With Abraham Lincoln facing his 200th birthday, it seems only fitting that the newest installment in our Icon Redux series gives the venerated President a chance to apply his timeless wisdom in a timely manner -- that is, to a modern-day press conference. Video wizardry courtesy of Two Penguins Productions as always, and check out that luxuriant coif on actor Demetrios Kalkanis, who portrays Mr. Lincoln. And here's a behind-the-scenes look at making the new Lincoln.

Check out the video for Icon Redux: Happy Birthday, Mr. President.

So I tried to Google the number of magazine covers Brad Pitt has graced since November 2008 vs. the number of magazine covers Abraham Lincoln has done posthumously since then. I couldn’t find hard numbers. But I’m thinking Lincoln would come out on top. Huge resurgence in popularity since Obama’s election. Huge. And understandably so -- he arguably laid the groundwork for Obama’s presidency, and Obama doesn’t mince words when naming Lincoln one of his political heroes. Plus, the man is turning 200 years old today, which warrants some sort of recognition. But Lincoln’s resurgence transcends birthdays and the thank-you nod we’ve all been giving him for catalyzing the rise of this new administration.

With the recession casting its ugly shadow over the holiday season, it seems reasonable that everyone and your mama would be cutting back on the gift-giving this year (although I’m still expecting big things from your mama -- I’m sorry, was that inappropriate?). We say bull puckey to cutting back. Bull-reindeer-puckey. And to prove it, Icon Redux Episode 3: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies, is the most icon-studded installment of the series yet, offering you not one, not two, but 15 different icons in a Dickensian lineup of Icons Past, Present, and Soon-to-Be that seems recklessly irresponsible now that the Age of American Opulence is officially behind us. But what some call irresponsibility, we call love. That’s how much we love you. We’d give you the shirt off our backs, but it was an expensive shirt, and with the economy the way it is, who knows when we’ll be able to afford another one. So you get 15 Icons instead, all packaged neatly in a two-minute video and itemized after the jump. It’s our gift to you. You’re welcome. And ho ho ho.

We did James Dean, then Truman Capote vs. Marlon Brando, and now it's time for a little seasonal cheer. In the third installment of Icon Redux from BlackBook and Two Penguins Productions, Brooklyn's contemporary-baroque dance troupe Company XIV re-imagines "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies" from The Nutcracker. Lust! Pursuit! Avarice! Sexy twirling! Be sure to check out the story behind the scenes, too. Happy holidays.

The most famous rule in all of filmmaking: Never work with kids or animals. But hell, I’m a maverick. And I can see Russia from my house.

The best thing about working with kids is that they don’t know the meaning of the word “pressure” -- it hasn’t come up in their vocabulary lessons yet. And let’s face it -- re-creating Truman Capote’s iconic interview of Marlon Brando is a lot of pressure. Adult actors, limited by what they’ve seen and what they know, would have broken out their best Brando impressions or tried their damnedest to rip off a Philip Seymour Hoffman performance. And nine out of ten of them would have collapsed under the weight of it all.

Welcome to the second installment of Icon Redux -- the video series from BlackBook and Two Penguins Productions that recasts famous (or infamous) moments in pop culture using contemporary performers and settings. Here, we re-create a seminal 1957 interview between twin eccentrics Marlon Brando and Truman Capote, where the rambling Brando refuses to let the normally loquacious Capote get a word in edgewise. The trick -- in our version, set in a penthouse suite at Manhattan's 6 Columbus hotel, Brando and Capote are portrayed by child actors Tyler Christopher Backer and Spencer Harrison Hall, respectively. Enjoy, and be sure to check out the screen tests for Capote and Brando (and the "Japanese girl") and the behind-the-scenes commentary, plus the first installment of Icon Redux: James Dean.

As promised by our screen test -- next week, we'll debut the second installment of Icon Redux, our original video series that recasts classic, iconic moments with breaking new talent. In this case, very new talent -- the charming young fellows pictured here will reincarnate a famous interview given by Marlon Brando to Truman Capote. Instead of a suite at Kyoto hotel in 1957, our version takes place in a New York hotel penthouse in 2008, as rendered by the artistes at Two Penguins Productions. Watch for it Wednesday.

For the next installment of Icon Redux by BlackBook and Two Penguins Productions, we'll be re-creating a famous interview between eccentric wordsmith Truman Capote and legendary actor Marlon Brando -- as portrayed by children. As a teaser, enjoy this collection of screen tests, where our aspiring junior thespians do Brando's famous "STELLLLLAAAAA!" yell from A Streetcar Named Desire.

(Watch "Icon Redux: James Dean @ Hotel Gansevoort" to get the frontstory for this backstory.)

“He doesn’t really look like James Dean,” says the woman at the cowboy hat store. We’re standing watching Yann Bean make James Dean faces into the store mirror a few yards away, tipping the hat down over his face, furrowing his brows. Tomorrow he’ll try to fill the shoes of one of the most iconic actors in history. Today he’s trying to fill his hat.

“That’s not really the point,” I answer back.

“Oh,” says the woman. She puzzles over it a few seconds longer, then gives up considering what the point could be, giving herself over instead to thinly-veiled admiration.

“Well,” she concludes, “he’s definitely got something anyway.”

As promised! We're very pleased to introduce the first episode of Icon Redux, an original BlackBook video series in partnership with Two Penguins Productions. We're taking classic, iconic personalities at their best (and/or most revealing) and recasting them with contemporary, hot, about-to-break personalities of the very near future. For this installment, young actor Yann Bean re-enacts James Dean's famous 1955 "driving safety" interview on the set of Giant, shortly before his death in a car accident; Yann's version takes place in a suite at New York's Hotel Gansevoort. After the jump, see the original interview, plus tips on what's to come.