You would think, if there was ever such a thing as a sure bet in this world, gambling men could safely put their money on Steven Spielberg making a biopic about the most beloved president of all-time. But it’s two steps forward and one step back for Lincoln as studios have been balking at the fifty million dollar price tag. And honestly, they have reason to beyond just the economic instability currently shaking this country’s foundation.
A biopic about Abraham Lincoln isn’t going to make five hundred million dollars. Mary Todd didn’t have a sweet rack and Abe just wasn’t as gunslingly crazy as Andrew Jackson. Plus, he’s arguably too famous. Remember Ali? It was a nice little movie which got a few nominations and made money for the studio, but when is the last time someone brought up Ali in casual conversation? It’s just not relevant when there are thousands of specials on the man’s life. Same thing with Gandhi. No offense to Ben Kingsley’s performance, but why would I ever choose that over the dozens of History Channel Specials? So, if the studio isn’t going to make a truckload and the film is unlikely to be classically remembered in even fifteen or twenty years, why is it worth a 50 million dollar gamble?
But let’s be honest here, even with all its woes and all its setbacks, Lincoln will still get made because Steven Spielberg is Steven Spielberg. His publicist hinted at just as much in an interview with Hollywood Insider, saying, “Lincoln is alive and well and continues in active development. Everyone is proceeding with great enthusiasm.” In case you don’t speak Hollywood, that means we have no real financing but we’re just rolling ahead with assumptions it’ll get worked out in the end. It will.
