Already turned down by Tom Hanks, and now seemingly
Will Smith (I think he would have signed up by now if he was going to do it), Hollywood's most famous director
Steven Spielberg may turn his attention to
Robert Downey Jr. to play the mild-manned Elwood P. Dowd, the possibly insane guy who has an invisible six foot rabbit as a friend, in the remake of classic 50's movie
Harvey. That's according to
Peter Bart in Variety. Good choice I say. Downey Jr is a smart fit for this... especially with the baggage that the actor would bring being a former substance abuser. With
James Stewart's legendary performance, you were always trying to wonder whether he was drunk, simply insane or both when he was trying to convince the world of what he could see and I think this would suit Downey Jr. His recent roles as Tony Stark (a well known alcoholic, even if it was only barely hinted at with that picture) and
Zodiac have lined him up well for this. And yes... if you saw
The Soloist - he can perfectly reduce his "
I'm Robert Downey Jr, watch me" scene-chewing style persona, and is very capable of an emotional, likeable but also world weary cynic role. If he turns this down... Spielberg's got huge problems because either
Jonathan Tropper's script ain't up to scratch, or he is being turned down on the principle of remaking Stewart alone. Both aren't easy problems to solve.