Variety's Mike Fleming is reporting that
Tom Hanks has turned down the chance to re-do Jimmy Stewart in
Steven Spielberg's utterly useless remake of the 1950's comedy/drama
Harvey announced Monday, declining to even read
Jonathan Tropper script's for a remake because he is such a fan of Stewart and thought there was no topping the original. All it took was a brief conversation, Hanks never even gave it serious consideration. Good on him I say and please don't change your mind on this one if you get offered the silly money you got for turning up on the set of
Angels & Demons, because it certainly can't have been artistic integrity or a love for the character/situation that saw you reprise Robert Langdon. For
Harvey, attention will now turn to whether
Will Smith will do the same. He has no firm deals for anything to shoot next year and was said to be Spielberg's second choice to play Elwood P. Dowd, the man who has an invisible six foot rabbit as a friend. Spielberg and Smith have been plotting to make something together for about 18 months now with
The Trial of the Chicago 7 and a remake of
Oldboy previously muted. Can Will Smith honestly think get away with remaking Stewart, or is he as wise as Hanks? And then where do you go from there if he turns him down -
Harrison Ford, a teenage version with
Shia LaBeouf? A reader for
Hollywood Elsewhere gave a shout for Gregg Kinnear. But would a studio have the balls to make such a smart choice on a relatively unbankable actor? Anyway at the moment, it would seem to be Will Smith's call.