1. I thought Spielberg's film was to be based on Goodwin's "Team of Rivals"?

Posted at 10:32AM on May 12th 2008 by Bhist

2. I think Bhist is right. "Team of Rivals" is the basis of Kushner's screenplay.

SOOO glad this is finally coming together. From the moment I first heard about it, I wanted to see it. Maybe Neeson will finally get his overdue Best Actor oscar.

BTW, is there a line in Liam's contract that says he has to die in nearly every movie he's in?

Posted at 11:19AM on May 12th 2008 by elessar

3. I'm pretty sure that "The Uniter" was the original working title for Team of Rivals, so I think everyone is talking about the same book but for some reason Variety was using an outdated title...

Team of Rivals was a great book! I didn't realize, actually, that the biopic would be based on that source material. My anticipation for this just went up a notch.

Posted at 2:18PM on May 12th 2008 by Moo

4. "there has never been a proper movie made about such an iconic figure"

Please put "Young Mr. Lincoln" on the top of your Netflix queue. ;)

Posted at 12:41PM on May 12th 2008 by Luke G.

5. This is going to be so much better than "Young Mr. Lincoln", because almost every sentence in "Team of Rivals" is based on a verifiable historical document. Every word, really. "Young Mr. Lincoln" was basically Henry Fonda in a Lincoln suit. He didn't really look like Henry Fonda, but he sure sounded and acted like him. Hopefully, Liam Neeson will do a better job of making it seem like we are really watching Mr. Lincoln. I don't want to constantly be thinking about an actor, especially a non-American one, while I'm trying to watch a story of truly the best president (and possibly best public figure outside of Jesus Christ) in world history.

When I was reading Team of Rivals, I could not put it down. It's more than seven hundred pages and I think I read it in four or five days. It is the best biography of the best President. I can't wait for this film.

Posted at 3:08PM on May 12th 2008 by Erik A

6. I would have to say that "glory" could be considered a movie that truly dug into the civil war in a way that could attract and educate an audience. I could be misinterpreting what you were saying though. Did you mean that no movie has has delved into Lincolns involvement in the civil war?

Posted at 4:03AM on May 14th 2008 by Owen

7. "Glory" totally slipped my mind -- I completely agree with you. I should stop writing at 5am because I am inevitably forgetting the most obvious of movies.

What I was struggling so hard to say was that the Civil War really founders when it comes to films. There's exceptions like "Glory," but generally it is a historical period relegated to cheesy television minis, outdated epics, or movies lost within battle recreations like "Gods and Generals." That's really quite sad, as it is incredibly interesting and vital to American history, yet it gets snubbed quite often, or just used as a backdrop to another story.

And within that yes, I think Lincoln's involvement has been sorely overlooked. There are many fascinating stories within the Civil War, and his is one of them. It is quite surprising that it has never been done, it seems so obvious.

Then again, it's not like Hollywood has made a movie about George Washington either. Ex-presidents are just off limits, I guess, unless they are Kennedy or George W.

Posted at 4:49AM on May 14th 2008 by Elisabeth

8. Glory was a really good film but very inaccurate about a lot
of things. Having wrote that,I never change the channel when it comes on. In any event,I am knid of mad that Steven Spielburg isn't "jumping" at the chance to start on this film so it could be ready to go along with President Lincoln's Bicenntenial. This will certanly be one of his top ten films he ever makes.Dare I say it may surpass even Saving Private Ryan.

Posted at 5:00AM on May 20th 2008 by Chris

9. I am glad he is taking his time and researching well!! Good research will make the difference along with good screen writing and acting. I can hardly wait to see it!!!

Posted at 2:21PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Lee Garrett