Everyone Joins "The Papers"
Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at 8:57AM by Ben Miller
Steven Spielberg made news a few months back with word that his next film about the Pentagon Papers would bring together two American treasures in Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The film, originally referred to as The Post and now titled The Papers, chronicles the Washington Post’s Vietnam War expose’ with Hanks and Streep as the Post’s editor and publisher, respectively.
The big news is who else has been cast in the supporting roles. Rather, who hasn’t been cast...
Sarah Paulson, Allison Brie, Carrie Coon and Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford, Zach Woods, and Matthew Rhys have all joined up.
One or two of those names alone would be cause for excitement, but there is just too much to be excited about to focus on one name.
- Letts and Coon together on-screen
- Mr. Show reunion
- The inevitable stock villain role played by Bruce Greenwood
- Sarah Paulson acting the pants off everyone else
- Scene-stealing character actors of Plemons, Stuhlbarg, and Whitford
- Some much needed levity in the form of Brie and Woods
- Potential big-screen breakout for Rhys
Whew. It’s almost too much to handle! (This is also leading me to imagine a gender-swapped version of All the President’s Men with Paulson and Coon.)
Make sure to mind the floors as Oscar voters are beginning to drool (at least on paper). Newspaper and journalists chasing a story films have always been popular with the Academy, from Best Picture winners It Happened One Night (1934) all the way through recent champ Spotlight (2015).
The Papers drops on December 22 in limited release for an Oscar qualifying run and will expand January 12
Reader Comments (53)
Great cast but the real question is who will Jesse Plemons kill in this film? He's like the Sean Bean of killing people.
This is my most anticipated movie of the year (if it indeed comes out this year) and this news even makes it more anticipated. Matthew Rhys! Sarah Paulson! Carrie Coon! Bob Odenkirk and David Cross! Oh wow.
Yes!
If they ever reboot one of those Airport movies they will only hire TV stars.
I was so happy thinking this year was going to be Meryless and this movie happened so I kind of hate it, but I'm ready to change my mind. I love movies with journalists.
When will Spielberg direct a movie about The New York Times and the Iraq War? Just Kidding!
I wish Sarah Paulson gets an Oscar nomination for this...
I have a weird feeling Meryl is gonna match her 80s Oscar nom tally this decade.
Great cast and have read that the script is very character focused with Streep and Hank firmly in the leads. If Streep is nominated, it would be her 5th this decade so far. Think in the 80's she had 7, if you include Kramer.
What a nice early Birthday present for me. *gg*
This sounds SAG Ensemble nomination all over it and Fox will make sure screenings are out in time.
Has this even started shooting yet? It's already June, and we're supposed to believe it'll be in the can and ready to open six months from now? I have my doubts, but then again Million Dollar Baby did the same damn trick.
Hopefully a great role for Brie! What if she broke out on the awards shortlist?!?!
Who hasn't been cast? : Non White people
Wow. What a arscast. I hope this is
Not so over hyped that it will be a let down by the time
it comes out
I have to believe the screenplay is stellar for Spielberg,
Streep and Hanks to drop other projects and do this project so
quickly.
Can't wait!!
As long as he doesn't have Paulson & Brie standing around with worried looks and arms full of papers,same goes for those talented men.
Cris
These were REAL people. Maybe
none of them were. non White??
It is filming- started on Monday and will wrap in August. Then at the end of August , Streep films Mamma Mia sequel.
natalie - the great thing about film is it's fantasy. this casting should be colorblind
Sign petition here: no more Oscar nominations for Streep. Cringe.
Yes I understand it is fantasy but if you are dealing with people we all know from the political world and they are white, then how can we expect to put people of color in those roles?? Ben Bradlee ( Morgan Freeman ) and Katherine Graham ( Rita Moreno )???
@ brookesboy
why are you so against Streep with more noms ( if she is deserving )? I really am having trouble understanding the negative vibe on this blog. Maybe I am too naive???
Bruce Greenwood is a dreamboat. That's all.
natalie, because she hasn't deserved her last three. AND she hasn't deserved several of the earlier ones. It's gotten to the point of absurdity and grossness. Sigh.
Really! AOC had some great moments for her and I agree FFJ and ITW should have upped her GG tally but not her Oscar noms,depends when you were born what you call early Streep which is 77 - 85 for me and I see most things worthy of the nomination in that period.,Silkwood she's phenomenal in.
She got 6 noms in the 80s...Kramer was a 1979 film.
So Sue- yes, think I was thinking of the 1980 ceremony.
Who will receive top billing- Hanks or Streep?
Clearly the actor's branch believed Streep deserved to be nominated.
Marie--Clearly they did. They are clearly not objective due to their hero worship of her. Also, the speech at the GGs the week before further clouded their judgment. This was partially a political statement, which has no business influencing who gets nominated.
Seen in other terms, Streep has 8 more nominations than the next-highest earners--Nicholson and Hepburn have 12. Seriously?
In even more shocking terms, Streep has 4 times as many nominations as Anne Bancroft. Twice as many as Bette Davis. Ridiculous and shameful.
Or maybe she is just very good.
Lots of actors are very good.
Does Meryl Streep force anybody to hire her in the first place? She must have done something right to have three big upcoming movies at the age of 68.
brookesboy
Thank you for answering my question. I
agree Streep has not always been deservingr any more noms of the noms
However you are assuming reasons she was nominated by the Academy.
