Abe Lincoln and Other Strike News
Like many writers who’ve been part of the scribes’ strike line, Tony Kushner is concerned about how the walk-out will affect the projects he’s working on. Specifically: the movie script he’s written for Stephen Spielberg about Abraham Lincoln. The film, to star Liam Neeson (pictured) as the 16th President and (potentially) Sally Field as Mary Todd, was due to go into production next year, after Spielberg finished his “Indiana Jones” picture. But Spielberg is famous for moving quickly onto the next thing if a wrench is tossed into a project, and the strike is just about the biggest wrench imaginable. Meanwhile, just because Kushner is one of America’s most esteemed gay writers doesn’t mean his Abraham Lincoln will be gay gay gay. He’s been telling fellow strikers that Lincoln’s sexuality isn’t at all the focus of his script; the central event is that little thing known as the Civil War.
