Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks to team up for Pentagon Papers movie
Steven Spielberg is assembling an Oscar-winning dream team to take on a piece of journalism history.
The “Bridge of Spies” director has reportedly signed on to direct “The Post,” detailing the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971, with Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in talks to star.
Streep would play Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, while Hanks would take on the role of editor Ben Bradlee. The film will be co-financed by Fox and Amblin Entertainment, with former Sony Pictures boss Amy Pascal producing, according to Variety.
The film will focus on The Post’s decision to publish a classified Vietnam War study following a federal judge’s barring the New York Times from doing so. Graham teamed up with the Times in a case that ended up at the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the press’ right to publish.
Streep recently received her 20th Oscar nomination, for “Florence Foster Jenkins.” Streep has never starred in a film for Spielberg, though she did provide a voice for a robot in his “A.I. Artificial Intelligence.” Hanks most recently worked with Spielberg in 2015’s “Bridge of Spies.”
Reps for Spielberg, Streep and Hanks did not immediately respond to request for comment.