And the award for good timing goes to Netflix. In the wake of Oppenheimer’s inevitable Oscar coronation Sunday night, a celebration of a movie about the tormented father of the atomic bomb and the world he helped create, the mega-streamer has dropped Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War, which includes an extensive account of the events leading up to the Manhattan Project, the atomic testing at Los Alamos, the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the arms race that defined the second half of the Twentieth Century.
- 3/12/2024
- by Chris Vognar
- Rollingstone.com
Kristen Stewart is sounding the alarm over the threat of a global nuclear war by getting behind Paul Jay’s feature doc about Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, How to Stop a Nuclear War, which is now in production.
“We’ve grown so accustomed to the looming threat of nuclear annihilation, that it barely registers in our daily lives,” Stewart says in a fundraising video obtained by The Hollywood Reporter for the documentary, which is based on the book Doomsday Machine by the Vietnam-era whistleblower. “But when some new crisis or close call startles out of our slumber for just a brief moment, we truly grasp the insanity of living on a hair trigger to what could be a real-life Armageddon.”
Stewart’s fiancée, Dylan Meyer, is the daughter of Nicholas Meyer, the director of ABC’s groundbreaking 1983 TV movie The Day After and an executive producer of the How...
“We’ve grown so accustomed to the looming threat of nuclear annihilation, that it barely registers in our daily lives,” Stewart says in a fundraising video obtained by The Hollywood Reporter for the documentary, which is based on the book Doomsday Machine by the Vietnam-era whistleblower. “But when some new crisis or close call startles out of our slumber for just a brief moment, we truly grasp the insanity of living on a hair trigger to what could be a real-life Armageddon.”
Stewart’s fiancée, Dylan Meyer, is the daughter of Nicholas Meyer, the director of ABC’s groundbreaking 1983 TV movie The Day After and an executive producer of the How...
- 12/15/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Norman Lear, the pioneering television producer, screenwriter, and activist who shaped the face of sitcoms as we know them, has died. The six-time Emmy winner who was the creative force behind shows like "All in the Family," "Maude," and "The Jeffersons" was 101 years old. He died of natural causes. Lear's official Instagram account posted the following message:
It is with profound sadness and love that we announce the passing of Norman Lear, our beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Norman passed away peacefully on December 5, 2023, surrounded by his family as we told stories and sang songs until the very end.Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him. He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music. But it was people—those he just met and those he knew for decades—who kept...
It is with profound sadness and love that we announce the passing of Norman Lear, our beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Norman passed away peacefully on December 5, 2023, surrounded by his family as we told stories and sang songs until the very end.Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him. He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music. But it was people—those he just met and those he knew for decades—who kept...
- 12/6/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
President Joe Biden issued a brief statement on Henry Kissinger’s death on Thursday, a day after the former secretary of state died at the age of 100.
“I’ll never forget the first time I met Dr. Kissinger. I was a young Senator, and he was Secretary of State —giving a briefing on the state of the world. Throughout our careers, we often disagreed. And often strongly,” Biden said in his statement.
“But from that first briefing — his fierce intellect and profound strategic focus was evident,” he continued. “Long after retiring from government,...
“I’ll never forget the first time I met Dr. Kissinger. I was a young Senator, and he was Secretary of State —giving a briefing on the state of the world. Throughout our careers, we often disagreed. And often strongly,” Biden said in his statement.
“But from that first briefing — his fierce intellect and profound strategic focus was evident,” he continued. “Long after retiring from government,...
- 12/1/2023
- by Ethan Millman
- Rollingstone.com
Henry Kissinger, a national security adviser and former secretary of state under two presidents, has long evaded accountability, even after death. But on Wednesday, the notorious war criminal responsible for the deaths of millions died at the age of 100.
During his lifetime, Kissinger prolonged the Vietnam War and expanded it to Cambodia and Laos; green-lit Indonesia’s bloodshed in East Timor and Pakistan’s bloodshed in Bangladesh; and supported military coups in Chile and Argentina. According to Yale University historian Greg Grandin, author of the biography Kissinger’s Shadow, the...
During his lifetime, Kissinger prolonged the Vietnam War and expanded it to Cambodia and Laos; green-lit Indonesia’s bloodshed in East Timor and Pakistan’s bloodshed in Bangladesh; and supported military coups in Chile and Argentina. According to Yale University historian Greg Grandin, author of the biography Kissinger’s Shadow, the...
- 11/30/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
Henry Kissinger died on Wednesday at his home in Connecticut, his consulting firm said in a statement. The notorious war criminal was 100.
Measuring purely by confirmed kills, the worst mass murderer ever executed by the United States was the white-supremacist terrorist Timothy McVeigh. On April 19, 1995, McVeigh detonated a massive bomb at the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, including 19 children. The government killed McVeigh by lethal injection in June 2001. Whatever hesitation a state execution provokes, even over a man such as McVeigh — necessary questions about the legitimacy of...
Measuring purely by confirmed kills, the worst mass murderer ever executed by the United States was the white-supremacist terrorist Timothy McVeigh. On April 19, 1995, McVeigh detonated a massive bomb at the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, including 19 children. The government killed McVeigh by lethal injection in June 2001. Whatever hesitation a state execution provokes, even over a man such as McVeigh — necessary questions about the legitimacy of...
- 11/30/2023
- by Spencer Ackerman
- Rollingstone.com
Alan Arkin, who won an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine, was nominated for Argo and two other films, scored six Emmy noms and won a Tony Award, died Thursday at his home in San Marcos, CA. He was 89.
The news was announced Friday morning by his sons, actors Adam, Matthew and Anthony, in a joint statement. Matthew Arkin told The New York Times that his father had suffered from heart ailments.
The statement read: “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries
In addition to his Oscar-winning film work, Arkin won a Tony Award for acting in Enter Laughing) and was Tony-nominated for directing The Sunshine Boys. He also was nominated for a half-dozen Emmy Awards spanning 53 years,...
The news was announced Friday morning by his sons, actors Adam, Matthew and Anthony, in a joint statement. Matthew Arkin told The New York Times that his father had suffered from heart ailments.
The statement read: “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries
In addition to his Oscar-winning film work, Arkin won a Tony Award for acting in Enter Laughing) and was Tony-nominated for directing The Sunshine Boys. He also was nominated for a half-dozen Emmy Awards spanning 53 years,...
- 6/30/2023
- by Zac Ntim and Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Daniel Ellsberg died on Friday at 92 years after a battle with cancer and barely six weeks after concluding 40 hours of interviews with documentary maker Paul Jay, who is at work on How to Stop a Nuclear War. The feature follows the Pentagon Papers leaker’s efforts to raise an alarm about the threat of a devastating nuclear war.
