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The Post is a Modern Classic

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7 years ago

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Martin Scorsese says that each film usually has a single frame that in visual terms defines and encapsulates the film. Think of George Bailey, in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, clutching his wife and children beside the Christmas tree, gratefully looking up to heaven to congratulate the angel Clarence on getting his wings. Scorsese argued that these were not shots that the filmmakers mindfully planned as the definitive image, but rather the image that they and the audience discovered as the tell-tale sign.

NOR_D30_071017_204253_204322_R_COMP – Tom Hanks (as Ben Bradlee) and Meryl Streep (as Kay Graham) star in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE POST. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise.

Or think of the Norman Rockwell painting of the little African-American girl being led by the Federal Marshals past the hateful graffiti into the desegregated school. It is a work that nails a moment in history, and in doing so signifies both what happened and how it is to be seen. It also signifies, as time passes and new perspectives and new voices arise, what other ways the scene can be viewed.

All this brings us to a shot in Steven Spielberg’s newest film, The Post, a fictionalized retelling of the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the top secret report leaked by Daniel Ellsberg revealing decades of lies concerning involvement in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, told to the American people by several administrations.

The shot is of Katherine Graham (Meryl Streep), the owner of the Washington Post, walking down the steps of the Supreme Court Building. While the reporters throw questions to the owner of the New York Times, who were the first to published the Papers, Graham silently descends pass a group of young women who fawningly eye her, this icon of a woman in power. Add John Williams’ lush strings and voila! A tableau. A moment.

NOR_D00_052317_7961_R – Meryl Streep, Director Steven Spielberg, and Tom Hanks on the set of THE POST. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise.

It’s classic Spielberg…committed, heartfelt, sincere, and obvious. Is obviousness a fault? If it is then much of Spielberg’s early career has to be reevaluated, for he built a career, as did his hero, Frank Capra, before him, on playing straight to the heart. The Post acts as a bridging film, combining the earnest qualities of his early films with the darker, more mature style and subject matter of his later years.

With nuanced and solid performances from his stars (Streep as Graham and Tom Hanks as editor Ben Bradlee), as well as down the line excellence in the supporting cast, the film is engaging, well paced, and smart. This is Hollywood doing what it does best.

It is only in the last third, when Spielberg and his writers, Elizabeth Hannah and Josh Singer(Spotlight), start drawing the parallels to our current historical moment, that the heavier hand begins to be applied. Yet, if they’re going to go there, can they afford to be subtle? Is ours a moment of measurable subtly? After all, what’s at stake, the filmmakers seem to be arguing, is the 1st Amendment and Freedom of the Press. For in this film, the giants battling are not the left and right, the Democrats and the Republicans, but the Press and Power. And the gospel goes that a combative Press is the People, our right to know, our right to not be lied to and manipulated. (Cue the John Williams music, please)

NOR_D10_061217_0738_0732_R2_COMP – L-R: Howard Simons (David Cross), Frederick “Fritz” Beebe (Tracy Letts), Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), Kay Graham (Meryl Streep), Arthur Parsons (Bradley Whitford), Chalmers Roberts (Philip Casnoff), Paul Ignatius (Brent Langdon), Meg Greenfield (Carrie Coon, seated) and other members of The Washington Post in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE POST. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise.

Overall, The Post is a strong film, a muscular statement for our time, but will people who believe that the Press is phony and corrupt buy in, either to the premise, the facts, the drama, or at the box office? Will the story and the principles embedded in the historical narrative be overshadowed by the tribal beliefs of our moment? Do we agree with Supreme Court Justice Black when he wrote in the Pentagon Papers decision, 
“Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.”

The Post is betting that you will agree. It’s also betting that the everyman appeal of Tom Hanks will make the pill easier to swallow. It’s also hoping that Spielberg is back in his Frank Capra/Norman Rockwell groove; once again being America’s most beloved entertainer.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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13 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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16 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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16 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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