Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk and more join Steven Spielberg’s The Papers
A slew of actors have been cast alongside Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in the upcoming Steven Spielberg film The Papers, according to Variety. Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, Alison Brie, Matthew Rhys, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Zach Woods have joined the cast of the film about The Washington Post‘s publishing of the classified Pentagon Papers in 1971. The film was formerly known as The Post.
The Papers, from 20th Century Fox and Amblin Entertainment, was recently fast tracked for an Academy Awards run, set to open in limited release on December 22 and opening wide on January 12, 2018.
The Papers will follow the 1971 scandal after the decision of The Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks) and publisher Katharine Graham (Streep) to publish The Pentagon Papers. Written and leaked by military analyst Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers established that the Johnson Administration had lied to the public and congress about US military involvement in the Vietnam War, and revealed that the Nixon administration had secretly escalated the war. The Nixon administration tried to stop The Post from publishing them, and Assistant U.S. Attorney General William Rehnquist took the case to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the paper. The late Jason Robards won a 1974 Best Supporting Actor Oscar portraying a Watergate-era Bradlee in All the President’s Men.
This will mark the fifth time Spielberg has directed his pal Hanks after Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal and Bridge of Spies. While Streep has never appeared on screen in a Spielberg film, she provided the voice of The Blue Fairy in 2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
Written as a spec script by newcomer Liz Hannah, The Papers is produced by Amy Pascal (Spider-Man: Homecoming) alongside Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger (Bridge of Spies). Rachel O’Connor will executive produce with Star Thrower Entertainment’s Tim and Trevor White, and Adam Somner.
What do you think of the casting for The Papers? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @ComingSoonnet.
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