Movies News
Liam Neeson in Talk to Play Abraham Lincoln
By James Wray
Jan 13, 2005, 11:25 GMT

Steven Spielberg is in negotiations with Liam Neeson to play president Abraham Lincoln as he steers the North to victory in the Civil War. Production on the long gestating project is due to start next January. The most recent screenwriter on the script is Paul Webb.

Variety says that Spielberg won't complete principal photography on War of the Worlds until late March. Post-production will be rigorous, as he and star Tom Cruise gear for a June 29 release.

The DreamWorks movie will be based on a bio being written by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. That book will be published October 1, under the title "The Uniter: The Genius of Abraham Lincoln."

Neeson can next be seen in "Kingdom of Heaven," where he plays Godfrey of Ibelin. You can read more about that movie in our database.