Steven Spielberg is racing to get “The Papers” out for Christmas. His movie about the Pentagon Papers and how they were leaked to the Washington Post (after the New York Times published their scoop), was called “The Post.” But now it has a new title and a lot of new cast members.
As we knew, Tom Hanks is playing Washington Post editor in chief Ben Bradlee, and Meryl Streep is published Katharine Graham. But now Spielberg has added Matthew Rhys of “The Americans” and Sarah Paulson, whose credits are too long to choose from, to the cast. Rhys may be playing Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers and became a controversial national hero.
Also in the movie are Bradley Whitford, Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Zach Woods. That’s an impressive list.
But “The Papers” is shooting now and still casting small roles. Today is June 6th. The release date of December 22nd for a regular director would be unthinkable. But Spielberg will do it, somehow, and maybe even win another Oscar. So hold on.
