Wait...what? Lincoln is casting? That Steven Spielberg has added another cast member to his biopic of the sixteenth president of the United States suggests it's moving ahead pretty soon. And as we all know, pretty soon means before June, since that's when the strike starts. Or might start.
Newsweek is reporting that Sally Field is taking the role of Lincoln's wife Mary Todd, opposite Liam Neeson as the president – we're assuming Neeson's still attached, since there's been no word otherwise.
So, is Spielberg really planning a quick shoot on this one or is this just super-early casting? Spielberg has a little film called Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to get finished first and he's unlikely to want to take his eye off that one to concentrate on something of the size of Lincoln, even though he's had the movie planned for a long time and was originally set to direct it before Indy. Plus, Field has a day job on the US show Brothers and Sisters, which – we believe – wouldn't give her a large amount of free time until the June hiatus, when the strike is scheduled to start.
So, what gives? Is Spielberg banking on the strike not happening? That might not be completely foolish, since talk of strikes often tends to be just that. The other (distinct) possibility is that the Newsweek story has its facts a touch shaky. The mention is only part of a much larger feature about Todd, so this could easily be an old rumour that's been taken as truth. Expect official word either way to follow shortly.