With The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and War Horse coming out at the end of the year, Steven Spielberg is back in full force since 2008’s disappointing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He is set to begin production on Lincoln this fall for a late 2012 release, and we have a new cast member to announce.
Dreamworks just sent over this press release stating Sally Field will star as Mary Todd Lincoln opposite Daniel Day-Lewis, who joined the project last year after Liam Neeson dropped out. Tony Kushner (Munich) has written on the script that “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.” Field will next be seen in Marc Webb‘s The Amazing Spider-Man as May Parker. Check out the full press release below.
ACADEMY AWARD WINNER SALLY FIELD TO STAR AS MARY TODD LINCOLN FOR DREAMWORKS STUDIOS
Los Angeles, CA (April 13, 2011) – Two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field will star as Mary Todd Lincoln, wife to 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.
Sally Field joins Daniel Day-Lewis, who has been cast to play Abraham Lincoln in the Spielberg film.
“I’m excited to be working with Sally for the first time,” said Steven Spielberg. “I’ve admired her films and she has always been my first choice to portray all the fragility and complexity that was Mary Todd Lincoln.”
“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,” said Sally Field.
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.
Sally Field is a two-time Academy Award winner as Best Actress in a Leading Role for her roles in “Places in the Heart” and “”Norma Rae.” Field won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special for her role in “Sybil.” She won her second Emmy for her guest starring role on the long-running drama, “E.R.” Her other film credits include “Steel Magnolias,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” and “Forrest Gump.” Field currently stars in the ABC series “Brothers & Sisters” for which she won an Emmy in 2007.
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.
About DreamWorks Studios
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Upcoming releases include “Cowboys & Aliens,” “The Help,” “Fright Night,” “Real Steel,” and “War Horse.”
What do you think about this casting? Are you looking forward to Spielberg’s Lincoln?