Steven Spielberg making a movie about the Pentagon Papers is already a big deal. Making a movie about the Pentagon Papers with Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in the lead roles is huge. But there's always room for it to become an even bigger deal, and now the cast of The Papers (formerly The Post) has grown by leaps and bounds.
The Rolodex has been emptied and Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford, and Zach Woods have joined the cast. The film will center on the crucial papers revealed by Daniel Ellsberg that went a long way in changing public perception about our involvement in the Vietnam War. Hanks plays Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, with Streep as publisher Kay Graham.
Is it bad that my first thought was of Paulson and Whitford having a Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip reunion?
Imagine this cast bouncing lines about war and journalism in the 1970s. Yeah, this has Oscars aspirations alright, which is why it's opening December 22nd, with a wider run on January 12th 2018.
