Lincoln (2012 Film) 1 Lincoln (2012 Film)
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Lincoln (2012 film) 1 Lincoln (2012 film) Lincoln Theatrical release poster Directed by Steven Spielberg Produced by Steven Spielberg Kathleen Kennedy Screenplay by Tony Kushner Based on Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin Starring Daniel Day-Lewis Sally Field David Strathairn Joseph Gordon-Levitt James Spader Hal Holbrook Tommy Lee Jones Music by John Williams Cinematography Janusz Kamiński Editing by Michael Kahn Studio(s) DreamWorks Studios Reliance Entertainment Participant Media Amblin Entertainment The Kennedy/Marshall Company Distributed by Touchstone Pictures (Domestic) 20th Century Fox (International) Release date(s) • October 8, 2012 (New York Film Festival) [1] • November 9, 2012 (United States) [2] Running time 150 minutes Country United States Language English [3] Budget $65 million [3] Box office $245,051,765 Lincoln is a 2012 American historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as United States President Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln.[4] The film is based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and covers the final four months of Lincoln's life, focusing on the President's efforts in January 1865 to have the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution passed by the United States House of Representatives. Filming began October 17, 2011,[5] and ended on December 19, 2011.[6] Lincoln premiered on October 8, 2012 at the New York Film Festival. The film was released on November 9, 2012, in select cities and widely released on Lincoln (2012 film) 2 November 16, 2012, in the United States by DreamWorks through Disney's Touchstone distribution label in the U.S.[7] The film was released on January 25, 2013, in the United Kingdom, with distribution in international territories, including the U.K., by 20th Century Fox.[8] Lincoln received widespread critical acclaim, with major praise directed to Day-Lewis' performance. In December 2012, the film was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director for Spielberg and winning Best Actor (Motion Picture – Drama) for Day-Lewis. At the 85th Academy Awards, the film won two Academy Awards for Best Production Design and Best Actor for Day-Lewis, out of twelve nominations.[9] The film was also a commercial success, having grossed more than $244 million at the box office.[3] Plot Lincoln recounts President Abraham Lincoln's efforts, during January 1865, to obtain passage for the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in the United States House of Representatives, which would formally abolish slavery in the country. Expecting the Civil War to end within a month but concerned that his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation may be discarded by the courts once the war has concluded and the 13th Amendment defeated by the returning slave states, Lincoln feels it is imperative to pass the amendment by the end of January, thus removing any possibility that slaves who have already been freed may be re-enslaved. The Radical Republicans fear the amendment will merely be defeated by some who wish to delay its passage; the support of the amendment by Republicans in the border states is not yet assured either, since they prioritize the issue of ending the war. Even if all of them are ultimately brought on board, the amendment will still require the support of several Democratic congressmen if it is to pass. With dozens of Democrats having just become lame ducks after losing their re-election campaigns in the fall of 1864, some of Lincoln's advisors believe that he should wait until the new Republican-heavy Congress is seated, presumably giving the amendment an easier road to passage. Lincoln, however, remains adamant about having the amendment in place and the issue of slavery settled before the war is concluded and the southern states readmitted into the Union. Lincoln's hopes for passage of the amendment rely upon the support of the Republican Party founder Francis Preston Blair, the only one whose influence can ensure that all members of the western and border state conservative Republican faction will back the amendment. With Union victory in the Civil War seeming highly likely and greatly anticipated, but not yet a fully accomplished fact, Blair is keen to end the hostilities as soon as possible. Therefore, in return for his support, Blair insists that Lincoln allow him to immediately engage the Confederate government in peace negotiations. This is a complication to Lincoln's amendment efforts since he knows that a significant portion of the support he has garnered for the amendment is from the Radical Republican faction for whom a negotiated peace that leaves slavery intact is anathema. If there seems to be a realistic possibility of ending the war even without guaranteeing the end of slavery, the needed support for the amendment from the more conservative wing (which does not favor abolition) will certainly fall away. Unable to proceed without Blair's support, however, Lincoln reluctantly authorizes Blair's mission. In the meantime, Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward work on the issue of securing the necessary Democratic votes for the amendment. Lincoln suggests that they concentrate on the lame duck Democrats, as they have already lost re-election and thus will feel free to vote as they please, rather than having to worry about how their vote will affect a future re-election campaign. Since those members also will soon be in need of employment and Lincoln will have many federal jobs to fill as he begins his second term, he sees this as a tool he can use to his advantage. Though Lincoln and Seward are unwilling to offer direct monetary bribes to the Democrats, they authorize agents to quietly go about contacting Democratic congressmen with offers of federal jobs in exchange for their voting in favor of the amendment. With Confederate envoys ready to meet with Lincoln, he instructs them to be kept out of Washington, as the amendment approaches a vote on the House floor. At the moment of truth, Thaddeus Stevens decides to moderate his Lincoln (2012 film) 3 statements about racial equality to help the amendment's chances of passage. A rumor circulates that there are Confederate representatives in Washington ready to discuss peace, prompting both Democrats and conservative Republicans to advocate postponing the vote on the amendment. Lincoln explicitly denies that such envoys are in or will be in the city — technically a truthful statement, since he had ordered them to be kept away — and the vote proceeds, narrowly passing by a margin of two votes. When Lincoln subsequently meets with the Confederates, he tells them that slavery cannot be restored as the North is united for ratification of the amendment, and that several of the southern states' reconstructed legislatures would also vote to ratify. After the amendment's passage, the film's narrative shifts forward two months, portraying Lincoln's visit to the battlefield at Petersburg, Virginia, where he exchanges a few words with General Grant. Shortly thereafter, Grant receives General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln is in a late-night meeting with his cabinet, discussing possible future measures to enfranchise blacks, when he is reminded that Mrs. Lincoln is waiting to take them to their evening at Ford's Theater. That night, while Tad Lincoln is viewing Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp at Grover's Theater a man announces that the President has been shot. The next morning his physician pronounces him dead. The film concludes with a flashback to Lincoln delivering his second inaugural address. Cast Lincoln household • Daniel Day-Lewis as President Abraham Lincoln[10] Producer Kathleen Kennedy described Day-Lewis's performance as "remarkable" after 75% of the filming had been completed, and said, "Every day you get the chills thinking that Lincoln is sitting there right in front of you." Kennedy described Day-Lewis's method acting immersion into the role: "He is very much deeply invested and immersed throughout the day when he's in character, but he's very accessible at the end of the day, once he can step outside of it and not feel that – I mean, he's given huge scenes with massive amounts of dialogue and he needs to stay in character, it's a very, very performance-driven movie."[11] His performance as Abraham Lincoln earned him his third Academy Award for Best Actor. • Sally Field as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln[12] Field was first announced to join the cast as early as September 2007, but officially joined the cast in April 2011.[13] Field said, "To have the opportunity to work with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis and to play one of the most complicated and colorful women in American history is simply as good as it gets."[14] Spielberg said, "she has always been my first choice to portray all the fragility and complexity that was Mary Todd Lincoln".[15] Her performance as Mary Todd Lincoln earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. • Gloria Reuben[16] as Elizabeth Keckley Keckley was a former slave who was dressmaker and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln • Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Todd Lincoln[17] Robert Lincoln had recently left his studies at Harvard Law School and was newly named a Union Army captain and personal attendant to General Grant. He returned to the White House on April 14, 1865 to visit his family. His father was assassinated that night.[18] • Gulliver McGrath as Tad Lincoln[19] • Stephen Henderson as Lincoln's valet William Slade[20] • Elizabeth Marvel as member of the public petitioning Lincoln, a Mrs.