daniel day-lewis. >> unbelievable character.ot to meet him and it hadn't been announced yet so they asked me to take him to springfield under an assumed name. the law offices, the museum, don't let anyone know it's us. somebody wanted a sandwich, some other people with us and somebody in the sandwich shop suddenly saw him and took a picture and they had to announce that daniel day was lincoln. i took him through mary and lincoln's house and the ceilings were low and he couldn't wait to get out. he felt claustrophobic in the house and lincoln was claustrophobic in that house. he said he needed another year, i have to learn about this man. i would get messages, i need to read about henry clay and gone back in time. an extraordinary character. >> once he became lincoln in a filming of this, there was no more daniel day-lewis. >> absolutely. when i went to richmond to the set, they would have pictures of sally field and mary there and thaddeus stevens and tommy lee jones and at the top it said lincoln. the guy who played stanton sai

steven spielberg and daniel day lewis ted diane sawyer about separating the man from the myth. >>> and walk on the wild side. up close and personal with a rare and fearsome predator. our reporter puts tail in hand to get to know the african white lion. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," november 9th, 2012. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. when president obama strode into the east room of the white house this afternoon, we all knew that job one of term two is to hammer out some sort of deal with republicans to keep the federal government from veering off the so-called fiscal cliff. and we knew he would probably lay down some markers. >> i'm open to compromise. i'm open to new ideas. i'm committed to solving our fiscal challenges. but i refuse to accept any approach that isn't balanced. i'm not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me making over $250,000 aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes. i'm not going to d

and you standa in front of the exquisite talent of daniel day lewis. and let her be. i had no preconceived ideas, i had no notion of where she was going. there are scenes of great grief and great anguish and anger. and then levity. and she was imperious. she had a feeling of entitlement. and she was also devoted to her husband. and had there not then a mary todd lincoln there would not have been an abraham lincoln. that is simply a fact. she was breathtakingly smart, highly educated, half came from a powerful, political family and the south and found him as a young lawyer. and he was really nothing but a lawyer. and she recognized his brilliance and said, that is the man i will marry. he will be president. she went about to help him do that. tavis: the most important question i will ask, how much fun was a gaining 25 pounds? >> and not as much -- tavis: eat whatever you want. >> i was doing it with a purpose, because i was beginning to do the research and i was already in this very disciplined place. so like a jerk, i went to a nutritionist and i ate the most repulsiv

the reluctant of daniel day lewis. tonight, for the first time here, together, telling how they brought a mythic president to life. our "persons of the week." >>> good evening. simply put, it was a shock today, when we learned that the general who symbolized the discipline and honor of the american military, the man entrusted with the vital secrets of the cia, general david petraeus, resigned, citing an extramarital affair. the first cia director in history to resign this way. and the story is still breaking. so, we go straight to abc's senior foreign affairs correspondent, martha raddatz. >> reporter: diane, this news is truly stunning. this is no one in the military who was viewed as more disciplined and, frankly, more concerned with his own image and own career. but the seriousness of having a cia director involved in an extramarital affair cannot be overplayed. as cia director, petraeus held all of the nation's secrets, but was keeping a big one of his own. today, in a statement to cia employees, the man considered

actor embodying an american icon. >> i like how he does. >> reporter: according to the experts, daniel day-lewis! >> i've seen a lot of performances, and i've never seen anyone delve as deeply into lincoln's soul. >> reporter: daniel day-lewis immerses himself into it. while filming "my left foot" he remained in a wheelchair during takes. while filming in the last of the mow keek hands." and he got in just as deeply as the 16th president. >> i had a feeling for him in a way i've never had a feel for. >> reporter: on set, steven spielberg addresseded him as mr. president. >> i try not to dismember a character and wife into components. work on one area and then another. >> reporter: spielberg purposely waited until after the election to release this movie, recognizing that lincoln is still politically relevant. ♪ lincoln, lincoln, lincoln >> reporter: from lincoln cd on "snl." to this punch line. >> romney announces he has won most of the confederacy. >> reporter: our house is divided still. >> red and blue is still better than blue and gray. >> shall we stop this bleeding? >> reporter: david wrig

