hates snakes will open up to more than 12,000 screens internationally, possibly hitting 16,000 theaters including the US.

According to Hollywood Reporter, Spielberg’s sequel is unlikely to beat the record five-day opening of buddy and “Indy” creator/executive producer George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” which bowed on Memorial Day weekend in 2005 to $173 million, according to Nielsen EDI. (”Sith” also holds the record for the biggest Thursday opening, with $50 million on 600 fewer screens than “Indy.”)