Academy Award winner, Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will be Blood) has signed up to star as U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln in a new DreamWorks Studios feature which is to be directed by fellow Oscar winner Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan).
Day Lewis will play Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States in the feature which will be entitled ‘Lincoln’. Liam Neeson had reportedly been in talks to take on the iconic role but Spielberg and Dreamworks Studio CEO and co-chairman, Stacey Snider announced Daniel Day Lewis’ involvement on Friday, November 19th.
Steven Spielberg commented on Daniel’s involvement, saying: “Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been counted as one of the greatest of actors, were he from the silent era, the golden age of film or even some time in cinema's distant future. I am grateful and inspired that our paths will finally cross with ‘Lincoln.” Whilst Stacey Snider praised the actor’s career path thus far: "Throughout his career, he has been exceptionally selective in his choice of material which makes us feel even more fortunate that he has chosen to join with us for ‘Lincoln."
The feature is expected to start shooting next autumn 2011. The film’s plot is based on the best-selling book, ‘Team of Rivals’, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay of which has been adapted by Pulitzer winner and former Oscar nominee, Tony Kushner (Munich). It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy (Schindler’s List) and Steven Spielberg. It is anticipated that the film will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War.
‘Lincoln’ is expected to receive its theatrical release in late 2012 through Disney’s Touchstone distribution label.