you got the daniel day lewis on the cover. >> he's sexy, don't you think? n: you mean, lincoln or daniel day lewis? was lincoln sexy? >> i think so. and i've been saying it for years, but everybody thought i was crazy. but now, there's the proof. >> stephen: yeah. okay. >> he was funny, too. you would have loved him. >> stephen: lincoln? >> yeah. he told dirty stories all the time. yeah ( laughter ) >> stephen: can i hear one? ( applause ) >> actually, there's one that's in the movie. >> stephen: oh, yeah. >> he tells this story about this guy named ethan allen, a revolutionary war hero-- one of your guys. he goes to england after the war and they want to embarrass him and they put a picture of george washington in the only outhouse and he comes out and is not upset at all. didn't you see george washington? oh, yes. a perfectly appropriate place. what do you mean? well, there's nothing to make an englishman ( bleep ) faster than the picture of george washington. he had hundreds. he could tell these on a dime. he fhe could be here, you would love him. >> step

embodying an american icon. >> i like our chances now. >> reporter: according to the experts, daniel day lewisit. >> blood's been spilled to afford us this moment. now, now, now. >> i've seen a lot of performances and i've never seen anyone delve as deeply into lincoln's soul. >> reporter: daniel day lewis famously immerses himself in his roles. while filming, "my levft foot," in which he plays a character with cerebral palsy, he remaineded in a wheelchair between takes. while playing hawkeye in "last of the mohicans," he reportedly lived in the wilderness, killing and skinning his own dinner. >> stay alive, no matter what occurs. >> reporter: as the actor recently told "time" magazine, he got just as deeply into the 16th president. >> i had a feeling for him in a way i've never been able to feel for a man that i never met. >> reporter: on set, steven spielberg addressed him as mr. president. day lewis did send text messages to other cast members, but signed them "a" for abe lincoln. >> i try not to dismember a character, a life, into its component parts and work on one area and then another.

. >> stephen: and daniel day-lewis' portrayal. i saw the show this weekend because i'm superspecial and -- (laughter) -- it's an incredible movie. first of all, it's essentially about passing a piece of legislation. it's about passing the 13th amendment which outlaws slavery, makes it unconstitutional. how do you approach making -- passing a piece of legislation, parliamentary procedure, exciting. (laughter) did you succeed? >> thanks. i'm glad you like it. it's a little bit like a state basketball tournament movie. you know the little team is going to win the state championship. so you know the ending already but it's still exciting because it's -- you're rooting for them and if it's a close call you -- your engine gets going. so this was a squeaker. the house passed it by only two votes. >> stephen: right at the buzzer. >> right at the buzzer, absolutely. >> stephen: because the civil war is about to end. >> the civil war was a few months away from ending. lincoln knew it was going to come to an end as soon as spring arrived and

you, daniel day-lewis, who looks, gosh, he looks exact -- it's crazy. u play mary todd. >> yes. >> jimmy: and this is -- is this something you always wanted to do? or you didn't know -- >> yes. >> jimmy: you did? >> and yes, it's -- a lot of this was sort of kismet in its way. i think evyby felt like that. i've been watching for mary for a very long time, as actors do. thinking, we're a mix. she belongs to me somehow. size thing and kind of the shape of the face. >> jimmy: but you gained weight for this? >> yes, i did. >> jimmy: 25 pounds. >> i gained 25 pounds. >> jimmy: sally, you weigh 25 pounds. [ laughter ] that's double your weight. it was double your weight. >> it wasn't pretty. >> jimmy: yeah. so, how -- so, was she like -- was she -- >> she was a little round. >> jimmy: a little round? >> and they -- lincoln used to tease her. she was very much a flirt, even though, like, why? i don't know. but she was. she was an amazing woman. i don't even want to, for a moment, make fun of her. i feel very bonded with her. but he would write her. when she wou

daniel day-lewis didn't just perform the part of lincoln, he became him. ritish actor embodying an american icon. >> i like our chances now. experts, daniel day-lewis nailed it. [ indiscernible ] >> now, now, now! >> i have seen a lot of performances. i have never seen any one delve as deeply into lincoln's soul. >> reporter: daniel day-lewis famously immerses himself in his roles. while filming "my left foot" where he plays a character with cerebral palsy, he remained in a wheelchair between takes. in playing hawk eye in last of the mohicans he lived in the wilderness, killing and skinning his own dinner. as the actor recently told "time" magazine he got just as deeply into the 16th president. >> i had a feeling for him i have never been able to feel from him i never met. >> reporter: on set, steven spielberg addressed him as mr. president. day-lewis did send text messages to other cast members but signed them "a" for abe lincoln. >> i try not to dismember a character, a life into its component parts and work on one area and then another. >> reporter: spie