On Monday, Jay told The Hollywood Reporter that the man who sounded the alarm about the Vietnam War was far more concerned for the rest of his life about the United States and Russia planning for a globally destructive nuclear attack that could be launched by accident, or intentionally.
“Dan considered today’s world more dangerous than during the Cuban Missile Crisis,” the Toronto-based filmmaker said of the Oct. 1962 stand-off between U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro that nearly resulted in a nuclear war.
On Monday, Jay told The Hollywood Reporter that the man who sounded the alarm about the Vietnam War was far more concerned for the rest of his life about the United States and Russia planning for a globally destructive nuclear attack that could be launched by accident, or intentionally.
“Dan considered today’s world more dangerous than during the Cuban Missile Crisis,” the Toronto-based filmmaker said of the Oct. 1962 stand-off between U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro that nearly resulted in a nuclear war.
- 6/19/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
That you should never meet your heroes, as they are bound to disappoint you, has become such conventional wisdom that it requires no author to affirm it. In a 2020 satirical New Yorker article, Alex Witt attributed the proverb to the faceless “they” (“They say, ‘Never meet your heroes,’ ” adding, “It’s good advice. I’ve met all of my idols, and I’ve been disappointed by every single one”). Some internet pages attribute the quote to the British comedian Alan Carr after meeting Paul Newman, though that appears more apocryphal than reliable.
- 6/16/2023
- by Glenn Greenwald
- Rollingstone.com
Daniel Ellsberg, a onetime advisor to Nixon Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara and Rand Corp. analyst who leaked the 7,000-word secret history of the Vietnam War known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times and Washington Post, has died. That, according to multiple reports. He was 92.
Ellsberg’s decision to provide top secret report, officially known as the Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force, and the newspapers’ decisions to publish it proved a turning point in the public’s attitude toward the war, President Richard Nixon and trust in the government.
It was also a landmark moment for a free press in America, as the resulting Supreme Court decision upheld the right of the Times and Post to publish the documents.
The events attending the leak, publication and court clash over the papers have been the subject of multiple film and TV projects,...
Ellsberg’s decision to provide top secret report, officially known as the Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force, and the newspapers’ decisions to publish it proved a turning point in the public’s attitude toward the war, President Richard Nixon and trust in the government.
It was also a landmark moment for a free press in America, as the resulting Supreme Court decision upheld the right of the Times and Post to publish the documents.
The events attending the leak, publication and court clash over the papers have been the subject of multiple film and TV projects,...
- 6/16/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Daniel Ellsberg, the U.S. military analyst-turned-whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers and helped reveal the political deceptions underpinning the brutal expansion of the Vietnam War, died Friday in his California home. He was 92. The cause was pancreatic cancer, according to a statement by Ellsberg’s family.
Related We’re Told Never to Meet Our Childhood Heroes. Knowing Daniel Ellsberg Proved That Wrong Daniel Ellsberg: The Rolling Stone Interview What Do We Do With the Afghanistan Papers?
In early March, Ellsberg revealed that he’d been diagnosed with “inoperable pancreatic...
Related We’re Told Never to Meet Our Childhood Heroes. Knowing Daniel Ellsberg Proved That Wrong Daniel Ellsberg: The Rolling Stone Interview What Do We Do With the Afghanistan Papers?
In early March, Ellsberg revealed that he’d been diagnosed with “inoperable pancreatic...
- 6/16/2023
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
The infamous Watergate scandal has been covered in popular culture quite a few times, but HBO’s take on the whole matter makes the latest installment even more entertaining. Starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux as Howard Hunt and Gordon Liddy, respectively, White House Plumbers showcases the break-in attempts that happened at Democratic National Committee H.Q. at the Watergate office. The episode opens with the title card showing that all the characters have the names of the people they’re based on and follows the dramatization of the second break-in attempt of the four total attempts that were made. Before we get into the story, let’s get to know our two protagonists, Howard and Gordon.
Spoilers Ahead
Howard Hunt: A Liberal-Hating PR Nightmare
Hunt would’ve been canceled if he had a social media account in 2023, that’s for certain. Given his extremely conservative views about liberalism and...
Spoilers Ahead
Howard Hunt: A Liberal-Hating PR Nightmare
Hunt would’ve been canceled if he had a social media account in 2023, that’s for certain. Given his extremely conservative views about liberalism and...
- 5/2/2023
- by Indrayudh Talukdar
- Film Fugitives
This article contains details from real life events that will likely spoil upcoming episodes of HBO’s White House Plumbers.
Having learned most of what I know about the Watergate scandal from Mad magazine, it took me a while to realize White House Plumbers is a satire. The five-part HBO series telling the true story of the secret unit inside President Richard M. Nixon’s White House begins with The New York Times, not necessarily renowned for its comedic prowess. The story got the paper labeled as scions of “liberal media,” another term seemingly rendered spoof by the stringent journalistic standards of the periodical. The White House Plumbers pulled out their tools to stop the leaking of the Pentagon Papers, and hit a water main. It appears predestined they would get clogged at a place called the Watergate.
The limited series begins with a disclaimer warning none of the names...
Having learned most of what I know about the Watergate scandal from Mad magazine, it took me a while to realize White House Plumbers is a satire. The five-part HBO series telling the true story of the secret unit inside President Richard M. Nixon’s White House begins with The New York Times, not necessarily renowned for its comedic prowess. The story got the paper labeled as scions of “liberal media,” another term seemingly rendered spoof by the stringent journalistic standards of the periodical. The White House Plumbers pulled out their tools to stop the leaking of the Pentagon Papers, and hit a water main. It appears predestined they would get clogged at a place called the Watergate.
The limited series begins with a disclaimer warning none of the names...
- 5/2/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
This post contains spoilers for HBO's "White House Plumbers."
Countless pieces of media dedicated to the Watergate scandal have scrutinized the various facets of the infamous series of break-ins (and cover-ups) perpetrated by the Nixon administration. From the taut, thrilling "All the President's Men" to the chaotic satirical comedy "Dick," Watergate has been dramatized in various tints and shades, and the HBO limited series, "White House Plumbers," intends to continue this tradition. The show's attempts at comedy are half-decent — the colorful characters involved in the (repeated) attempted break-in into the National Committee offices are rightfully portrayed as bumbling clowns with massive egos, but the results are uneven, and not as entertaining as it intends to be. However, "White House Plumbers" does excel in capturing the utterly ridiculous chaos of the botched break-ins from the get-go, exposing the continued incompetence of the Plumbers that eventually led to the downfall of President Richard M. Nixon.
