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Steven Spielberg Reveals Star-Studded First Trailer For The Post

The first trailer for Steven Spielberg's timely new drama The Post is finally here. The movie, which is based on a true story, stars Tom Hanks as The Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and Meryl Streep as their publisher Katharine Graham. Together, the two were behind behind the publishing of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed top-secret decisions and previously unknown military actions undertaken by the U.S. government during the Vietnam War. 

The publishing was a landmark moment for freedom of the press, an issue which the country is still dealing with today. The New York Times and The Washington Post eventually joined together to fight the United States government for their right to publish the information, with the Supreme Court ruling 6-3 that it was within their first amendment right of free press to publish the papers.

The trailer kicks off with Bradlee and Graham learning that The New York Times already has some incriminating pages revealing how the White House has been lying about the Vietnam War for years. "The way they lied, those days have to be over," Bradlee says. Bradlee tasks his team with finding more information, but when they do, they learn that if they publish the documents, they are going to have to take the case to court. "Meaning?" Graham asks Bradley. "Well, we could all go to prison," he replies.

Graham has even more on the line here, as some people doubt whether, as a woman, she is strong enough to make the tough decisions the paper will need to make. "To make this decision, to risk her fortune and the company that's been her entire life, well I think that's brave," says Sarah Paulson's character. "If we don't hold them accountable, who will?" Bradlee later asks Graham. "We can't hold them accountable if we don't have a newspaper," Graham shoots back.

The story of the Pentagon Papers was previously adapted into a 2003 film for FX starring James Spader as Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who released the papers as part of his opposition to the war. Bradlee has also been featured on screen before for his role in breaking the Watergate scandal, with Jason Robards earning a best supporting actor Oscar for playing the part in All the President's Men.

The Post also stars Bob Odenkirk, Matthew Rhys, Bradley Whitford, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, David Cross, Alison Brie, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Zach Woods. The movie is being rushed to theaters so that it can qualify for an awards season release. It will hit a limited number of theaters on Dec. 22 before going wide on Jan. 12, 2018.