Lincoln, le film, notes de la production

Connor, Darby

Description

Notes de la production du film Lincoln: Biographie du 16ème président des Etats Unis, en pleine guerre de sécession, pendant ses derniers mois de présidence.

Sujets

• Cinémas
• LINCOLN
• Spielberg
• Film biographique
• Drame
• Abraham lincoln
• Dreamwork

Informations

• Publié par: Fil_Divertissement
• Publié le: 09 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 86
• Langue: English

Extrait

“Ifslaveryisnotwrong,nothingiswrong.”
—AbrahamLincoln,inaletterdatedApril4,1864


nthefinalfourmonthsofAbrahamLincoln’slifeandpresidency,thefullmeasure
oftheman—hispassionandhishumanity—cametobearonhisdefiningbattle:toI plotaforwardpathforashatterednation,againstoverwhelmingoddsandextreme
publicandpersonalpressure.

StevenSpielberg’s“Lincoln”providesanintimateimmersionintotheAmericanleader’s
mostperilousandrevealingmoments,atatimewhenthedarkshadowofslaverylifts
andacountrytornbywarmustbemadewhole.

ArichhumandramaplaysoutasLincolndoublesdowntoendthedevastatingCivilWar
thAmendment,permanentlynotmerelybyendingthewarbutbyfightingtopassthe13
abolishingslavery.Itwillbeanactoftruenationaldaring.Hewillhavetocalluponall
theskill,courageandmoralfortitudeforwhichhe’ll
becomelegend.Hewillgrapplewiththeimpactofhis
actionsontheworldandonthoseheloves.Butwhat
liesinthebalanceiswhatalwaysmatteredmostto
Lincoln:tocompeltheAmericanpeople,andthosein
hisgovernmentofoppositepersuasions,toaltercourse
andaimhigher,towardagreatergoodforallmankind.

BroughttolifeviaalayeredscreenplaybyPulitzerPrize
winner Tony Kushner, Spielberg’s starkly human
storytellingandtheperformanceofDanielDay-Lewis
leadinganaccomplishedcast,thefilminvitesaudiences
directly into the heart and soul of Lincoln’s final
achievements.TheLincolnwhoemergesisamanof
rawparadoxes:funnyandsolemn,aplayfulstoryteller
andfiercepowerbroker,ashrewdcommanderanda
vulnerablefather.Butinhisnation’sdarkesthour,whenthetimesdemandthevery
bestofpeople,hereachesfromwithinhimselfforsomethingpowerfulandeverlasting.

DreamWorksPicturesandTwentiethCenturyFoxpresentinassociationwithParticipant
Media“Lincoln,”afilmdirectedbyStevenSpielbergfromascreenplaywrittenbyTony
Kushner,basedinpartonthebook“TeamofRivals:ThePoliticalGeniusofLincoln”byDorisKearnsGoodwin.Thefilm’scastisheadedbyDanielDay-Lewis,SallyField,David
Strathairn,JosephGordon-Levitt,JamesSpader,HalHolbrookandTommyLeeJones.
TheproducersareSpielbergandKathleenKennedyandtheexecutiveproducersare
DanielLupi,JeffSkollandJonathanKing.

Spielbergjoinswithhislong-trustedteambehindthecamera:directorofphotography
JanuszKaminski,productiondesignerRickCarter,costumedesignerJoannaJohnston,
editorMichaelKahnandcomposerJohnWilliams—whosetalentscombinetomakethe
war-torn world that Lincoln irrevocably changed in 1865 a visceral, contemporary
experience.


Finding Lincoln

AbrahamLincolnhaslongexistedontherazor’sedgebetweenmythandflesh-and-
bloodman.

Yet, now more than ever, Lincoln occupies the public
imagination. Perhaps it is because his very silhouette has
morphedintoaglobalsymbolofthehopethatpowercanbe
wieldedjudiciously.PerhapsitisbecausehewastheonlyU.S.
presidenttostaredowntherealpossibilitythatthegrand
experimentofanAmericanUnionmightbeforeverabolished.
Or perhaps it is because his very life reveals that flawed,
complicatedhumanbeingscanaccomplishtheincredible,and
inspireeventhoseensnaredinwaranddarklegaciestoswitch
directionsandcometogether.

The idea of Lincoln, and the rarely seen but captivatingly
humansideofLincoln,hashauntedfilmmakerStevenSpielbergsincechildhood.Since
then, he has been reading about Lincoln, thinking about Lincoln and becoming
increasinglycertainthatLincoln’sintenselyeventfullifeisrifewithstoriesthatarenot
onlyinherentlycinematicbutarealsoincreasinglyrelevanttoourtimes.

“I’vealwaysbeeninterestedintellingastoryaboutLincoln.He’soneofthemost
compellingfiguresinallofhistoryandinmylife,”saysSpielberg.“Icanrememberbeing
fourorfiveyearsoldwhenIfirstsawtheLincolnMemorialandbeingterriblyfrightened
bythescaleofthestatueinthatchairbutthen,asIgotcloserandcloser,becoming
completely captivated by his visage. I’ll never forget that moment and it left me
wonderingaboutthatmansittinghighabovemeinthatchair.”

