Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk & More Join Steven Spielberg’s ‘THE PAPERS’
Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, Alison Brie, Matthew Rhys, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Michael Stuhlbarg and Zack Woods have joined Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film THE PAPERS about The Washington Post‘s publishing of the classified Pentagon Papers in 1971. The film was formerly known as The Post. These twelve actors join the previously announced Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.
From 20th Century FOX and Amblin Entertainment, the Papers is 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 follow the 1971 scandal after the decision of The Washington Post editor Ben Bradley (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 for his portrayal of a Watergate-era Bradlee in All the President’s Men.
Written as a spec script by newcomer Liz Hannah, The Papers is produced by Amy Pascal alongside Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger. Rachel O’Connor will executive produce with Star Thrower Entertainment’s Tim and Trevor White, and Adam Somner.
This marks the fifth collaboration between Spielberg and Hank after Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal and Bridge of Spies. Streep has never appeared in a Spielberg film, but she did provided the voice of The Blue Fairy in 2001’s A.I Artificial Intelligence.
