Spielberg’s LINCOLN Finally Gets a Release Date
Seen a shoe-in to win several Oscars and a strong contender for Best Picture, Stenen Spielberg’s Lincoln biopic has finally been scheduled for a Nov. 9 limited release, expanding to more theaters on Nov. 16. The timing puts it after the Presidential election; Spielberg earlier voiced concerns that, if it was released earlier, it would “become political fodder,” presumably because Obama often compares himself to Lincoln. The film, which focuses on the last four months of Lincoln’s life, is based on portions of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (S&S, 2005), a book that experienced renewed popularity after the last election, when Obama repeatedly referred to it as the blueprint for selecting his cabinet.
So far, the only images from the film are some set photos. It stars and Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln and Sally Field as his wife, Mary and David Strathairn as Secretary of State William H. Seward, who, of his three former rivals for the presidency, became Lincoln’s closest friend.
Below, Doris Kearns Goodwin talks about why there can never be too many books about Lincoln.
Simon and Scuster is publishing tie-ins editions of both the book and the audio.
Spielberg’s next movie is also based on a book, Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson (RH/Doubleday, 2011). Deadline reports that Chris Hemsworth is in talks to star. It is scheduled for release on April 25, 2014.