I do not feel you can justify their decisions. I feel you do not like her ( that is fair ), but it is not
fair to diminish her achievements.
Into the Woods, Music of the Heart , Doubt, FFJ were ones I felt were overrated. If I checked
Back on others I might find 1or 2 others Also, it depends on the competition that year, also.
I do not want to start a heated debate. It is obvious you do not like Streep. But saying you want a petition to ban her from any more noms is a bit over the top. No??
I just love it when at 68 Meryl Streep has like three big upcoming movies lined up and without forcing anybody to hire her. She must've done something right along the way not just being very good I guess.
Sorry for the errors in first paragraph. I used cell phone and had problems.
1. Comparing across gender lines is fun, but relatively meaningless. We know there are and are always more, stronger roles for men than women. In Hollywood's casting, the same group tend to be offered the best roles more frequently.
For example: what took Dustin Hoffman thirty years to accomplish (7 nominations) took Kate Winslet twenty; Jane Fonda and Cate Blanchett 17.
2. Comparing across eras is also a little challenging. We know that there just aren't as many good years for actresses as there are actors - within the oscar mainstream. Yes. there are exceptions but consider this: It took Katharine Hepburn 18 years to get to five nominations. Here's how long it took the below women
Glenn Close: 6
Jessica Lange: 7
Amy Adams: 8
Judi Dench: 8
Cate Blanchett: 9
Sissy Spacek: 10
KAte Winslet: 11
3. I'm gonna argue a significant majority of Streep's nominations were clearly deserving, regardless if whether they made my specific top five or not. And frankly, I think you could easily take away undeserving nominations from Anne Bancroft (The Turning Point), Hepburn (On Golden Pond, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), Jack Nicholson (A Few Good Men), etc pretty easily.
4. I actually think Hollywood really likes Meryl's oscar narrative and have a vested interest in continuing it.
5. I also think she'd sign your petition, so have at it.
So agree. This is a great cast. Meryl at 68 as a top talent is a unicorn to be celebrated. Same with Tom Hanks and all these other great actors. Don't you want good movies? Break a leg.
Agreed. Not sure why all the Streep hate? She is 68, in demand, and still killing it! If the actors branch wants to nominate her, that is their choice. Haters are going to continue to hate- "whatever". She in a movie with Spielberg, a "real " director and people are still not happy. It boggles the mind.
Same here...I can never understand why there's so much vitriol towards Meryl. Sure, she didn't deserve a couple of nominations like Music of the Heart, Into the Woods, etc but she also didn't get nominated for performances that were Oscar-worthy like Hours, Plenty, etc. It's one thing to not like her, it's another to diminish what she has achieved especially at her age when she' still able to get all these roles. I just hope Cate Blanchett will not receive the same treatment if she exceeds Hepburn's tally one day and can get still get coveted roles past the age of 60. We all should be celebrating when we see actresses long in the tooth still acting their guts out whether on TV, stage or screen, don't you think?
This film came out of nowhere. I am kind of dissapointed that Spielberg isn't doing Montezuma and It's What I Do apparently anymore.
We're lucky we have Meryl Streep. I'm grateful she's still working at 67, soon to be 68. And I do think she would sign a petition to ban her from additional Oscar nominations.
Happy to see Sarah Paulson and Carrie Coon cast in this film. Looking forward.
As usual, you are missing the point. I don't hate Meryl. But someone getting a garish number of Oscar nominations wherein other wonderful actors get unrecognized. Try to justify that because Streep Is some untouchable icon. And this isn't even her fault. But this endless stream of Oscar noms has to stop. Now.
Agree she is Hollywood's choice for their own narrative. She is a through line from Julia etc so 40 years. Hepburn was 50 years? Many people are needed to make good movies, not just one person, plus the work is very good.
I just knew someone is going to lose it in this thread. Strangely, it's not the usual one I predicted. Petition! So creative I cannot even. LMAO! Got to give credits to Meryl for this inspiration.
#brookesboy
I understand your take on this.
Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman & Jessica lange are the three who always get unreasonable amounts of hate at this site. One of the reasons might be maybe they work a lot more than other actresses. So it's all good then.
Jamie, read again what I have posted. I don't hate Meryl. I hate the grossly over-nominated career. There is a difference. Try to justify 20 nominations. Try.
Yes, jack. In this day and age that backlash dominates internet culture, it seems almost necessary for an actress to be hated by some. It means she does something that stands out.
brookesboy - I'll give it a shot
1. Super talented.
2. Unequivocal respect
3. Oscars = performance + sentiment + campaigning
4. It's not just the academy we blame, if we open the reviews for most of the movies that Streep got nominations for she got MVP status- stellar reviews. It's usually the critics that begin the whole awards conversation so at the end when people are complaining about the nominations,let's be real - the critics that give her shining reviews put her in the conversation. I mean, for example just from the 2000's : Lions for Lambs, we don't see a nomination for that. Lukewarm reviews for Prime didn't get her any. Mamma Mia, Rendition.
Good job Moviefan.
Hmmm. No offense, moviefan, but everything you posted could apply to many actors. I thought Oscar nominations were for great acting. Guess I was wrong.
My god, why do we keep giving this brookesboy time and attention ? It's clear he doesn't know shit .
Seriously....it feels like Michael Stuhlbarg has been in EVERYTHING these last few years. Is he Hollywood's favorite character-actor right now or what?