Ripped from the headlines
Spielberg's Newspaper Thriller, The Post
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” —Thomas Jefferson
Maybe it’s because we grew up reading excellent newspapers like The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe, but we couldn’t be more excited to see The Post, the newest thriller from director Stephen Spielberg. Based on true events, it follows the Washington Post‘s owner, Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) and editor, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), battling the federal government over the right to publish the Pentagon Papers.
If this sounds familiar, you’ve probably already seen one of the most gripping, literally ripped from the headlines movies, All the President’s Men, directed by Alan J. Pakula. Nominated for eight Academy Awards (Jason Robards nabbed one for Supporting Actor), the 1976 film follows the investigation of the Watergate break-in by Post reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), who wrote the series of articles about the political scandal that took down a Presidency.
Academy Award-winner for Best Picture in 2015 was Spotlight, about The Boston Globe‘s exposé on the enormous number of child molesters within the Roman Catholic Church. As the three dogged reporters (Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Brian d’Arcy James) interview the victims, and in some cases, the religious villains, we learn just how deep the scandal goes, and how diligent the church was in protecting their priests. Directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy, it also stars Liv Schreiber, John Slattery, and Michael Keaton as the watchful editor leading his team.
Mark Ruffalo also stars in the fascinating film, 2007’s Zodiac, about the prolific 1970s California serial killer. Directed by David Fincher, who seems to be as obsessed as we are about these murdering maniacs (do NOT miss his series Mindhunter currently on Netflix), the story centers around a detective (Ruffalo), a cartoonist-turned amateur detective (Jake Gyllenhaal), and a reporter for the San Fransisco Chronicle (Robert Downey Jr.) as they track down their man.
The Killing Fields (1984) is Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Sydney Schanberg‘s heartbreaking story of his time trapped in Cambodia during its horrific civil war, and the deep friendship he developed with his guide, interpreter, and fellow journalist, Dith Pran. Roland Jefferies directs Sam Waterston and Haing S. Ngor (who won an Academy Award for his role) as they try to survive Pol Pot’s “cleansing campaign” via the Khmer Rouge, while reporting on the situation for the Times. Eventually they were separated and Schanberg returned to the States, haunted by Pran’s disappearance. No spoilers, but keep the Kleenex nearby for the tear-spilling ending.