mary todd lincoln "lincoln" stars and daniel day lewis and tommy lee jones. we are glad that you joined us. a conversation with sally field coming up right now. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminate hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: what a pleasure to welcome sally field to this program. the oscar winner has been a beloved actress. currently starring in what is the most talked about films of "lincoln" lincoln quote. a trip down memory lane. can we do that? >> i guess so. tavis: a small sampling of your award winning career. >> you know, i was on broadway wants. >> really? >> for almost 12 minutes. the show closed the first night. i was so good. you should have seen me. he's going to take you and th

and daniel day-lewis was lincoln. how would i not want this project? mary was such a complicated, under examined, maligned and unbelievably important female, american character. and stephen had or regionally asked me in 2005 to be mary, but he did not have the project. it was something he wanted to do. he was developing it. he had a screenplay, but it was not going to be right. i was beyond thrilled. was overjoyed. then when i got in the car to drive home, a little voice said inside of me, not so quick, field. it will be a journey and you may not win. the screenplay is came and went and riders came and went, and eventually tony kuchner came on board. there was another actor attached to it at the time, and he had dropped out for personal reasons, some tragedy in his life. and then daniel came on board. it had been so many years between the time that stephen originally asked me and the time that it now was really a project, that steven was absolutely going to do. daniel was on board. anhner's words were exquisite. i figured there would be some doubt. whe

daniel day lewis is abe lincoln. period. you never say what great makeup. >> or great acting. >> the outfits are authentic. they actually used lincoln's real time piece in the movie. this is the great thing about him to me, he was so smart, but a genius listener. abe lincoln was. when he looked at someone he waited. he really listened to what they had to say. and he was able to talk to probably the smartest and the least educated the exact same way. >> what a gift. >> it was amazing. you understood why he was so great. sally field was off the hook as his wife. >> mary todd who was a little -- >> a little cuckoo. >> i just adore everything spielberg does. i heard she wanted this role but he didn't want her for it. he thinks she's a brilliant actress, didn't think she was right for it or something. you never know if what you read is true, but anyway, there's a story he couldn't get her off his mind, then asked her to test. just to see if it was right. daniel day lewis and she did a screen test and he said, good morning, mother

daniel day-lewis occupies the title role with sally field as his wife, mary. that is the box office preview. raphael seth reporting. >> i cannot wait. i like daniel craig and daniel day-lewis. >> the ravens return to baltimore this weekend. here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers. >> time to get to your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked, what does your job do to promote a happy workplace? >> we have to get the name of that company. >> i wonder where it is. >> good morning. it is a purple friday around town. ravens play the oakland raiders on sunday. the ravens have never lost to the raiders. terrell suggs was in high school back in arizona at that time. he placed his first home game of the year on sunday. suggs says he will try to give the crowd applauded to get fired up about. >> rehabbing is not where i belong. this is home for may. 15the ravens have onwon straight home games. the colts took on the jaguars. the colts win again. luck did not throw a touchdown but he ran for two. check out the spik

thanks to daniel day lewis. i feel like i know lincoln the man.out question. that love is back in my life. >> well, we can't wait for "teddy," but that'll be for another conversation. thank you, doris. >> thanks, alex. >>> the economy and why it may be in better shape than you think. i was once used for small jobs. and i took on all the bigger, tougher ones. but with mr. clean's new select-a-size magic eraser, he can take on any size job. at least we don't go near rex's mobile home as often. what are you, scared? [ dog barks ] aah! oh! [ male announcer ] new mr. clean select-a-size magic eraser. why use temporary treatments when you can prevent the acid that's causing it with prevacid24hr. with one pill prevacid24hr works at the source to prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn all day and all night. and with new prevacid24hr perks, you can earn rewards from dinner deals to music downloads for purchasing prevacid24hr. prevent acid all day and all night for 24 hours with prevacid24hr. >>> the u.s. economy is showing signs of life with stock

daniel day-lewis plays the 16th american president caught in a battle between his personal instincts and cabinet. "lincoln" chronicles the president's leadership during one of the nation's most divisive times, as well as his decision emancipate slaves, just one of the new movies in theaters across the country this weekend. max, you've already seen it. >> it comes next week, i'll review it then but you can see daniel day-lewis as lincoln is astonishing, like he came right off the penny on to the screen. we will review that next week. >> big in theaters, jilve. >> "skyfall," yes. i really liked "skyfall." i think it's the most fun we've had with bond in a while but it kind of made me realize something which is that i'm not totally in love with daniel craig as james bond. >> he's not doing it for you anymore? >> this is controversial because everyone is like he's the best after connery but to me, bond is supposed to have a twinkle in his eye, a bit of mischief. he's bond, he's the luckiest, coolest guy in the world and i feel like daniel craig is a little super serious, he's a dour guy.

