President Barack Obama is reportedly going to host a screening of Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed biopic Lincoln at the White House.
The Hollywood Reporter says “the Disney release, produced by DreamWorks and Fox in association with Participant Media, will screen in the evening, after the president returns from New York, where he plans to view the damage from Hurricane Sandy and speak with victims and first responders.”
The last major movie to be officially screened at the White House was the George Lucas produced Tuskegee Airmen epic Red Tails.
Obama, himself an Illinois legislator with a short resume who rose to the presidency, has made no secret about his admiration and affinity for the 16th president.
“I feel like I watched the Obama presidency very much through a Lincoln lens,” the film’s screenwriter Tony Kushner said. “The movie is the movie, but it’s been, I think, extraordinary to watch what I consider to be a great president in action while working on a film about a great president in action.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Spielberg and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg have been big supporters of Obama and his re-election campaign, each donating $1 million to super PAC Priorities USA last month.”