Honest Abe Vs. James Bond: Spielberg's 'Lincoln' Goes Head To Head With 'Skyfall' On November 9th

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by Oliver Lyttelton
July 18, 2012 12:25 PM
6 Comments

Most of the big awards contenders set out their stalls on the release calendar long ago: even Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" had picked out its December release date months before it actually went into production. But there was one exception, and it's potentially the heaviest hitter of them all: Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln." A biopic of the greatest president, by America's most beloved director, and starring the most acclaimed actor of his generation, Daniel Day-Lewis, in the title role, atop an all-star cast, the film's long been thought to be a major awards player, but hadn't found an exact release peg, with Spielberg only saying that it would come after the elections, to avoid accusations of influencing the vote.

And it turns out Spielberg wasn't kidding, as The Wrap has revealed that the film will hit theaters on November 9th, only three days after President Obama and Mitt Romney go head-to-head at the ballot box. And Abe has his own battle on his hands, as that's the same day that "Skyfall," the hotly-anticipated new James Bond film from director Sam Mendes, goes on release in the U.S.

It won't quite be a fair fight, it should be said: "Lincoln" will only be in limited release on the 9th (Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina" will also start to roll out the same day), before going wider the following week, November 16th, when "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part Two" and "Rust & Bone" will be arriving in theaters as well. It's a smart move, frankly -- last year's "War Horse" got buried under other prestige releases last Christmas, whereas this lets a film with far greater box office appeal play through Thanksgiving and beyond.

More than one Playlist staffer swore off Spielberg after last year's disappointing double-header of "War Horse" and "The Adventures of Tintin," but this writer's still excited for "Lincoln," personally -- it's got a script by Tony Kushner, who penned "Munich," Spielberg's best film of the last two decades (since "Schindler's List," anyway), and the cast is positively mouthwatering, with Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Earle Haley, Tommy Lee Jones, Jared Harris, James Spader, Lee Pace, David Strathairn, John Hawkes, Adam Driver, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bruce McGill, Tim Blake Nelson, Walton Goggins, Hal Holbrook, David Oyelowo and more all joining Day-Lewis. We'll find out if our faith is misplaced on November 9th; hopefully we'll see a trailer before too long.

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More: Lincoln, Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis

6 Comments

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Mass | July 18, 2012 1:32 PMReply

Greatest President? Really Playlist....? LOL, okay. Suuuuuuuureeee. Just so you're aware, a bloody vicious civil war was indeed started during Lincoln's Presidency, and Lincoln broke many Constitutional laws during our Civil War.

Anyway, pretty amped for this film, I don't think it's going to be the awards film everyone thinks it's going to be though.
cirkusfolk | July 18, 2012 1:28 PMReply

So is Lincoln the actual name of the movie now?
Fred | July 18, 2012 3:43 PM

Lincoln has always been the name of the film.
Paul McCartney | July 18, 2012 1:02 PMReply

Tintin was truly great, you need to European to appreciate it, Playlisters... Haven't seen War Horse yet, but I have a feeling the film was a victim of the cynicism of our times.
Mike | July 19, 2012 3:33 PM

I agree that Tintin was great, and a fun new twist on Spielberg's most lived in genre thanks to the stunning animation, but as an American I resent the European comment. You're dead on about War Horse though, it is probably too saccharine for adults, but it's a story for children and very well filmed technically.
Huffy | July 18, 2012 3:06 PM

What, can Europeans somehow better appreciate simplistic characters and lifeless action scenes with no consequence than those stupid Americans? I call bullshit and I'm a fan of the comics too. Not a bad movie but it was Spielberg going through the motions with little spark. And yes, those iconic characters that worked in comic form just didn't work on-screen.