and daniel day lewis is intense. he will be nominated for an academy award inform that list will be john hawke for the second-degrees, den el for flight. lots of strong performances this year. -- denzel for flight. next week, we have the cast of twilight. >> don't forget, nerdtears.com and follow me on twitter. thank you very much for having me every week. i love being here. >> thank you. back to you. >> thank you. >>> we have some breaking news for bring to you right now from downtown washington. d.c. police are in the area around 18th and m streets northwest. it is believed three suspects were involved in this. investigators say at least one had a gun. one shot was fired but fortunately no one was hit. we'll continue for follow this story throughout the morning hours. let's check in now with tucker barnes and get the latest on our weather. >> cold temperature to start your day. going to be a beautiful friday. we'll have high temperatures back in the mid-50s. less wind than yesterday as well. well. >> clear skies ov

again, daniel day lewis, an absolutely astounding performance. i do like this film. feel like it is a gift to american film goers. we're really getting to see what lincoln, the man, was like. 3 1/2 stars. >> whoa. good. all right. >> this is going to be a factor in the oscars for sure. >> he's always in it. >> hi's always in it to win it. >> you can read all of max's reviews. all right. stay with us. john has another look at your weekend forecast when we come back. and the turk >> welcome back. the cost of your thankgiving dinner going up. that's according to the annual survey from the farm bureau federation. the bird eats up most of the cost, about $22. then milk at $3.59 a gallon, sweet potatoes, three pounds for $3.15. pumpkin pie about $3. stuffing a little less especially if you get the day old bread. speaking of thanksgiving, we are going to debunk thanksgiving dinner. >> we're talking turkey. >> tell us how to make a turkey. >> we're going to talk about how to cook -- these are 16 pound turkeys. we'll make it nice and easy for you. you have the liquid to make

by it is about daniel day lewis. >> this very well may be the best picture of the year.ine up your critics choice awards and our oscars. never seen anything like it. it begins with the battlefield sequence like saving private ryan but then the battleground becomes the floors of congress and the weapons are words, and an amazing performance by daniel lewis. you feel he is lincoln. and expect nominations for sally field and tommy lee jones. it is a spielberg spectacular and i have to give "lincoln" a full bucket. i'm don sanchez, abc7 news and we will see you on the isle. >> up next, it's a sport, of course. with thrills, frills and flash down at the red bull >> the annual red bull flugtag contest dropped into san francisco this holiday weekend. it was held yesterday at mccovey cove. the first san francisco visit in ten years. 32 teams spread their wings, attempting the longest flight. few of them made it more than ten or fifteen feet. the team that won is from the bay area. the november mustaches reached a distance of 54 feet. i bet that water was cold when they dropped i

daniel day-lewis wouldn't even break character onset, leading people to believe he actually thought he was abraham lincoln. the mtv europe awards were sunday night. taylor swift had a great evening, taking home three awards, including best performer british boy band one direction, picked up two wins and then youtube sensation psy won best video for "gangnam" style. that video is everywhere. er was the biggest winner. he took home three trophies, including best world stage performer. speaking of the biebs, his awards last night weren't his biggest news this weekend. justin bieber and selena gomez are calling it quits. they're over. e news exclusive broke the story after spotting the biebs out and about with a 19-year-old victoria's secret model. his 30 million followers on twitter nearly broke twitter as they sent out messages of support and relief to their newly single idol. >>> this now comes to us from new york city where spectators got a first look at the new floats taking flight for the macy's thanksgiving day parade. hello kitty, papa smurf and the elf on the shelf. the crews rehe

i can't imagine anyone coming up to daniel day-lewis with best actor. he has defined lincoln for the angs. >> although we'll see anthony hopkins as alfred hitchcock soon. but that's another story. >> let's talk about another one getting a lot of buzz which is silver lining's playbook. here's a clip. >> i'm tired. i want to go. >> no, no, no. we haven't even finished the salad yet. or the duck. i made the fire and ice cake. >> i said i'm tired. are you going to walk me home or what? >> you mean me? >> yeah, you. are you going to walk me home? >> you better be a gentleman. >> i know, bradley cooper and jennifer lawrence, two people who are really hot right now. this is one of the film festival movies that debuted in the fall. it already got big buzz for being an oscar contender, but also a great story. complicated guy, bradley cooper, who lost his wife to another guy and he went to a mental institution. now he's all troubled, as you might be. jennifer lawrence has her troubles. an interesting love story. >> i thought it was really good, too. very, very go

