'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' Poster, Behind-the-Scenes Footage Debuts (Video)

History buffs and vampire enthusiasts get their first glimpse of the America’s 16^th President in action in behind-the-scenes footage from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the historical drama-cum-monster movie directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Simultaneously, a new poster for the film debuted at IMP Awards, showing the President sitting atop the Lincoln Memorial and brandishing an axe.

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After an introduction by Ben Walker, who plays Lincoln, producer Jim Lemley discusses how Walker’s rendition of the Gettysburg Address (“as if he wrote it”) earned him the role. Bekmambetov echoes Lemley’s praise for the actor, indicating he forgot what Walker looked like because he spent so much time with him while he was in character. Meanwhile, Walker characterizes Bekmambetov as “a really professional six year old,” talking about how spontaneous the filmmaker is while on set.

As footage unspools of the actors performing scenes on set, Lemley describes the film as “a very committed version of Lincoln’s life - it’s what you don’t know about Abraham Lincoln, turned on its head.”

The film marks Walker’s first major role after supporting turns in films like Flags of out Fathers and The Notorious Bettie Page. It’s Bekmambetov’s first American film since the 2008 blockbuster Wanted. Adapted by Simon Kinberg and Seth Grahame-Smith from Grahame-Smith’s novel of the same name, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter combines the events of Lincoln’s real life with an adventure story about the President’s battle with bloodthirsty vampires. Lincoln invokes the enmity of America’s vampire population when he discovers that they are using slaves for food and becomes an Abolitionist, and fights to protect his family (and the country as a whole) from their menace.

Check out behind-the-scenes footage from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which premiered exclusively on MTV.com Jan. 16: