‘The Post’ Trailer: Steven Spielberg Releases The Pentagon Papers

Even if audiences didn’t embrace “The BFG,” any new movie from Steven Spielberg is an event, and his latest, “The Post,” is shaping up to be a major Oscar contender. America’s top newspapers are in the midst of a renaissance and “The Post” portrays the Washington Post during its golden era, just prior to Watergate, as the paper battled the federal government for the right to publish the Pentagon Papers, the collection leaked by Daniel Ellsberg which revealed the extent to which the government had lied about the Vietnam War.

The trailer appropriately debuted on Election Night in the United States.  You can watch it embedded at the top of this post.

Anchoring the cast are megastars Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, as Post publisher and editor Kay Graham and Ben Bradlee respectively. While Bradlee is perhaps the more famous name due to Watergate and “All The President’s Men” (where he was played by Jason Robards), Graham was a female legend in the male-dominated field and early reports on the script suggest the story is mostly from her perspective as she finds her agency in a role she reluctantly inherited. While Streep and Hanks are a formidable one-two punch, the entire ensemble is impressive and includes talent such as Carrie Coon, Tracy Letts, Alison Brie, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthem Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Zach Woods.

In addition to the fantastic cast, Spielberg is also joined by some of his habitual collaborators, such as composer John Williams and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski. The script, by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, placed highly on the 2016 Blacklist, which celebrates the best in unproduced scripts.

No one has ever doubted Spielberg’s stylistic chops, but his last few movies have felt a little dated in tone. While this is obviously still a period piece, the Black List script and the supporting cast full to bursting with younger acting talent from some of television’s top shows indicate that “The Post” could have a more contemporary feel. From the timely subject to the impeccable pedigree of the filmmakers, “The Post” is looking like it could be one of Spielberg’s most relevant and exciting movies in years.

“The Post” opens on December 22nd.