a lot of people excited to see this one. >> daniel day lewis is a genius. he's brilliant in everything he's done. he's amazing. you add steven spielberg and sally field. >> and the story. lincoln's story is amazing watch. >> so many movies to watch. "skyfall," "argo." i don't have the time. >> i've seen that. and twilight, of course. >> of course. >> and tom kierein is watching the skies this morning. >>> they're producing a few sprinkles around mainly south and east of washington. we talked about sprinkles and different types of weather when i visited bowie high school's ann annex. this was on wednesday in prince george's county and talked to a special needs program there. i want to thank teachers karen morrissey and cheryl alt for the invitation to talk to these students at bowie high school in prince george's county on wednesday. as we take a look now, there's capitol hill. at reagan national, it's at 43. quite a bit of cloudiness around, but no sprinkles there at reagan national. however, there are a few showing up on the satellite radar image here over

steven spielberg and daniel day lewis tell diane sawyer about bringing abraham lincoln back to life onight line after abc 2 >> last weekend for bridge work, 295, it won't reopen until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow west nursery road closed at the belt way through 10:00 a.m. sunday. you will want to use 95 route 1, 97 or columbia pike instead. construction, will intensify, inner loop shut down will kins avenue beginning 11:00 p.m., won't reopen until 5:00 a.m. monday. you will want to use the detour in place. for up to the minute traffic conditions go to abc2news.com >>> tomorrow, they will team up with baltimore county corvette club to raise money, throwing a big block party. all you corvette lovers will be able to see hundreds of high performance cars on display. help by dropping off a donation while you are there. >> we want people to come out and bring donations for the food center. whether that be something we do every year. for the sick kids at hopkins this tie is from anthony pagan from baltimore he has been battling leukemia, loves sports this is his tie honored to wear it today. >> this i

we'll show you how daniel day-lewis found his voice. us imagine president abraham lincoln as a italian with a booming voice. in the new movie "lincoln" the audience will see that familiar image but they will hear something else as seth doane reports. >> the blood it takes to hold this union together. >> reporter: to brother a word from lincoln himself scores of actorses have portrayed our 16th president on film and television over the years although they all strive to look the part using ample photographic evidence, none of them ever knew if they were able to capture the true voice of one of america's greatest orators. >> he died long before audio recording was possible so we have no hints about what he really sound like except in the reminiscence of his contemporaries. >> reporter: harold holzer has studied that written record. in his view the actors have mostly gotten it wrong. >> it is for us the living rather to be dedicated here. >> too deep, gregory peck. >> trouble is when men start taking the law into their own hands -- >> henry

by it is about daniel day lewis. >> this very well may be the best picture of the year.ice awards and our oscars. never seen anything like it. it begins with the battlefield sequence like saving private ryan but then the battleground becomes the floors of congress and the weapons are words, and superbly crafted. an amazing performance by daniel lewis. you really feel he is lincoln. and expect nominations for sally field and tommy lee jones. it is a spielberg spectacular and i have to give "lincoln" a full bucket. i'm don sanchez, abc7 news and we will see you on the isle. >> coming up next, the thrills, spills and flash down at the red alright let's break it down. mom, pop it. ♪ two inches apart, becky. two inches. t-minus nine minutes. [ ding ] [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls. let the making begin. ♪ that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then given a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun. >> here are the winning numbers from last night's winning super lot

daniel day-lewis wouldn't even break character on set, leading people to believe that he actually thought he was abraham lincoln. >>> the mtv europe music awards took place sunday night and it turns out our friends across the atlantic love some of the same people we do. taylor swift took home three awards. >> not used to her harriet. >> one direction picked up two wins. and then youtube sensation psy won best video for his megahit "gangnam style." justin bieber was the biggest winner as he took home three trophies, including best world stage performer. best pop performer. speaking of the biebs, his awards last night weren't his biggest news this weekend. after weeks of speculation, justin bieber and selena gomez are calling it quits. e news exclusively broke the story after seeing him out and about with a 19-year-old victoria's secret model. his 30 million followers on twitter nearly broke twitter as they sent out messages of support and relief. >>> this now comes to us from wnbc 4 in new york city where in east rutherford, new jersey, they got a view at hello kitty and elf on the shelf f