"Lincoln" is a huge production and a paradox. It seems that what is shown in the film is just a dream, but this is real history.
-- "Entertainment Weekly"
When the film ends, you realize that you know very little about Lincoln. But what you've learned makes you think that's what you and Lincoln went through together.
——"New York Magazine" This
film does not use the way to tell the great man and his deeds, Spielberg put the leader and the audience on a down-to-earth level.
- "Washington Post"
Although historians will have a lot of objections, Daniel Day-Lewis has definitely shaped what is considered the most influential and symbolic figure in the United States.
——The
film "Variety Magazine" is informative, interesting and very orthodox, and it is a masterpiece that expresses Lincoln's life and spirit.
-- "The Hollywood Reporter"
behind-the-scenes production of the
film "Lincoln" by "Munich Massacre" screenwriter Tony Kushner wrote the script. In addition to Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, two-time Oscar winner Sally Field as Lincoln's wife, David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James · Spade and other powerful actors will also join. Spielberg said that "Lincoln" is not a war film, but the plot involves the American Civil War, there will be several war scenes, and the crew has obtained permission to go to Virginia and other locations where important battles took place.
Spielberg's 12 Years of Preparation
It was Spielberg's long-cherished wish to make a film about the great Lincoln. However, he has not found a good entry point and angle, which has also delayed the shooting of his magnificent film. In 2000, Spielberg-level began collecting material for the film. Later, he met Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Jeans Goodwin and decided to use her historical work Rival Team: Political Genius Lincoln as a source for his film adaptation. Because of the huge length of this work, it is very unrealistic to pull it all into the movie, so the adaptation is very important. In order to bring the essence of the work and that kind of grasp of the characters into the script, screenwriter Tony Kushner spent six years on it. Kushner said: "Lincoln's great achievements no longer need to be told, so in this film, we show the relationship between Lincoln and the people around him, show Lincoln's work attitude and his kind of delicacy The ability to do things. I mean Lincoln's ability to govern and move the country forward in that very weird political environment, in that kind of situation where you have to win wars and have new institutions. I think that's It's very admirable and admirable."
And in Spielberg's eyes, the film is a film about Lincoln and his work. Spielberg said: "Lincoln at work, not the exploits of a Lincoln who has been written down by history - that's the point of this movie. I even think Lincoln is the greatest working president of all time. Although there is a lot of controversy about this statement, Lincoln's story is something I can't stop telling." A few months before shooting, Spielberg built a White House Oval Office on the set. Everything inside is built according to the sources in the literature. He used the same wallpaper as Lincoln and placed the same books as Lincoln. What he wants is to be able to effectively restore the appearance of historical figures. Spielberg said: "I think the content of this external environment is very important, it is the starting point for shaping a character, and it is also a way to create authenticity. Having actors perform in such an environment can easily introduce a kind of Embrace it and get people to say something about it."
Daniel Day-Lewis' new challenge
Although there are a large number of acting actors to help out, the most interesting thing in the entire cast is Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays Lincoln. For this British actor, the most difficult thing about playing Lincoln, the president of the United States, lies in two things, the first is to change his British accent, and the second is to find a suitable voice for the character-because the voice is wrong , No matter how good the play is, it can't come out.
For the former, Daniel Day-Lewis has experience, as he has played American characters with an American accent on screen more than once. For the latter, for Lewis, it is a challenge. Lewis said: "A lot of people think that Lincoln was the king of a country, and he had a good eloquence and made a lot of famous speeches, so he had to have a big and loud voice, but it's actually the opposite. According to many of our existing Sources, historians' research, and combined with Lincoln's experience, no one is sure what Lincoln's voice was like, which brings some element of 'luck' to my performance, as I can 'create as needed' 'Lincoln's voice. In general, I think Lincoln's voice should be a little high, and the resonance part is in the head, because that allows him to be heard by all kinds of people during the speech, and also allows him to To maintain two or even three hours of speech. Given this consideration, I added a slightly tinier, higher-pitched voice to Lincoln, which I think is reasonable."
Although the film involves the north and south of the United States The plot of the war, but Spielberg didn't shoot that as a major part of the film, and the scenes involving the war, were very limited in the film. Spielberg said: "This is a film about Lincoln's transformation of mind, a film about his work. If you were to talk about the Civil War, it would be very troublesome to redefine a thread. So, during the shooting cycle, We simply compress the fighting scenes to a minimum. Lewis' performance should be said to be very successful, because he did carefully figure out the role of Lincoln, from his habitual movements, costumes and voice characteristics, he did it all Perfect preparation. I think it's the greatest gift he ever gave me, and it's the key to the success of our film."
Daniel Day-Lewis plays Lincoln in this film, and he played Bill the Butcher in "Gangs of New York" and is a famous anti-Lincoln figure.
Lincoln's Bixby Letter appeared in Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan." The Gettysburg Address also appeared in his "Minority Report".
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin met Spielberg once. At that meeting, Spielberg said he would make a film about Lincoln, while Goodwin said he had just finished a historical work about Lincoln, Team of the Political Genius. Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln). Spielberg didn't wait for the work to be published before asking Goodwin for a copy. After watching it, he immediately decided to use this work as the source of his own film adaptation.
· Before Tony Kushner, John Logan and Paul Weber had written an initial screenplay for the film. According to reports, Spielberg was so impressed with the script of "Munich" written by Tony Kushner that he hired him on the set.
· Liam Neeson was once the candidate to play Lincoln, but he chose to withdraw. His reasoning was that after waiting too many years for the film, he was no longer old enough to play Lincoln. In its place was Daniel Day-Lewis. Daniel Day-Lewis is five years younger than Neeson, and closer in age to Lincoln, who was 56 in 1865.
There have been rumors that Harrison Ford will play Vice President Andrew Johnson in this movie. However, after the film dragged on for so many years, the rumors were no longer credible.
· Hal Holbrook">Hal Holbrook plays Peterson Blair in the film. He has played Lincoln in two TV miniseries and won an Emmy.
· On filming , the director created an actor contact book. On this sheet, Daniel Day-Lewis was not named, it was written as Abraham Lincoln.
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