The theatrical trailer has been launched today, and it looks AMAZING! Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post’s Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers – and their very freedom – to help bring long-buried truths to light.

The Post marks the first time Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have collaborated on a project. In addition to directing, Spielberg produces along with Amy Pascal and Kristie Macosko Krieger. The script was written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, and the film features an acclaimed ensemble cast including Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford and Zach Woods. You can watch the trailer below and in the video archive. New production stills, on-set pictures, trailer screencaptures and the one-sheet have been added to the photo gallery.

Fotogramas has the first official image of the movie, which brings together an insanely stacked cast – Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Alison Brie, Sarah Paulson, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlberg, Zach Woods, and Bradley Whitford – to tell the story about the release of the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s, which helped turn around public opinion on the Vietnam War. And yes, there will be some very relevant connections to today’s political climate.

“The film is absolutely Steven’s statement about the importance of vigorous and free press in America. Because we have a President that keeps attacking the press,” “Spielberg” director Susan Lacy told Metro. “…it’s the reason he is making [the film], I mean it is a true story and a historic story, but the reason he chose to make it now is because he feels like it is a message that needs to be out there. I don’t want to speak for him, but I think that’s why he is clearly making this film now,” she added. Sounds like potent stuff, and here’s hoping it’s not too long until the trailer. “The Post” opens on December 22nd.

According to Variety, Cher has joined Universal’s “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!” The multi-hyphenate hinted at her appearance in the movie over the weekend in a tweet and Variety has confirmed that she has been cast in the film. Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, and Christine Baranski are returning, with Ol Parker writing and directing. The film goes back and forth in time to show how relationships forged in the past resonate in the present. Lily James will play the role of Young Donna. Young versions of Rosie and Tanya will be portrayed by Alexa Davies and Jessica Keenan Wynn, respectively. Young Sam will be played by Jeremy Irvine, while Young Bill is Josh Dylan and Young Harry is Hugh Skinner. The movie began shooting in September in the U.K. and Croatia. Littlestar’s Judy Craymer and Playtone’s Gary Goetzman, who produced the original, will re-team for the sequel. Craymer is also the creator and producer of the stage musical. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus are aboard again to provide music and lyrics and serve as executive producers. Universal’s Kristen Lowe and Lexi Barta will oversee production for the studio. The original 2008 movie was a surprise blockbuster, grossing more than $600 million worldwide. “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!” hits theaters on July 20, 2018. Many thanks to my news-heroes, Frank and Glenn, for the heads-up.

There isn’t much we know about “The Post” as of now – sure, we know it’s eagerly anticipated and a serious contender for the 2018 awards season, simply because Spielberg, Hanks and Streep are involved. But we don’t really know anything about its storyline, except that it will follow Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham and executive editor Ben Bradlee and their 1971 decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, the leaked government documents about secret escalations during the Vietnam War. From what I’ve read since the project’s announcement, and from the Spielberg films I’ve seen, I was expecting Hanks to lead the picture and Streep playing second fiddle, an important one, but not a central one. But as screenwriter Liz Hannah has told Vulture in an interview, her script puts the focus onKatharine Graham. After reading her autobiography Personal History, “I absolutely fell in love with her,” Hannah says. Given that Graham had enough drama in her life to make “10,000 movies,” the problem was how to write something more than a broad biopic. By using the Pentagon Papers as a turning point, Hannah could zoom in on Graham’s struggle to find her voice – at age 54 – “and to become the person she was really going to be for the rest of her life.” The article also notes that Hannah was partnered with Josh Singer, a veteran screenwriter who won an Oscar for Spotlight, after Spielberg came on board. This sounds really exciting, as does the rest of the article, which can be read here.

On October 02, 1977, Meryl Streep’s very first film appearance released US theaters, Fred Zinneman’s “Julia”. The drama about the friendship between Julia (Vanessa Redgrave) and Lilian Hellman (Jane Fonda) would go on to receive 11 Academy Award nominations and win 3 – for Best Screenplay, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jason Robards and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Vanessa Redgrave. If you’ve never seen Redgrave’s infamous acceptance speech, this is you chance to do it. Much can be said about the film and very little about Meryl, because almost all of her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. You can read the whole backstory on Meryl’s casting and the role of Ann-Marie Travers on Julia’s career page. All pictures in the photo gallery have been updated in better resolution and a new fantastic production still has been added as well. So, from today on, one can say that Meryl Streep is entertaining us with movies for 40 years!

In honor of the centennial of women being granted the right to vote in New York, the New-York Historical Society will screen the Meryl Streep-narrated documentary We Rise. The short film, which also features Alicia Keys’ original song “We Are Here,” tells the story of the women who fought for change in the U.S. during the early 20th century. The doc will profile many women of the era, including suffragist and black women’s organizations leader Addie Hunton, Henry Street Settlement founder Lillian Ward and birth control activist Margaret Sanger, to name a few.

