When it comes tohandicapping this year’s Oscar seasonthere are a couple of contenders that remain enigmas, but none moreso thanSteven Spielberg’sThe Post. The Oscar-winning filmmaker put the film together incredibly quickly this spring, pushing back his intended next filmThe Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortarain order to get the timelyThe Postin theaters as quickly as possible. There’s beena lotof intrigue surrounding the historical drama, and we now finally have our first look at the incredible cast thanks to a first-look image.
The drama tells the true story behind the release of the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s, at which point the Nixon White House fought to prevent the Washington Post from publishing these internal memos that revealed Nixon’s administration had lied to the American public about what was really going on in the Vietnam War. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where the fight was quite literally surrounding the First Amendment and the freedom of the press.
Liz Hannahwrote the original screenplay, with Oscar-winningSpotlightscribeJosh Singersubsequently coming onboard to do some extra work on the script. And the cast here is downright incredible.Tom Hanksplays famous Washington Post editor Benjamin Bradlee, whileMeryl Streepplays the paper’s first female publisher Kay Graham. Then Spielberg went allLincolnwith it and cast amazing actors in nearly every role. The ensemble includesCarrie Coon,Sarah Paulson,Jesse Plemons,Alison Brie,Bradley Whitford,Bob Odenkirk,Matthew Rhys,Michael Stuhlbarg,Zach Woods,Bruce Greenwood, andTracy Letts.
So yeah, you could say we’re a little excited about this one. The first image comes courtesy of 20th Century Fox and offers a taste of this incredible ensemble. Here’s hoping this means a trailer is on its way soon.The Postopens in theaters on December 22nd.