ThemoreSpielberglearnedaboutLincolnthroughouthislife,themorethatsenseof
wondergrew.Hecontinues:“Lincolnguidedourcountrythroughitsworstmoments
2 and allowed the ideals of American democracy to survive and assured the end of
slavery.ButIalsowantedtomakeafilmthatwouldshowhowmultifacetedLincoln
was.Hewasastatesman,amilitaryleader,butalsoafather,ahusbandandamanwho
wasalways,continuouslylookingdeepinsidehimself.Iwantedtotellastoryabout
Lincolnthatwouldavoidthemistakesofbothcynicismandheroworshipandbetrueto
thevastnessofwhohewasandtheintimacyofhislifeandthesofteranglesofhis
nature.”

ItwouldtakeSpielbergandscreenwriterTonyKushner,whopreviouslycollaboratedon
“Munich”together,adecadetofindpreciselytherightstorytotell,andthewaythey
wanted to tell it. And when they did,
surprisingly,itwasastorythathomedin
onjustafewshort,powerfulmonthsin
Lincoln’s life. Those few months would
illuminatetheessenceoftheman—asa
political genius, as an anguished family
man and, most of all, as a courageous
defenderoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica.

SaysSpielberg:“Wecametofocusonthe
lastfourmonthsofLincoln’slifebecause
whatheaccomplishedinthattimewastrulymonumental.However,wewantedto
showthathehimselfwasaman,notamonument.Wefeltourbesthopeofdoing
justicetothisimmenselycomplicatedpersonwastodepicthiminthemidstofhismost
complex fight: to pass the 13th Amendment on the floor of the House of
Representatives.”

Thiscompact,immersiveconceptforthefilmenlivenedSpielberg.Itwould,whenall
wassaidanddone,engagehisfilmmakinginstinctsonadifferentlevelthananyfilm
thathascomebeforeinhisextensivelydiversefilmography.

“Mymoviesmoreoftenaretoldthroughpictures,notwords.Butinthiscase,the
pictures took second position to the incredible words of Abraham Lincoln and his
presence,”Spielbergexplains.“With‘Lincoln,’Iwaslessinterestedinanoutpouringof
imagerythaninlettingthemosthumanmomentsofthisstoryevolvebeforeus.”

InstrippingLincoln’sfinaldaysdowntotheirmostelectrifyingyetstarkmomentsof
debate,politicalmachinations,familytiesandprivatefearsandhopes,Spielbergand
Kushneruncoveredthegripping—andunpredictablyhuman—natureofademocracy’s
greatestbattleinaction.“Thefilmdoeshavequiteabitofsuspense,”henotes,“andit
could,attimes,evenbeseenasakindofpoliticalthriller.”

LongtimeSpielbergproducingpartnerKathleenKennedyagreesthatthefilmtakesan
interestingturnintheongoingevolutionofthedirector’scareer.“Stevenhasalways
3 lovedhistoryandhasmademanymovieswithahistoricalcontext—‘EmpireoftheSun,’
‘Schindler'sList,’‘SavingPrivateRyan’—andIthinkherecognizedthatsomeofthemost
interestingcharacterscamefromhistory,”sheobserves.“ButStevenknewthatwith
‘Lincoln,’hewouldn’tcreateaconventionalbiopic.Instead,heandTonyattemptedto
findthemostintimatewaytoshowthepowerofLincoln’sachievementsasPresident,
throughtheexplorationoftheendofslaveryandotherkeyeventsthattookplace
duringhispresidency.”


Team of Rivals

Fromthestart,Spielbergwasacutelyawareofanear-infinitelibraryofbooksthat
approachLincolnfromastunningarrayofperspectives.However,hewaslongingfora
fresh,andmoredirectlyhuman,take.HefoundthatinDorisKearnsGoodwin’s“Team
ofRivals:ThePoliticalGeniusofAbrahamLincoln,”which,onitspublicationin2005,
becameamega-bestseller,breakingoutfromthebiographyshelvesasamust-read
page-turner.

SpielbergstartedtalkingintentlytoGoodwinaboutherbookseveralyearsbeforeshe
evenfinishedit.TheymetattheMillenniumcelebrationinWashingtonwhereheasked
herwhatshewasworkingon.
Hetookaprofoundinterestin
it and it was several years
before it was finished. “He
wasoutmakingothermovies,
andeverynowandthenhe’d
call from the set and ask,
‘Well, what did Lincoln do
today?’ Then one day, he
optioned the book,” she
recalls.

Whenitwasreleased,therousingreactiontoGoodwin’sbookrevealedthatshehadhit
uponapartofLincolnthatpeoplewerehungrytoknowmoreaboutrightnow:howhe
madeprofoundnationalchangesforthebetterinsuchfiercelydividedtimes.The“team
ofrivals”inthetitlereferstothethreeopponentsLincolnviedagainstinthe1860
presidentialelection—onlytoinviteeachbitterlydefeatedcompetitorintohiscabinet.
This bold move would embody Lincoln’s most outstanding qualities: his talent for
gettingalongwithhisopponents,hispoliticalgeniusandhissteadycompassalways
pointingtotheuniversaltruthsofjusticeandcivilrightsandamoreperfectunion.

Itwouldalsolieattheheartofperhapshismostsingularaccomplishment:movingthe
nationtosupport“thenewbirthoffreedom”andendtheunconscionablepracticeof
4 slaveryattheconclusionoftheCivilWar—notjustsymbolicallybutviaaconstitutional
amendmentthatwouldmakeabolitionapermanentfoundationofthelawoftheland.

How did he do it? Goodwin says he was driven by understanding the unthinkable
consequences of not succeeding. “I think it was key for Lincoln to get the 13th
Amendmentpassed,becauseifitwaspartofourConstitution—andhesoreveredthe
U.S.Constitution—thenheknewslaverywouldbeundo