Daniel Day-Lewis to Star in Steven Spielberg’s LINCOLN; Filming Set to Begin in Fall 2011 for 4th-Quarter 2012 Release
by Matt Goldberg Posted: November 19th, 2010
Earlier this year, Liam Neeson dropped out of the title role in Steven Spielberg’s long-in-development Abraham Lincoln biopic, Lincoln. DreamWorks has now issued a press release saying that Daniel Day-Lewis will play the role of our 16th President. According to the press release, the film is still based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s excellent book Team of Rivals with a script by award-winning writer Tony Kushner.
The press release also notes that “Filming is expected to begin in the fall of 2011 for release in the fourth quarter of 2012 through Disney’s Touchstone distribution label.” That’s curious since, as we reported earlier, Spielberg was planning to direct an adaptation of Robopocalypse in January 2012. Presumably, that project has now been pushed back. Hit the jump to check out the press release.
Here’s the press release:ACADEMY AWARD WINNER DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
TO STAR AS LINCOLN FOR DREAMWORKS STUDIOS
Los Angeles, CA (November 19, 2010) – Two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis will star as the 16th President of the United States in DreamWorks Studios’ Lincoln to be directed by Steven Spielberg. The announcement was made today by Spielberg and Stacey Snider, Co-Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios.
“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,” said Steven Spielberg. “Throughout his career, he has been exceptionally selective in his choice of material,” added Stacey Snider, “which makes us feel even more fortunate that he has chosen to join with us for Lincoln.”
Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay has been written by the Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and Academy Award nominated writer Tony Kushner. It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy 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.
Doris Kearns Goodwin won her Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time, the story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the home front in World War II. Kushner’s prize was for his play Angels in America, which later became an Emmy Award-winning television special. He had previously worked with Spielberg on Munich for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the Adapted Screenplay category.
Filming is expected to begin in the fall of 2011 for release in the fourth quarter of 2012 through Disney’s Touchstone distribution label.
Michael Caine Says THE DARK KNIGHT RISES to Shoot from May to November
by Matt Goldberg Posted: November 19th, 2010
If you’re hard up for The Dark Knight Rises news, we have a quick story for you. In a recent interview with Empire, Michael Caine says that he expects to have the script for the movie in January and that shooting will last from May to November. Said Caine,“Emma [Thomas], the producer, said we’d get the script in January. Christopher said: ‘Script in January, shoot in May, finish in November.’”The film is slated to be released on July 20, 2012. Hit the jump for a brief refresher on The Dark Knight Rises.
Here’s a brief recap of what we know and what’s been rumored.
- Tom Hardy has been cast in an unspecified role, although it’s been rumored that he’s playing the villainous Dr. Hugo Strange.
- The film is casting two new female leads: one love interest and one villain.
- The film won’t be in 3D and The Riddler isn’t the villain.
- Nolan might be shooting the entirety of the film in IMAX.
- http://www.collider.com/2010/11/19/the-dark-knight-rises-michael-caine-christopher-nolan/
Leonardo DiCaprio to Produce and Star in JFK Assassination Pic, LEGACY OF SECRECY
by Matt Goldberg Posted:November 19th, 2010
Leonardo DiCaprio is set to produce and star in an adaptation Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann’s Legacy of Secrecy. Per Variety, “The book — whose full title is Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination — asserts that Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello confessed to FBI informant Jack Van Laningham (expected to be played by DiCaprio) to having ordered JFK’s assassination. As part of a dangerous and long-secret undercover operation, the FBI positioned Van Laningham to become confidant to Marcello, who ruled organized crime in Louisiana and most of Texas for decades.” While the JFK assassination sounds like a catalyst for the plot, the plot sounds more like Donnie Brasco than JFK.
Hit the jump for more on Legacy of Secrecy as well as a refresher on DiCaprio’s other projects.
Warner Bros. is looking at a possible 2013 release for the picture, which would coincide with the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination. As part of his deal, Waldron “is retaining documentary film and TV rights to the book, which also says the Mafia played a role in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and in Watergate.” Boy, conspiracy theories sure are fun (just watch last night’s Community).
As for DiCaprio, he’s got plenty else on his plate including an adaptation of The Devil in the White City, Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar Hoover biopic, Ridley Scott’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Oliver Stone’s Travis McGee, and Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation The Great Gatsby. If Warner Bros. isn’t looking to get Legacy of Secrecy out until 2013, then the project is probably on the backburner of DiCaprio’s busy schedule.
http://www.collider.com/2010/11/19/leonardo-dicaprio-legacy-of-secrecy-jfk-assassination/
