2009 marks the 200 year anniversary of the birth of American President Abraham Lincoln.

2009 was also intended to be the year of release when Steven Spielberg first approached Liam Neeson about a planned LINCOLN biopic four years ago but the SCHLINDER’S LIST star amazingly says he has still not yet seen a script for the movie, written by MUNICH writer Tony Kushner.

Talking to Coming Soon, Neeson claims he knows about as much on the development of the movie as we do and that the director “will do it whenever he’s ready to do it”.

Spielberg was set to make the movie before the kid in him wanted to make another INDIANA JONES movie and then the chance to work with Peter Jackson on TINTIN lured him further away from the biopic as did his brief flirtation with the story of the TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7.

For whatever reason, Spielberg’s heart wasn’t quite ready to make the LINCOLN movie and from what I read in 2005-2007, he kind of messed Liam Neeson around with starting dates which left Neeson in a limbo post-BATMAN BEGINS. He has only recently started to accept roles again.

Hopefully missing a convenient anniversary date hasn’t quelled Spielberg’s ambition to make this picture someday soon, especially if we want to see this made with Neeson. He’s 56 now, the same age LINCOLN was at when he died, so the chance of seeing a youthful LINCOLN for the biopic diminishes somewhat.