Countless pieces of media dedicated to the Watergate scandal have scrutinized the various facets of the infamous series of break-ins (and cover-ups) perpetrated by the Nixon administration. From the taut, thrilling "All the President's Men" to the chaotic satirical comedy "Dick," Watergate has been dramatized in various tints and shades, and the HBO limited series, "White House Plumbers," intends to continue this tradition. The show's attempts at comedy are half-decent — the colorful characters involved in the (repeated) attempted break-in into the National Committee offices are rightfully portrayed as bumbling clowns with massive egos, but the results are uneven, and not as entertaining as it intends to be. However, "White House Plumbers" does excel in capturing the utterly ridiculous chaos of the botched break-ins from the get-go, exposing the continued incompetence of the Plumbers that eventually led to the downfall of President Richard M. Nixon.
- 5/2/2023
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
‘White House Plumbers’ Review: Woody Harrelson & Justin Theroux Make Fine Stooges in Watergate Farce
Just before G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux) embarks on his very public trial for conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping — all tied to the 1972 Watergate scandal — his wife, Fran (Judy Greer), stops him outside the courthouse. “Are you sure you don’t want me to be there?” she asks her husband. “Oh, no, no, no,” Liddy replies. “I am going to act like a jackass — piss off the prosecution, force a few errors, send the whole thing to appeals, and get it all thrown out. If I see you in the gallery, I might be forced to remember my manners.”
Liddy’s trial prep is but one of many, many bad plans the former FBI agent cooks up over the course of “White House Plumbers,” HBO’s five-part limited series about the inept burglars behind the infamous Watergate break-in. But few so succinctly summarize his perpetually cocky, off-kilter demeanor, or what...
Liddy’s trial prep is but one of many, many bad plans the former FBI agent cooks up over the course of “White House Plumbers,” HBO’s five-part limited series about the inept burglars behind the infamous Watergate break-in. But few so succinctly summarize his perpetually cocky, off-kilter demeanor, or what...
- 5/1/2023
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
In All the President’s Men, the iconic 1976 film about how reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate scandal and brought down the entire Richard Nixon presidency, Woodward’s inside source, nicknamed Deep Throat, famously says, “Forget the myths the media’s created about the White House. The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.”
The new HBO miniseries White House Plumbers takes five hours conveying this idea that William Goldman’s Oscar-winning Atpm script got across in a couple of sentences.
The new HBO miniseries White House Plumbers takes five hours conveying this idea that William Goldman’s Oscar-winning Atpm script got across in a couple of sentences.
- 5/1/2023
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
When it came to Watergate, it wasn't the crime, it was the coverup. Had Richard Nixon and his men not covered up the White House's involvement in the break-in — and had Nixon not recorded so many conversations — the president might have survived. Indeed, it's strange to look back at the Watergate affair and think that such a small, petty crime — a "third-rate burglary," in Nixon's own words — could bring down a president, especially in this modern age when politicians are wildly, flagrantly corrupt and suffer almost no consequences.
The story of Watergate and its aftermath has been covered frequently in film and TV, most notably in "All the President's Men." Now, HBO's "White House Plumbers" takes us back to the '70s and focuses on the men who made it happen — the men who, through their own ineptitude, helped destroy Richard Nixon, a president they professed to love. Who were these men?...
The story of Watergate and its aftermath has been covered frequently in film and TV, most notably in "All the President's Men." Now, HBO's "White House Plumbers" takes us back to the '70s and focuses on the men who made it happen — the men who, through their own ineptitude, helped destroy Richard Nixon, a president they professed to love. Who were these men?...
- 4/27/2023
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Digital database Internet Archive lost the first ruling in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the “nonprofit library” by four of the biggest publishing companies.
In June 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, John Wiley & Sons, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins and Penguin Random House sued Internet Archive over their attempt to create a “National Emergency Library” by uploading countless e-books — or scanned versions of printed books — for users to “borrow” while bookstores and libraries across the nation were shuttered due to the pandemic.
“Its goal of creating digital copies of books...
In June 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, John Wiley & Sons, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins and Penguin Random House sued Internet Archive over their attempt to create a “National Emergency Library” by uploading countless e-books — or scanned versions of printed books — for users to “borrow” while bookstores and libraries across the nation were shuttered due to the pandemic.
“Its goal of creating digital copies of books...
- 3/25/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Sam Neill revealed he is being treated for stage-three blood cancer in an interview with The Guardian published on Friday.
The 75-year-old actor, who’s best known for his roles in the “Jurassic Park” films, details his angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma diagnosis and treatment in the new memoir, “Did I Ever Tell You This?,” which is out March 21.
“I’m not afraid to die,” he writes in the memoir, “but it would annoy me. Because I’d really like another decade or two, you know? … But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.”
Also Read:
Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers Whistleblower, Reveals Terminal Cancer Diagnosis
He first noticed symptoms while doing publicity for “Jurassic World Dominion” last year and says he is now cancer-free after taking a new chemotherapy drug.
Neill said he started writing the book while undergoing chemotherapy last year.
“I found myself with with nothing to do,...
The 75-year-old actor, who’s best known for his roles in the “Jurassic Park” films, details his angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma diagnosis and treatment in the new memoir, “Did I Ever Tell You This?,” which is out March 21.
“I’m not afraid to die,” he writes in the memoir, “but it would annoy me. Because I’d really like another decade or two, you know? … But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.”
Also Read:
Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers Whistleblower, Reveals Terminal Cancer Diagnosis
He first noticed symptoms while doing publicity for “Jurassic World Dominion” last year and says he is now cancer-free after taking a new chemotherapy drug.
Neill said he started writing the book while undergoing chemotherapy last year.
“I found myself with with nothing to do,...
- 3/17/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
More often than not, an internationally known freedom fighter will have a personality and temperament as heroic as the actions that made him famous. Just look at Nelson Mandela, Alexei Navalny, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, or — as controversial a figure as he remains — Edward Snowden, who for 10 years has conducted himself as a profile in courage. But there are times when the personal and the political don’t sit so easily in the same person.
Julian Assange is one of those people. From the moment he launched WikiLeaks, the renegade website that provided an anonymous home for journalists and whistleblowers to spill the secrets and dump the documents of global power, there was an air of absolutism about him, a bombs-away belief in the rightness of his actions that teetered, at times, into anarchistic recklessness. Assange, like Snowden, exposed important revelations about how governments, in particular the government of the United States,...
