The Post
Short description
In 1971, Katharine Graham, the first woman to lead a major American newspaper, and Ben Bradlee, the editor of The Washington Post, confront a decision that pits their careers and their freedom against the government. Secret documents from the Defense Department reveal that successive administrations concealed the truth about the Vietnam War from the public, and the Post, racing to catch up with The New York Times, must weigh whether to publish. Graham, new to the role and mindful of the paper's finances and staff, and Bradlee, determined to print at any cost, navigate a clash between journalism and state power.
Steven Spielberg directed the film, his thirty-sixth feature in chronological order, following The BFG and preceding Ready Player One. Meryl Streep plays Graham and Tom Hanks plays Bradlee, with Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts and Bradley Whitford among the cast. Josh Singer and Liz Hannah wrote the screenplay, and Spielberg produced with Kristie Macosko Krieger and Amy Pascal.
Released in December 2017, the film cost about 50 million dollars and took roughly 180 million worldwide, a solid return for a historical drama aimed at adult audiences. On IMDb it holds 7.2 from about 171,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 out of 10 from a smaller pool of around 5,000. A critics' rating of 7.9 from more than 400 reviews places it above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- In short episodes depicting the Vietnam War, it almost always rains. Tom Hanks played the title role in the film "Forrest Gump" (Robert Zemeckis, 1994), where his character served in Vietnam and subsequently recalled several times that it was always raining there.
- Original documents of Daniel Ellsberg were used as props during filming. This includes the papers scattered on the floor by the character played by Tom Hanks. Ellsberg is a former military analyst and employee of the RAND Corporation who, in 1971, leaked the secret collection "A Vietnam Study: U.S. – Vietnam Relations, 1945-1967" to the press.
- Recordings of President Nixon’s (1913-1994) voice from the White House archives were used in scenes where the President’s voice is heard over the phone.
- Steven Spielberg held a pre-premiere screening of the film for the children of Katharine Graham and Ben Bradley’s widow. Their reaction was positive.
- The film is based on real events – a journalistic investigation that led to a major scandal.
- The plot and dialogue of the film were based on three memoirs written by Katherine Graham, Ben Bradlee, and Daniel Ellsberg. During the filming, Ellsberg was the only one of the three still alive. After a personal meeting with him, the film's director, Steven Spielberg, significantly expanded this role, including a prologue in the film where Ellsberg, disillusioned with the Vietnam War, makes copies of the so-called Pentagon Papers (a collection titled "U.S.-Vietnam Relations, 1945-1967: A Study"). In the original version of the plot, Ellsberg was supposed to play a less prominent role and not appear on screen at all until meeting Ben Bagdikian (a scholar and journalist, professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of "The Media Monopoly").
- The role of the protester was played by abstract artist Blake Emory.
- Tom Hanks was acquainted with the people on whom the film's main characters are based. The actor personally knew Ben Bradley (1921-2014), whose image he portrayed on screen. He met Kay Graham (1917-2001), played by Meryl Streep, just a day before her death.
- Tom Hanks, who is 61 years old, plays 50-year-old Ben Bradley. The real Bradley had a three-year age difference with his wife. The age difference between Hanks and actress Sarah Paulson, who plays Bradley's wife, is 17 years.
- Some scenes and episodes of the film were shot on the grounds of Columbia University.
- The scenes aboard the planes show overhead compartments located above the passenger seats. These appeared in airplanes only in the late 1970s.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