“We are proud to celebrate the centennial of women’s suffrage in New York this year with a powerful new film and exhibition, each one showing how a determined group of people struggling for rights and equality can succeed in creating change,” NYHS CEO and president Dr. Louise Mirrer said Wednesday in a statement. “We Rise recounts a period of history that tends to be overlooked in textbooks, but the impact of those first decades of the 20th century leading up to women’s suffrage in New York is still felt today.” The film will premiere Nov. 3, the same day as the opening of the society’s latest exhibit, Hotbed. The exhibit will feature the bohemian vibe of Greenwich Village in the early 20th century and will explain the pivotal role female artists and activists played in earning the right to vote. We Rise will play on rotation with the film New York Story in the historical society’s ground-floor theater. Many thanks to Frank and Glenn for the heads-up.

As it tunes up for a July release, Universal’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again has added Andy Garcia to the cast. The sequel to 2008’s toe-tapping $610M worldwide grosser will return audiences to the magical Greek island of Kalokairi in an original musical based on the songs of Swedish pop sensations, ABBA. Garcia is stepping into a new role that is being kept under wraps. He joins the previous film’s Meryl Streep as Donna, Julie Walters as Rosie and Christine Baranski as Tanya. Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper reunite as Sophie and Sky, while Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth return to play Sophie’s three possible dads: Sam, Bill and Harry. The story goes back and forth in time to show how relationships forged in the past resonate in the present, Lily James, Alexa Davies, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Jeremy Irvine, Josh Dylan and Hugh Skinner are the young versions of the original leads. Ol Parker writes and is directing Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again from a story by Catherine Johnson, Richard Curtis and Parker. It’s produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman. Abba’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus are providing music and lyrics and serve as executive producers. Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Phyllida Lloyd, Richard Curtis and Nicky Kentish Barnes also serve as executive producers. Universal’s Senior Vice President of production Kristen Lowe and Creative Executive Lexi Barta will oversee production for the studio. Many thanks to Frank and Glenn for the heads-up.

Without any advance publicity or notice, The Weinstein Company quietly slipped the Chinese animated feature The Guardian Brothers onto Netflix last Friday. It was originally released on January 1, 2016, in China as Little Door Gods, marking the debut production of Beijing’s Light Chaser Animation. The ambitious production aimed to lift the quality of Chinese cg animation and push it closer to Western standards. Weinstein’s English version added a cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Edward Norton, Mel Brooks, Dan Fogler, Mike Birbiglia, Bella Thorne, and Randall Park. Rooted in the traditions of Chinese folklore, Guardian Brothers follows two guardian spirits – Yu Lei (Norton) and Shen Tu (Fogler) – who venture out of spirit-world retirement to help a mother and daughter whose restaurant is being sabotaged by a competitor. The Weinstein Company released Guardian Brothers through its new kids’ label Mizchief. It also has another animated film, Leap!, currently in U.S. theaters through the label. Netflix has made the film available in a total of 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, U.K., New Zealand, India, Philippines, and Russia. The above trailer also features interviews Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Edward Norton. Many thanks to Alvaro for the heads-up.

Yesterday, Meryl Streep has won her third career Emmy Award, which means she now has three Emmys to go along with her trio of Oscars. Streep prevailed at the 2017 Creative Arts Emmys as Best Narrator for the Netflix documentary “Five Came Back,” though she was not in attendance to accept. Previously, she won Best Movie/Mini Actress for both “Angels in America” (2003) and “Holocaust” (1978). “Five Came Back” is Netflix’s acclaimed three-part series that streamed on March 31. Based on Mark Harris‘ book, the documentary profiles a quintet of Oscar-winning directors who put their Hollywood careers on hold in order to serve their country during World War II. Current directors honor each of the five men: Steven Spielberg for William Wyler, Guillermo del Toro for Frank Capra, Paul Greengrass for John Ford, Francis Ford Coppola for John Huston and Lawrence Kasdan for George Stevens. While Streep provides the narration for all three parts, the finale “The Price of Victory” was her official Emmy submission. That’s the entry that showcases the five directors returning home from war and how it forever affected their personal and professional lives. Streep did not attend the Creative Emmys, so no pictures to add. The full article can be read over at Goldderby. Many thanks to Frank and Glenn for the heads-up.

According to Deadline, Steven Spielberg’s Pentagon Papers movie finally has a title. Fox said today that the pic about the Washington Post’s role in exposing the Pentagon Papers in 1971 will be called The Post. It officially was known as Untitled Steven Spielberg after earlier being titled The Papers. Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star as Post editor Ben Bradlee and publisher Kay Graham alongside Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Pat Healy, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford, Zach Woods and others. Liz Hannah and Josh Singer wrote the script. The film is keeping its Oscar-friendly December 22 limited-release date and is set to go wide January 12.