Comments on: Book Trailer – Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

By: Chris Evans

Chris Evans — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:58:29 +0000

Interesting. Reminds me of reading an anecdote that someone said when they heard that Elvis had died, “Good career move.”

The last I heard about the Spielberg Lincoln movie it had been put on hold and that Spielberg had become enamored with directing a biopic on Martin Luther King, Jr. Maybe he can do both.

Oh well, at least Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced HBO series ‘The Pacific’ looks like the ultimate depiction of that aspect of WWII.
Thanks,
Chris

By: Harry Smeltzer

Harry Smeltzer — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:29:47 +0000

I have to admit that I’m not looking forward to a Lincoln biopic from Spielberg. From the getgo I was suspicious that he bought the rights to Goodwin’s book before it was even written. “Team of Rivals”, while a nice read, certainly isn’t groundbreaking. I think it’s pedestrian, historically speaking. Also, it’s not a Lincoln bio at all. Want to make an interesting Lincoln movie? Take a look at his story from the angle of Larry Tagg’s book. Know what I think? Legacy-wise, AL’s assassination may have been the best thing for him. That doesn’t mean I think he deserved to be killed or that I’m glad he was. But we labor under the impression that winning the war made him “OK” in everybody’s book. It didn’t – not even in the North. And I suspect that whoever held that office during reconstruction was in a no-win situation.

By: Terry Johnston

Terry Johnston — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:47:28 +0000

Think I’ll retire from the prediction biz while I’m batting .500.

And what is the latest on Spielberg’s Lincoln movie? It’s been a long time since I heard anything.

By: Chris Evans

Chris Evans — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:07:57 +0000

Here is a link to some info on the development of the ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ movie: http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/03/02/tim-burton-and-timur-bekmambetov-reunite-to-produce-abraham-lincoln-vampire-hunter/

I still wish Spielberg would go ahead with his straight biopic of Lincoln with Liam Neeson in the title role. I think there is room in the world for both.
Chris

By: Terry Johnston

Terry Johnston — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:44:40 +0000

Harry:

No luck finding a copy at my local Borders just now. Perhaps we’ve got a best-seller on our hands? And who’ll play Lincoln the Vampire Slayer in the movie? I feel like yet another Tim Burton / Johnny Depp collaboration might be in the works…

By: Chris Evans

Chris Evans — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:40:52 +0000

That was interesting.
Chris

By: Jim Schmidt

Jim Schmidt — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:09:05 +0000

Harry – Actually, book trailers are becoming much more popular. They are especially suited to fiction, I suppose; few have live action film like the Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, one, but some great historical fiction and nonfiction trailers used period photos, the Ken Burns pan-and-scan technique, period music, etc., to develop a really nice 1-2 minute video. I’ve already started “story-boarding” one for my Notre Dame/Civil War book Sarah over at Savas-Beatie has som good posts about them, including:

http://savasbeatiemarketing.blogspot.com/2008/09/once-marine-book-trailer.html

http://savasbeatiemarketing.blogspot.com/2009/12/if-alton-brown-can-make-book-trailer-in.html

Keep up the great work,

Jim Schmidt

By: Harry Smeltzer

Harry Smeltzer — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:42:19 +0000

Terry,

It’s good fun. Try not to be too critical of some of the historical gaffs. The author notes that he did most of his research online. Now, I’m all for using the internet for research – you’d be nuts not to. But there were some bonehead errors in the book that could have been easily avoided without changing the story one bit. I’m hoping they were corrected in the final copy. It’s easy to say don’t let them bother you, and 99% of the readers won’t notice them. Unfortunately, most people who read this blog and the book fall into the other 1%.

By: Terry Johnston

Terry Johnston — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:37:37 +0000

Harry:

I’m sure you’re right about the prospects for a film. FYI, the latest issue of Time contains a favorable review. I’m strongly leaning toward picking up a copy of my own.