Spielberg gearing up to make Lincoln film

LOS ANGELES, May 12 (UPI) -- Hollywood film director Steven Spielberg said he plans to make his long-awaited Abraham Lincoln epic after he finishes his next movie, "Tintin."

Spielberg, who directed the upcoming "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," is due to start filming "Tintin" this fall, Variety.com said.

He told the German magazine FOCUS he planned to concentrate on the Lincoln project after that.

Variety.com said the film could be ready for an early 2009 shoot. Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson signed on three years ago to play the 16th president of the United States and has been waiting for a start date, the trade paper noted.

Neeson and Spielberg previously worked together on "Schindler's List."