Since the whole "Hey look, it's a guy eating lunch" picture, we've seen a few photos taken from a distance on the set, but production's been over for some time now.  A November 16th release date approaches, and as Spielberg toils away in the editing room, hopefully this reveal of a proper first look will be followed by a trailer shortly.

The image debuted at Entertainment Weekly, and Spielberg himself explained a bit about the film, saying that the film picks up in the midst of the Civil War, with “Lincoln’s realization that the Emancipation Proclamation, the thing he is most known for, was simply a war powers act that would easily be struck down by any number of lawyers after the cessation of hostilities after the Civil War. He needed to abolish slavery by constitutional measure — and that’s where we start.”

“Lincoln had a very, very complicated – and at the same time, extremely clear — inner life,” Spielberg said of his subject. “He thought things out. He talked things out. He argued both sides of every issue. And he was very careful in making any decision. As a matter of fact, his opponents and his enemies criticized him often for being impossibly slow to a decision.”

Day-Lewis is a most Method-y Method actor, going full-bore into his characters for months at a time and conducting ridiculously thorough research, like becoming a master outdoorsman, building a canoe, and familiarizing himself with all manner of antiquated technology for Last of the Mohicans.  So yeah, he probably went hog-wild on this particular role.

Lincoln is based around a section of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, and boasts a screenplay by fellow Pulitzer winner Tony Kushner, as well as John Logan.  Kushner, the playwright responsible for Angels in America, also contributed to Spielberg's underrated Munich.

Since it's based on Team of Rivals, the film should have an ensemble component, and the huge cast includes Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Hawkes, Hal Holbrook, Lee Pace, David Oyelowo, Jackie Earle Haley, David Strathairn, Joseph Cross, and Tim Blake Nelson.