[Advanced] Lincoln, the Movie (1)

Spielberg and Day-Lewis bring Abraham Lincoln to life

There was a dark time when Steven Spielberg's dream of making the historical epic Lincoln had all but dissolved. In 2003, Daniel Day-Lewis turned down his offer to play the 16th president, so in Spielberg's mind, the project was dead.

Then came a little life-breathing magic from a mutual friend.

"Leo DiCaprio was at my house for dinner one night," Spielberg says. "It was just myself, my wife (Kate Capshaw) and Leo. And he says, 'Hey, what's going on with your Lincoln project? I told him the sad story. I had one shot at Daniel and he had declined. And that was that. Leo just listened. And then the next morning he called me at my office. He said, here's Daniel's cellphone number, he's expecting your call."

"Leo has never told me to this day what he said to Daniel," says Spielberg, flashing a satisfied smile. "But that began this wonderful journey."

Three years later, this journey enters its most critical phase with Lincoln's initial theatrical release today. By all accounts, it's been a road well-traveled with Spielberg's successful landing of the prized actor to play the iconic president.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, whose 2005 best seller Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln was the historical genesis for the movie, says seeing Day-Lewis' performance is nothing short of "miraculous."

"I felt like I was watching Lincoln," she says. "Here I was imagining him for decades. And suddenly he comes to life."

For Spielberg, it's a a departure from conventional spectacle-style filming. This time he focuses not on the sweeping Civil War battles, but on the feverish activity around the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which outlawed slavery in the final days of the Civil War. "It's very different," says Spielberg. "All of my drama is in the democratic process. But it's pretty suspenseful. Some it is rather amusing."

For Spielberg, it's a a departure from conventional spectacle-style filming. This time he focuses not on the sweeping Civil War battles, but on the feverish activity around the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which outlawed slavery in the final days of the Civil War.

"It's very different," says Spielberg. "All of my drama is in the democratic process.

Notes and Vocabulary
epic n.
a book, poem, or film that tells a long story about brave actions and exciting events

feverish adj.
involving intense emotion or activity : feeling or showing great or extreme excitement

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