Pictures from The Papers.
First images (see gallery below) from the set of Steven Spielberg‘s new docudrama have begun to pop up online. Filming began in late June and is currently underway.
Set in 1971, The Papers is based on the real-life account of Kay Graham and Ben Bradlee – the publisher and editor of The Washington Post at that time – who waged a legal battle with the federal government during the Nixon administration. They fought for the right to publish classified information, citing grounds of First Amendment “Freedom of the Press” civil liberties.
This was the pre-cursor to the Post’s bombshell investigative reporting just a few years later of the Watergate scandal, by reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, also overseen by editor Ben Bradlee. Their exposés led to the resignation of President Nixon.
The Post duo is portrayed by Academy Award winning icons Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, who have 5 Oscars between them. This past spring, the two-time Oscar winning director Spielberg rushed the project into development and production, inspired by parallels to President Trump’s ongoing war with the media, making these 46-year-old events relevant to explore.
With an all-star cast that includes Sarah Paulson, Carrie Coon, Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, Alison Brie, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford, Jesse Plemons, Bruce Greenwood, and Tracy Letts, The Papers opens on December 22, 2017, just in time for an Awards Season run.
Click on any photo for a larger image gallery.