Just three months after Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and director Steven Spielberg joined forces for The Post, the cast has just gotten much bigger. In addition to directing, Spielberg will also produce along with Amy Pascal and Kristie Macosko Krieger. The script was written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer and 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. The project has already been put on the fast track for an Oscar-friendly release later this year.

Twentieth Century Fox and Amblin Entertainment's riveting drama inspired by actual events, The Papers began principal photography in New York on Tuesday, May 30th. Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg helms a powerhouse cast including Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Papers. In June 1971 The New York Times, the Washington Post and the nation's major newspapers took a brave stand for freedom of speech and reported on the Pentagon Papers, the massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned four decades and four US Presidents.

At the time, the Post's Katherine Graham (Meryl Streep) was still finding her footing as the country's first female newspaper publisher, and Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), the paper's volatile, driven editor, was trying to enhance the stature of the struggling, local paper. Together, the two formed an unlikely team, as they were forced to come together and make the bold decision to support The New York Times and fight the Nixon Administration's unprecedented attempt to restrict the first amendment.

The Papers marks the first time Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have collaborated on a project. An Amblin Entertainment production, The Papers will be distributed domestically by Twentieth Century Fox and will be in select theaters December 22nd, going wide January 12th, 2018. Internationally, the film will be distributed through Amblin's deals with Universal Studios, Reliance Entertainment, eOne and other international distribution partnerships. As of now, no details were given as to the characters the rest of this growing supporting cast will play.

While The Papers will only debut in limited release (New York and Los Angeles) on December 22, it will still arrive the same weekend that Universal's Pitch Perfect 3, Warner Bros.' Bastards, Paramount's Downsizing and The Weinstein Company's The Six Billion Dollar Man hits theaters. As for its wide release on January 12, 2018, it will square off against Lionsgate's The Commuter, The Weinstein Company's Paddington 2 and Studio 8's White Boy Rick. With just six months between the start of production and its proposed release, it will be interesting to see if The Papers can pull off this rapid production schedule for what could be one of this year's Oscar favorites.