Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln - Film Adaptation

Film Adaptation

While consulting on a project for director Steven Spielberg in 1999, Goodwin told Spielberg she was planning to write Team of Rivals, and Spielberg immediately told her he wanted the film rights. DreamWorks finalized the deal in 2001, and Goodwin sent Spielberg the book a chapter by chapter as she composed it. Daniel Day-Lewis agreed to play Abraham Lincoln after Liam Neeson, the original lead, withdrew from the project in 2010. The screenplay was written by Tony Kushner, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). A number of critics noted that the final film, which focused almost entirely on the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment through Congress, was based on only a few pages of Goodwin's book, and that Kushner did substantial independent research composing the screenplay.

Filming began on October 17, 2011, and ended on December 19, 2011. Goodwin consulted with Kushner on various drafts of the screenplay and took Day-Lewis on a tour of Lincoln's home and law office in Springfield, Illinois. The film was released nationwide on November 16, 2012 to commercial success and wide critical acclaim. Day-Lewis won the 2012 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

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