It was only a few days ago thatthe tantalizing prospectofSteven SpielbergdirectingTom HanksandMeryl Streepin a politically tinged true story drama calledThe Posthit our radar, but this thing is moving quickly. Not only are the trio committing to the 20th Century Fox/Amblin co-production, they want to get this thing before cameras ASAP and are clearing their schedules to start production in May, which means it should be in theaters by the end of the year, and thus enters the fray asone of this year’s major awards contenders. But Oscars aren’t necessarily the reason Spielberg, Hanks, and Streep are itching to makeThe Post.
Scripted byLiz Hannah, the drama recounts the Washington Post’s role in exposing the Pentagon Papers to the public in 1971, and how Post editor Ben Bradlee (to be played by Hanks) teamed up with the organization’s first female publisher Kay Graham (Streep’s character) and the New York Times to challenge the federal government over their right to publish. The Pentagon Papers was a classified study that revealed harrowing details about the futility of the Vietnam War, which exposed that the Nixon Administration had been lying to the public. When the White House stopped the New York Times’ initial release of the papers, Bradlee and Graham fought to publish the rest in direct defiance of the Executive Branch.
The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where it was ruled that the New York Times and Washington Post were covered by the First Amendment and that the White House had failed to prove how the publishing of the Papers would cause harm to national security. It was a major victor for the freedom of the press, and during a time when the Trump administration is installing unprecedented, standoffish, and troublingly antagonistic relations with the press, one can imagine the immediacy with which Spielberg, Hanks, and Streep want to tell this story.
In settingThe Postas his next project, Spielberg is pushing back what he was prepping as his next film, the religious dramaThe Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. That film boasts a screenplay byLincolnscribeTony Kushnerand hasMark RylanceandOscar Isaacset to star, but Spielberg is still searching for the right young actor to portray the titular boy. That film will now come afterThe Post, all the while Spielberg continues post-production on his sci-fi epicReady Player One, which wrapped filming last fall but involves extensive motion-capture visual effects and isn’t slated for release until June 09, 2025. That gives Spielberg plenty of time to oversee post on that film while shooting and editingThe Post, and it’s kind of miraculous thatThe Postwill hit theaters beforeReady Player Onedespite the fact that it was shot after.
As forIndiana Jones 5, that wasn’t expected to begin filming until 2018 anyway as Spielberg was going to doMortarafirst, so it’s possible that project maintains its July 15, 2025 release date. What’s in flux now isMortara. If Spielberg does indeed intend on releasingThe Postthis year, his 2017 will be taken up by post onReady Player Oneand the production, post-production, promotion and likely awards campaign forThe Post, meaningThe Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortaraprobably wouldn’t begin production until sometime in 2018. Of course, Spielberg is known for working quickly. He wrappedJurassic Parkin November 1992 only to start shootingSchindler’s Listin March 1993, releasing both films in 1993, and he wrappedAmistadin April 1997 then was rolling cameras a mere two months later on his Oscar-winning epicSaving Private Ryan. So it’s entirely possible he shoots bothThe Kidnapping of Edgardo MortaraandIndiana Jones 5in 2018, releasing both in 2019. Or it’s possible he pushesMortaraonce more to prioritizeIndiana Jones 5, which is no doubt what Paramount would prefer.
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Hanks, meanwhile, is pushing what was poised to be his next project, the WWII thrillerGreyhound. This will be Hanks and Spielberg’s fifth pairing, and lest you think Spielberg is a pure entertainment director who steers clear of politics, I’d point you to the 9/11-tingedWar of the Worlds, his controversialMunich, and even 2015’s seemingly innocuousBridge of Spies, which directly asks, “What does it mean to be an American?”The Postisn’t novel territory for the two-time Best Director Oscar-winner.
Getting a politically relevant project such as this together so quickly would normally be reason for pause, but when you have herculean talent like Spielberg, Hanks, and Streep involved, this goes from potentially interesting to must-see. Spielberg is one of the most talented filmmakers who’s ever lived, and even while something likeThe BFGis considered minor in the context of canon, the skill of filmmaking on display is a pure marvel. And withThe Post, there certainly seems to be considerable passion involved, so I’m very curious to see how this shapes up. At the very least, this makes next year’s Oscarsreallyinteresting.