Julian Assange is one of those people. From the moment he launched WikiLeaks, the renegade website that provided an anonymous home for journalists and whistleblowers to spill the secrets and dump the documents of global power, there was an air of absolutism about him, a bombs-away belief in the rightness of his actions that teetered, at times, into anarchistic recklessness. Assange, like Snowden, exposed important revelations about how governments, in particular the government of the United States,...
- 3/4/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Emma Thompson is set to narrate a feature doc about Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, dubbed “the most dangerous man in America” by then U.S. President Richard Nixon.
The Hollywood actress will lend her voice to director Paul Jay’s How to Stop a Nuclear War, which is based on the book Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Ellsberg.
In extensive interviews with Jay for the feature, Ellsberg explains the “institutional madness” of American nuclear war plans and how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made the world far more dangerous, according to a synopsis by the filmmakers.
In a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Thompson said she had been fearful of nuclear weapons in her youth and participated in protests against their use, and feels a need to get active again.
“Making the connection between the climate crisis movement and the anti-nuclear movement has never been more essential.
The Hollywood actress will lend her voice to director Paul Jay’s How to Stop a Nuclear War, which is based on the book Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Ellsberg.
In extensive interviews with Jay for the feature, Ellsberg explains the “institutional madness” of American nuclear war plans and how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made the world far more dangerous, according to a synopsis by the filmmakers.
In a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Thompson said she had been fearful of nuclear weapons in her youth and participated in protests against their use, and feels a need to get active again.
“Making the connection between the climate crisis movement and the anti-nuclear movement has never been more essential.
- 1/31/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
A feature doc about Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, dubbed “the most dangerous man in America” by then U.S. President Richard Nixon, is in the works.
Director Paul Jay’s How to Stop a Nuclear War is based on the book Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Ellsberg. In extensive interviews with Jay for the feature, Ellsberg explains the “institutional madness” of American nuclear war plans and how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made the world far more dangerous, according to a synopsis by the filmmakers.
Ellsberg famously made copies of the Pentagon Papers and classified nuclear documents during the Nixon administration and leaked the documents to the New York Times and other media outlets in 1971. As a high-level Pentagon analyst, Ellsberg was charged by the U.S. with breaking the Espionage Act.
But the case was dismissed...
A feature doc about Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, dubbed “the most dangerous man in America” by then U.S. President Richard Nixon, is in the works.
Director Paul Jay’s How to Stop a Nuclear War is based on the book Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Ellsberg. In extensive interviews with Jay for the feature, Ellsberg explains the “institutional madness” of American nuclear war plans and how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made the world far more dangerous, according to a synopsis by the filmmakers.
Ellsberg famously made copies of the Pentagon Papers and classified nuclear documents during the Nixon administration and leaked the documents to the New York Times and other media outlets in 1971. As a high-level Pentagon analyst, Ellsberg was charged by the U.S. with breaking the Espionage Act.
But the case was dismissed...
- 11/29/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While the 2022 edition of SXSW found audiences returning to theaters, many of the Xr projects in the festival brought people to their feet. The 30 “Xr Experience” projects programmed this year surfaced in a section previously known as “Virtual Cinema,” and the change makes sense: They’re so defined by their own terms that the word “cinema” simply doesn’t cut it.
Instead, they demonstrate the range of aesthetic possibilities in the Xr space. For emerging media newbies, “Xr” refers to a spectrum of cutting-edge technology these days that includes Ar (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), and Mr (mixed reality). For years, festival programming has provided a platform for the immersive possibilities of the medium. However, the SXSW lineup provided a particularly eclectic range of masterful work that proved the future of the art form has arrived. These experiences utilized their media to such a confident degree that they didn’t...
Instead, they demonstrate the range of aesthetic possibilities in the Xr space. For emerging media newbies, “Xr” refers to a spectrum of cutting-edge technology these days that includes Ar (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), and Mr (mixed reality). For years, festival programming has provided a platform for the immersive possibilities of the medium. However, the SXSW lineup provided a particularly eclectic range of masterful work that proved the future of the art form has arrived. These experiences utilized their media to such a confident degree that they didn’t...
- 3/18/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
“I have never lived alone. I have never laughed alone. And that has as much with me being here today as anything.”
Wise words from television legend Norman Lear who, at 99, received the Hollywood Foreign Press’s Carol Burnett Award for outstanding contributions to television, both on and off the screen. Lear is one of only three recipients of the honor, the others being Ellen DeGeneres and Burnett herself.
Lear started his acceptance by thanking Burnett before going on to an appreciation of his collaborators throughout the years including Bud Yorkin, Alan Horne, Jerry Perenchio and his current partner, Brent Miller. Lear also saluted Sony Pictures TV, calling it “one of the gustiest, most able group of executives” he’s ever worked with.
The TV legend completed his thank you’s with a batch for wife Lyn Davis Lear and his children and grandchildren.
As he signed off, the Tv...
Wise words from television legend Norman Lear who, at 99, received the Hollywood Foreign Press’s Carol Burnett Award for outstanding contributions to television, both on and off the screen. Lear is one of only three recipients of the honor, the others being Ellen DeGeneres and Burnett herself.
Lear started his acceptance by thanking Burnett before going on to an appreciation of his collaborators throughout the years including Bud Yorkin, Alan Horne, Jerry Perenchio and his current partner, Brent Miller. Lear also saluted Sony Pictures TV, calling it “one of the gustiest, most able group of executives” he’s ever worked with.
The TV legend completed his thank you’s with a batch for wife Lyn Davis Lear and his children and grandchildren.
As he signed off, the Tv...
- 3/1/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Gravitas Ventures has obtained the rights to The Judge – Character. Cases. Courage., a documentary directed by Robert Griffith and narrated by Justin Theroux. The pic, which hails from the American Documentary Film Fund, will be released on Tvod/digital platforms on January 26. The doc follows Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr. in his distinguished, momentous and tumultuous 31-year tenure on the Federal bench where he fought against the status quo to promote racial and gender equality, protect the environment, uphold the rule of law and the US Constitution. It features interviews from the likes of U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-va), U.S. Senator Mark Warner ((D-va), Anne Holton, Judge Merhige’s former law clerk, among many others.
Named by President Lyndon B. Johnson to Federal District Court in Richmond in 1967, Judge Merhige ordered the desegregation of dozens of Virginia school districts in 1972. In 1970, Judge Merhige ordered the University of Virginia...
Named by President Lyndon B. Johnson to Federal District Court in Richmond in 1967, Judge Merhige ordered the desegregation of dozens of Virginia school districts in 1972. In 1970, Judge Merhige ordered the University of Virginia...
