Liam Neeson has been studying hard for the Steven Spielberg biographical film of Abraham Lincoln, entitled simply Lincoln.

He's been researching for almost a year now, looking very heavily into the Civil War and that period, reading over twenty of the best books about the man, held personal items of his, talked with the Lincoln bicentennial committe, read personal letters and even visited Ford's Theater where he was shot. Yet there's one place he's not going to go, the balcony because it's sealed off, even to the man to play him in his life story.

Still, I'm amazed at the sheer volume of work he's putting in, almost a year to date and he really sounds like he's steeping himself in this man's life. There's a short interview over at Coming Soon where he talks in a little more detail about these things.

I'm massively interested in this film, and perhaps surprisingly I have no great desire to see a film on the man, but the fact that there's so much work going into finding out about him makes me think that this could be a very definitive work, and perhaps the best Neeson performance to date?