Women of "The Post"

By Spencer Coile 

There is a scene during a climactic moment in The Post where Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), publisher for The Washington Post, wades into a crowd. News outlets and reporters swarm around her, probing her decision to run an article exposing the U.S. government for their involvement in the Pentagon Papers. Without uttering a word, she glides past the press, but the camera slows as Katharine finds herself surrounded by a small group of women in this crowd, all staring at her with admiration. 

The Post serves as a timely reminder for why we should never underestimate the impact one powerful woman can make. Though Katharine Graham is the central female focus of the film, Spielberg's latest work features multiple women: they are reporters, wives, mothers, daughters. Each character provides insight into this pivotal moment in American history. So how does The Post honor their legacy? 

Click to read more ...

"Ocean's Eight" Awaits

Chris here. While the world is continually bad, one of our sustaining mantras has been the promise of female ensemble heisting with Ocean's 8. The main refrain of this meditation / mindfulness exercise is obviously its stars - say their names with me and feel renewed: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, and Awkwafina.

Well done.

We've got a new poster and a photo of the assembled crew to distract ourselves, but even this is just a hint of the fun to come (you can expect a trailer to come very soon, impatient readers). Bullock will be playing Danny Ocean's equally conning sister Debbie, so the opportunity remains for some fun crossover with Steven Soderbergh's trilogy. The film's big heist will take place during the Met Gala and juicy cameos should be expected. Ocean's 12 already made a "Julia Roberts pretending to be Julia Roberts" gag, but it would be amusing to revamp the bit here. Rihanna is queen of the Met Gala, after all.

But our new looks are decidedly less fussy than that red carpet extravaganza, with the poster giving us coats and shades mystique and the image below has the team mid-planning. What is Debbie Ocean's octad looking at in their projector? The endless news cycle? Something from the screener pile? The trailer they're keeping from us? Hmmmm.

Screen Supporting Actress Extraordinaire Sarah Paulson

by Murtada

We’ve just seen her in the trailer for Steven Spielberg's The Post, delivering one of the clip's memorable moments. "Well, I think that's brave". She’s going to be one of the Ocean’s Eight. And she'll appear in the M Night Shyamalan Unbreakable/Split sequel Glass. She is also signed to co-star in Bird Box. She’ll be acting with Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Samuel L Jackson, Tom Hanks, Rihanna, Bruce Willis and Meryl Streep.  Yes, Sarah Paulson will be dominating film screens, from the vantage point of the supporting player.

Paulson is booking movies left and right. Obviously casting directors noticed the range she shown in her many Ryan Murphy TV projects. The latest project announced is John Crowley’s adaptation of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer-winning The Goldfinch...

Click to read more ...

"The Post" on Our Doorstep

Chris here. I was just mentioning the other day that we had yet to see any real goods on Steven Spielberg's The Post, and voila: we just got a new trailer and poster. And the promise of the film being a potential major Oscar player has just gotten a whole lot more intense.

If we thought this one aims to capture the zeitgeist, the first look makes good on that and then some. Gender equality, journalistic integrity, a lying government, etc. The Post seems to hammer all of these in a graceful way to make for what looks to be a richly entertaining drama. There has been steady buzz for this first look online (and not just from movie obsessed folk like us at The Film Experience) since dropping late last night, so we may also have a big box office hit on our hands.

So what Oscar questions might have been answered here? For starters, Streep is definitely a lead performance, landing both top billing and the majority of the trailer's attentions - so the Best Actress race just got definitively more crowded. Giggle at the various hairpieces, but it's worth pencilling this next to other Makeup and Hairstyling hopefuls.

Of course with any reveal, there is also inevitably more questions. In The Post's case, which of these featured supporting male actors could be a contender? Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, or Bob Odenkirk perhaps? Might Sarah Paulson's earnestness get her an awaited first nomination or is she more of a crucial bit player? Give us your first impressions and burning questions in the comments!

Tweet Things 2

It's our weekly curated collection of a dozen or so showbiz-related tweets we think you might enjoy. Some are true and some are funny like these two.

Watch movies from before you were born. It's good for you.

— Diablo Hellalgo (@pablohidalgo) October 28, 2017

Guy at work orientation today: What was the most pirated movie last year? Hint. Blockbuster. Main character dressed in red?

Me: JACKIE.

— Cici Cooper (@danblackroyd) October 30, 2017

And others just make us smile.

There's more after the jump involving Richard Burton's diaries, Meet Me in St Louis, The Snowman, Winona Ryder, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri and more. But first how's this for an FYC plug? I mean is Sarah Paulson's asking us, we're considering...

Click to read more ...