- 1/11/2021
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Neil Sheehan, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the New York Times journalist who obtained the Pentagon Papers, has died.
His wife, Susan Sheehan, told The New York Times that he died Thursday due to complications of Parkinson’s disease at his Washington home. He was 84.
Born on Oct. 27, 1936 in Holyoke, Massachussetts, Sheehan graduated from Harvard and began his reporting career as an Army journalist. For The New York Times and United Press International, Sheehan chronicled the events of the Vietnam War.
Sheehan, however is most known for reporting on the Pentagon Papers, which revealed U.S. involvement in Vietnam ordered by the Department of Defense. Military analyst Daniel Ellsberg granted Sheehan access to the critical documents in 1971, which exposed the truth about American involvement in the war and set off legal retaliation from the Nixon Administration.
After the bombshell report, Sheehan focused his attention on his book A Bright Shining...
His wife, Susan Sheehan, told The New York Times that he died Thursday due to complications of Parkinson’s disease at his Washington home. He was 84.
Born on Oct. 27, 1936 in Holyoke, Massachussetts, Sheehan graduated from Harvard and began his reporting career as an Army journalist. For The New York Times and United Press International, Sheehan chronicled the events of the Vietnam War.
Sheehan, however is most known for reporting on the Pentagon Papers, which revealed U.S. involvement in Vietnam ordered by the Department of Defense. Military analyst Daniel Ellsberg granted Sheehan access to the critical documents in 1971, which exposed the truth about American involvement in the war and set off legal retaliation from the Nixon Administration.
After the bombshell report, Sheehan focused his attention on his book A Bright Shining...
- 1/8/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
I am the son of a Vietnam veteran. Though I wasn’t alive in 1971 when the Pentagon Papers emerged, the very mention of them makes my blood boil. It is one thing to know that the most important man in your life, the one who helped later give it to you, volunteered to serve his country and ended up in a conflict that had — to be charitable — questionable morals and objectives with the transparency of an opaque cataract. Then later, as a student, I learned of Daniel Ellsberg’s 1971 release...
- 12/13/2019
- by Jamil Smith
- Rollingstone.com
Tom Hanks is wonderful as Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Too bad the movie isn’t about him.
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The first thing you need to know is that Tom Hanks does an eerily accurate impersonation of legendary children’s TV host Fred Rogers in Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Clad in the iconic red sweater, hair gray and swept back, demeanor calm and composed, even in the face of a rude question or two, Hanks does a remarkable job of capturing at least the public face of the performer, educator, and minister: a man who taught love and empathy to millions of young minds and hearts every afternoon for decades via public broadcasting.
The second thing you need to know about the film itself is that Mr. Rogers is not the center of the story, but rather a supporting player.
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The first thing you need to know is that Tom Hanks does an eerily accurate impersonation of legendary children’s TV host Fred Rogers in Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Clad in the iconic red sweater, hair gray and swept back, demeanor calm and composed, even in the face of a rude question or two, Hanks does a remarkable job of capturing at least the public face of the performer, educator, and minister: a man who taught love and empathy to millions of young minds and hearts every afternoon for decades via public broadcasting.
The second thing you need to know about the film itself is that Mr. Rogers is not the center of the story, but rather a supporting player.
- 11/15/2019
- Den of Geek
High-minded and sturdy, if never as galvanizing as it should be, Gavin Hood’s whistleblower drama “Official Secrets” follows a string of similarly themed, recent-history docudramas in trying to frame a noble fight as worth waging no matter the repercussions.
And in the real-life case of British intelligence analyst Katharine Gun, played with trademark poise and fierce smarts by Keira Knightley, a consequential impulse to go rogue and do right by millions of citizens in England and Iraq in the pre-invasion buildup put her squarely in the crosshairs of her country’s need to punish those willing to expose the darker workings in the drumbeat to war.
If you don’t know anything about Gun’s actions and subsequent ordeal — highly likely since war happened anyway, and regrettably so since this incident should have helped prevent it — “Official Secrets,” serves as an efficiently told primer. It’s a historical sidebar...
And in the real-life case of British intelligence analyst Katharine Gun, played with trademark poise and fierce smarts by Keira Knightley, a consequential impulse to go rogue and do right by millions of citizens in England and Iraq in the pre-invasion buildup put her squarely in the crosshairs of her country’s need to punish those willing to expose the darker workings in the drumbeat to war.
If you don’t know anything about Gun’s actions and subsequent ordeal — highly likely since war happened anyway, and regrettably so since this incident should have helped prevent it — “Official Secrets,” serves as an efficiently told primer. It’s a historical sidebar...
- 8/27/2019
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
Jeff Daniels took a swipe at President Donald Trump and the Gop during an appearance on MSNBC on Monday.
Daniels spoke with Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC about his role as Atticus Finch in the Broadway production of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a story about racial politics and discrimination in 1930s Alabama, and spent the segment comparing his play to the country’s current political climate. “Mockingbird” is nominated for nine Tony awards and holds the record for highest-grossing American play in Broadway history.
Daniels currently lives in Michigan, where he said part of the population is apathetic when it comes to voting, making him question where the active voters are and whether they share Finch’s view of inherent decency and compassion. He implied that “it’s the end of democracy” as we know it, if Trump is re-elected in 2020.
“You have to decide whether, like Atticus [Finch], you believe that there is compassion,...
Daniels spoke with Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC about his role as Atticus Finch in the Broadway production of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a story about racial politics and discrimination in 1930s Alabama, and spent the segment comparing his play to the country’s current political climate. “Mockingbird” is nominated for nine Tony awards and holds the record for highest-grossing American play in Broadway history.
Daniels currently lives in Michigan, where he said part of the population is apathetic when it comes to voting, making him question where the active voters are and whether they share Finch’s view of inherent decency and compassion. He implied that “it’s the end of democracy” as we know it, if Trump is re-elected in 2020.
“You have to decide whether, like Atticus [Finch], you believe that there is compassion,...
- 5/21/2019
- by Mackenzie Nichols
- Variety Film + TV
Jeff Daniels went on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House in a pre-Tonys roundtable today and basically took the Republican Party to the woodshed. The star of Broadway’s To Kill a Mockingbird harkened back to a previous role — that of cable news anchor Will McAvoy from HBO’s The Newsroom, for which he won an Emmy — as he talked politics, race and the need for the country to dethrone Donald Trump.
Speaking with host Nicolle Wallace and her panel, Daniels first discussed playing the fictional but revered Atticus Finch in the Aaron Sorkin-penned Mockingbird every night. “You walk out there and we pin the ears back of, basically, white America,” he said. “White liberal America comes in, and they go, ‘We had no idea it was that tough.’ It’s a slap in the face; it’s a wake-up call.”
But Daniels was just getting warmed up. He...
Speaking with host Nicolle Wallace and her panel, Daniels first discussed playing the fictional but revered Atticus Finch in the Aaron Sorkin-penned Mockingbird every night. “You walk out there and we pin the ears back of, basically, white America,” he said. “White liberal America comes in, and they go, ‘We had no idea it was that tough.’ It’s a slap in the face; it’s a wake-up call.”
But Daniels was just getting warmed up. He...
- 5/20/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Sixty prominent citizens are marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day by calling for new investigations into the assassinations of 4 men -- assassinations that changed the world -- John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The group -- The Truth and Reconciliation Committee (Trc) -- believes all 4 assassinations were the result of conspiracies that were covered up by the government. Members of Trc include Oliver Stone, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen,...
- 1/19/2019
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
On September 14 Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will introduce Jackson Browne as he receives the Gandhi Peace Award from Promoting Enduring Peace at the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts starting at 7:30 pm.
Kennedy, the second son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is an American environmental attorney, author, and activist who serves as president of the board of Waterkeeper Alliance, a non-profit environmental group that he helped found in 1999.
Dr. Joseph Bertolino, president of Southern Connecticut State University, will greet the audience, as will Andrew Wolf, New Haven’s Director of Arts, Culture and Tourism. Ben Grosscup and Luci Murphy of the People’s Music Network will begin the evening with musical tributes. Chris George of Iris (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services) and Frida Berrigan, columnist for Waging Peace and daughter of Philip Berrigan, will also speak.
Jackson Browne is the first artist to receive the Gandhi Peace Award.
Kennedy, the second son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is an American environmental attorney, author, and activist who serves as president of the board of Waterkeeper Alliance, a non-profit environmental group that he helped found in 1999.
Dr. Joseph Bertolino, president of Southern Connecticut State University, will greet the audience, as will Andrew Wolf, New Haven’s Director of Arts, Culture and Tourism. Ben Grosscup and Luci Murphy of the People’s Music Network will begin the evening with musical tributes. Chris George of Iris (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services) and Frida Berrigan, columnist for Waging Peace and daughter of Philip Berrigan, will also speak.
Jackson Browne is the first artist to receive the Gandhi Peace Award.
- 9/11/2018
- Look to the Stars
Steven Spielberg’s excellent Pentagon Papers exposé thriller comes straight from the facts. If the project wasn’t begun in 2014 we’d think it was a direct response to today’s attacks on the news media. We’ll take it as that anyway. It’s a fine performing showcase for Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, and the direction creates exciting drama without a single car chase, assassination attempt or superhero.
The Post
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital
20th Fox
2017 / Color /1:85 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date April 17, 2018 / 34.99
Starring: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys, Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg.
Cinematography: Janusz Kaminsky
Film Editors: Michael Kahn, Sarah Broshar
Original Music: John Williams
Written by Liz Hannah, Josh Singer
Produced by Kristie Macosko Krieger, Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Imagine that — a new movie with almost no characters under thirty years of age.
The Post
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital
20th Fox
2017 / Color /1:85 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date April 17, 2018 / 34.99
Starring: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys, Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg.
Cinematography: Janusz Kaminsky
Film Editors: Michael Kahn, Sarah Broshar
Original Music: John Williams
Written by Liz Hannah, Josh Singer
Produced by Kristie Macosko Krieger, Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Imagine that — a new movie with almost no characters under thirty years of age.
- 5/3/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Glenn Dunks
If The Post gave you a hankering for the truth behind the Pentagon Papers, then the 2010 documentary The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers will prove uncommonly fulfilling. In fact, watching this Academy Award-nominated doc (it lost to The Cove), you would be hard-pressed to believe that it's about the same events as portrayed in the Steven Spielberg movie.
Last week we looked at The Price of Gold and how closedly I, Tonya mimicked it, so it's actually quite amusing to see that this week's Best Picture / Documentary cross-over is the complete opposite. Sure, they overlap here and cross-over there, but The Most Dangerous Man in America goes longer, deeper, wider, and somehow all but completely ignores The Washington Post and the personalities within the 2017 film...
If The Post gave you a hankering for the truth behind the Pentagon Papers, then the 2010 documentary The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers will prove uncommonly fulfilling. In fact, watching this Academy Award-nominated doc (it lost to The Cove), you would be hard-pressed to believe that it's about the same events as portrayed in the Steven Spielberg movie.
Last week we looked at The Price of Gold and how closedly I, Tonya mimicked it, so it's actually quite amusing to see that this week's Best Picture / Documentary cross-over is the complete opposite. Sure, they overlap here and cross-over there, but The Most Dangerous Man in America goes longer, deeper, wider, and somehow all but completely ignores The Washington Post and the personalities within the 2017 film...
- 2/20/2018
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Matthew Rhys plays Daniel Ellsberg in Oscar-nominated film The Post, directed by Stephen Spielberg. Rhys sat down with uInterview to talk about his role in the film and the overall message of The Post. Rhys was excited to have met with the real Ellsberg, an activist who was charged with espionage after he released the Pentagon Papers in 1971, before the […]
Source: uInterview
The post Matthew Rhys On ‘The Post,’ Steven Spielberg & Playing Daniel Ellsberg [Video Exclusive] appeared first on uInterview.
Source: uInterview
The post Matthew Rhys On ‘The Post,’ Steven Spielberg & Playing Daniel Ellsberg [Video Exclusive] appeared first on uInterview.
- 1/23/2018
- by Hillary Luehring-Jones
- Uinterview
The main selling point of The Post, Steven Spielberg’s new film about The Washington Post’s involvement in publishing the Pentagon Papers, in 1971, is its topicality: the film was green lit, produced, and released all in 2017, beginning shortly after the Trump presidency. For such a film, it holds up surprisingly well, though contrary to what you might expect, it succeeds least of all as a movie about journalism. Christian Lorentzen elaborates at The New Republic:If the story of a bullying president and an embattled press corps sounds familiar, that’s because Spielberg fast-tracked the script’s production last spring. Casting Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, who have both been vocal critics of the Trump administration, in the lead roles is more than a little on the nose. The historical allegory is neat, and obviousness isn’t a flaw in a protest movie. But as a movie about journalism, The Post substitutes righteousness for suspense,...
- 1/18/2018
- MUBI
The two most famous whistleblowers in modern history discuss Steven Spielberg’s new film, The Post, about Ellsberg’s leaking of the Pentagon Papers, the personal cost of what they did – and if they’d advise anybody to follow in their footsteps. Introduced by Ewen MacAskill
Daniel Ellsberg, the Us whistleblower celebrated in Steven Spielberg’s new film, The Post, was called “the most dangerous man in America” by the Nixon administration in the 70s. More than 40 years later, the man he helped inspire, Edward Snowden, was called “the terrible traitor” by Donald Trump, as he called for Snowden’s execution.
The Guardian has brought the two together – the most famous whistleblower of the 20th century and the most famous of the 21st so far – to discuss leaks, press freedom and other issues raised in Spielberg’s film.
Continue reading...
Daniel Ellsberg, the Us whistleblower celebrated in Steven Spielberg’s new film, The Post, was called “the most dangerous man in America” by the Nixon administration in the 70s. More than 40 years later, the man he helped inspire, Edward Snowden, was called “the terrible traitor” by Donald Trump, as he called for Snowden’s execution.
The Guardian has brought the two together – the most famous whistleblower of the 20th century and the most famous of the 21st so far – to discuss leaks, press freedom and other issues raised in Spielberg’s film.
Continue reading...
- 1/16/2018
- by Ewen MacAskill, Edward Snowden and Daniel Ellsberg
- The Guardian - Film News
This is one of a series of stories and videos in which TheWrap explores the background, history and repercussions of the events depicted in the film “The Post,” from the commission and leak of the top-secret Vietnam chronicle the Pentagon Papers to the legal battle over their publication. By 1967, the United States had been involved in Vietnam for 22 years, a period dating back to the Truman administration. The public knew little about it. That all changed in 1971 when Daniel Ellsberg, a former Pentagon military analyst, gave The New York Times thousands of pages of a secret government report...
- 1/9/2018
- by Michael Janofsky
- The Wrap
Chicago – For all the films Meryl Streep is privileged to make – which is remarkable considering the industry’s attitude toward older actresses – she has even admitted that the audience may be tired of seeing her. But as publisher Katherine Graham in ‘The Post’, she nails yet another great performance.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Katherine Graham was the owner/publisher of the Washington Post newspaper, taking the reins in 1963 after the previous owner, her husband Phillip, committed suicide. She stayed in that position until 1979, and oversaw the paper’s evolution into an investigative exposer of truth, including the infamous Watergate report series which took down President Richard M. Nixon. “The Post” focuses on a story that came right before Watergate, the publishing of the “Pentagon Papers.” These “Papers” were essentially a classified history of the Vietnam War, put together by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, revealing the mistakes and folly of the U.S. government...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Katherine Graham was the owner/publisher of the Washington Post newspaper, taking the reins in 1963 after the previous owner, her husband Phillip, committed suicide. She stayed in that position until 1979, and oversaw the paper’s evolution into an investigative exposer of truth, including the infamous Watergate report series which took down President Richard M. Nixon. “The Post” focuses on a story that came right before Watergate, the publishing of the “Pentagon Papers.” These “Papers” were essentially a classified history of the Vietnam War, put together by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, revealing the mistakes and folly of the U.S. government...
- 1/4/2018
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
MaryAnn’s quick take… Crackles with life and energy, depicting a grand adventure in journalism from almost half a century ago with vigor, suspense, and an urgent relevance for today. I’m “biast” (pro): love the cast, big Spielberg fan
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto) women’s participation in this film
(learn more about this)
Okay. Steven Spielberg has made movies about dinosaurs and sharks and aliens (lost and cute, invading and not cute, and just visiting and enigmatic) and adventurin’ archeologists and war horses and crime-predicting psychics and big friendly giants. It’s probably not difficult to make such things exciting. But this? The Post is a movie in which people sit around arguing about freedom of the press and journalistic ethics and IPOs. Papers are shuffled and xeroxed. Lawyers are consulted, and mostly just frown a lot in reply.
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto) women’s participation in this film
(learn more about this)
Okay. Steven Spielberg has made movies about dinosaurs and sharks and aliens (lost and cute, invading and not cute, and just visiting and enigmatic) and adventurin’ archeologists and war horses and crime-predicting psychics and big friendly giants. It’s probably not difficult to make such things exciting. But this? The Post is a movie in which people sit around arguing about freedom of the press and journalistic ethics and IPOs. Papers are shuffled and xeroxed. Lawyers are consulted, and mostly just frown a lot in reply.
- 12/29/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
My grandfather would have loved the scene. Boldfaced names from Hollywood and Washington gathered on Dec. 14 at the Newseum — the D.C. shrine to the profession that made him an American icon — for the premiere of Steven Spielberg’s new movie, The Post. The crowd was eclectic. There was Jeff Bezos next to Warren Buffet, Diane von Furstenberg next to Daniel Ellsberg (the whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers), CNN’s Wolf Blitzer next to CBS’ Major Garrett and Tom Hanks right next to Meryl Streep. Hanks plays the man the nation knew as the great Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee;...
- 12/22/2017
- by Anna Bradlee
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After five films together, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are close friends. However, Hanks also serves in another essential, unpaid role on Spielberg’s sets: acting coach.
Spielberg is infamous for not rehearsing his cast, expecting them to turn up on set fully prepared to step in front of his camera. This was especially true on “The Post,” which was on a fast track, even for the efficient filmmaker: Production began May 1, less than eight months before its December 22 release date. Hanks decided to take the newsroom gang aside for some much-needed prep.
“I knew how Steve worked,” Hanks said. “I had to figure out in different circumstances how this guy made movies. So just a little forwarding could go a long way. ‘Look, let’s get together off the books over pie and coffee and read through the stuff we have. I will try to explain to you the...
Spielberg is infamous for not rehearsing his cast, expecting them to turn up on set fully prepared to step in front of his camera. This was especially true on “The Post,” which was on a fast track, even for the efficient filmmaker: Production began May 1, less than eight months before its December 22 release date. Hanks decided to take the newsroom gang aside for some much-needed prep.
“I knew how Steve worked,” Hanks said. “I had to figure out in different circumstances how this guy made movies. So just a little forwarding could go a long way. ‘Look, let’s get together off the books over pie and coffee and read through the stuff we have. I will try to explain to you the...
- 12/20/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
After five films together, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are close friends. However, Hanks also serves in another essential, unpaid role on Spielberg’s sets: acting coach.
Spielberg is infamous for not rehearsing his cast, expecting them to turn up on set fully prepared to step in front of his camera. This was especially true on “The Post,” which was on a fast track, even for the efficient filmmaker: Production began May 1, less than eight months before its December 22 release date. Hanks decided to take the newsroom gang aside for some much-needed prep.
“I knew how Steve worked,” Hanks said. “I had to figure out in different circumstances how this guy made movies. So just a little forwarding could go a long way. ‘Look, let’s get together off the books over pie and coffee and read through the stuff we have. I will try to explain to you the...
Spielberg is infamous for not rehearsing his cast, expecting them to turn up on set fully prepared to step in front of his camera. This was especially true on “The Post,” which was on a fast track, even for the efficient filmmaker: Production began May 1, less than eight months before its December 22 release date. Hanks decided to take the newsroom gang aside for some much-needed prep.
“I knew how Steve worked,” Hanks said. “I had to figure out in different circumstances how this guy made movies. So just a little forwarding could go a long way. ‘Look, let’s get together off the books over pie and coffee and read through the stuff we have. I will try to explain to you the...
- 12/20/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The First Amendment has been front and center in the press under President Donald Trump’s administration. That’s what makes Steven Spielberg’s new movie so incredibly timely.
The director’s latest drama The Post chronicles The Washington Post‘s 1971 effort to publish the legendary Pentagon Papers over the objections of the United States government. Starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, the film was recently nominated for six Golden Globe awards.
Ahead of the film’s Dec. 22 release, here is the extraordinary true story behind The Post:
Introduction to the Pentagon Papers
In the early spring 1971, Washington Post...
The director’s latest drama The Post chronicles The Washington Post‘s 1971 effort to publish the legendary Pentagon Papers over the objections of the United States government. Starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, the film was recently nominated for six Golden Globe awards.
Ahead of the film’s Dec. 22 release, here is the extraordinary true story behind The Post:
Introduction to the Pentagon Papers
In the early spring 1971, Washington Post...
- 12/20/2017
- by Jodi Guglielmi
- PEOPLE.com
The first thing to know about The Post, aside from the fact that it's one of best and tick-tock timeliest movies of the year, is that it's a love story. That's right. Steven Spielberg's tense, terrific new drama celebrates the passionate bond between a free press and every thinking human being, however diminished the species in Trump's America.
The film is set in 1971, when Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) decided to defy threats from the Nixon White House and publish the Pentagon Papers,...
The film is set in 1971, when Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) decided to defy threats from the Nixon White House and publish the Pentagon Papers,...
- 12/14/2017
- Rollingstone.com
The first thing to know about The Post, aside from the fact that it's one of best and tick-tock timeliest movies of the year, is that it's a love story. That's right. Steven Spielberg's tense, terrific new drama celebrates the passionate bond between a free press and every thinking human being, however diminished the species in Trump's America.
The film is set in 1971, when Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) decided to defy threats from the Nixon White House and publish the Pentagon Papers,...
The film is set in 1971, when Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) decided to defy threats from the Nixon White House and publish the Pentagon Papers,...
- 12/14/2017
- Rollingstone.com
There’s topical, there’s timely, and then there’s “The Post,” which feels less like a historical thriller set in 1971 than it does an exhilarating caricature of the year 2017. While Steven Spielberg’s latest film rivetingly dramatizes the publication of the Pentagon Papers (and eloquently unpacks the consequences of their dissemination), “The Post” wears the Nixon era like a flimsy disguise that it wants you to see right through.
That’s not to take away from Ann Roth’s ratty and exquisite period costume design, or to detract from how immaculately set decorator Rena DeAngelo recreated the smokey thrum of the old Washington Post newsroom. It’s certainly not to diminish Meryl Streep’s fraught and powerfully grounded portrayal of the late publishing scion Katharine Graham — she hasn’t been this good since “Adaptation,” or maybe even “Death Becomes Her,” if ever.
On the contrary, it’s just to...
That’s not to take away from Ann Roth’s ratty and exquisite period costume design, or to detract from how immaculately set decorator Rena DeAngelo recreated the smokey thrum of the old Washington Post newsroom. It’s certainly not to diminish Meryl Streep’s fraught and powerfully grounded portrayal of the late publishing scion Katharine Graham — she hasn’t been this good since “Adaptation,” or maybe even “Death Becomes Her,” if ever.
On the contrary, it’s just to...
- 12/6/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
When asked about the representation of the Holocaust in Schindler’s List, Stanley Kubrick responded: “Think that’s about the Holocaust? That was about success, wasn’t it? The Holocaust is about 6 million people who get killed. Schindler’s List is about 600 who don’t. Anything else?” Similarly, the story of the Pentagon Papers concerns the United States government lying, for decades, to the world about the Vietnam War, at the cost of millions of lives. The Post is about the brave journalists who brought these lies to public light.
That focus-shift is significant, though whether it will even bother a viewer depends heavily on how their worldview aligns with that of director Steven Spielberg. It’s a difficult hurdle for me to clear. I am not a patriot, and I find trying to wring inspiration from this part of history – to inspire hope because the government’s misdeeds were exposed,...
That focus-shift is significant, though whether it will even bother a viewer depends heavily on how their worldview aligns with that of director Steven Spielberg. It’s a difficult hurdle for me to clear. I am not a patriot, and I find trying to wring inspiration from this part of history – to inspire hope because the government’s misdeeds were exposed,...
- 12/6/2017
- by Daniel Schindel
- The Film Stage
“The Post” is a period piece, but its production happened at warp speed. Steven Spielberg began shooting in White Plains, New York, on May 1, 2017; 12 months earlier, he had no intention of directing a film and its rookie screenwriter, Liz Hannah, hadn’t written a word of it. This week, “The Post” was named Best Film by the National Board of Review, which also gave Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks top acting honors. Now, Hannah and co-writer Josh Singer have a formidable chance of securing an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Hannah didn’t always aspire to be a screenwriter. Following undergraduate studies at the Pratt Institute and an internship on the film “Reign Over Me,” she was admitted to the AFI Conservatory, in the producing discipline. Then she spent five years in development — long enough to realize it wasn’t what she wanted.
Read More:‘The Post’ Trailer: Meryl Streep,...
Hannah didn’t always aspire to be a screenwriter. Following undergraduate studies at the Pratt Institute and an internship on the film “Reign Over Me,” she was admitted to the AFI Conservatory, in the producing discipline. Then she spent five years in development — long enough to realize it wasn’t what she wanted.
Read More:‘The Post’ Trailer: Meryl Streep,...
- 12/1/2017
- by Jenna Marotta
- Indiewire
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