"The actor Spielberg wants Tom Hanks to play!"

Su Yao explained: "The reason why I was able to get the script was that I wanted you to play the second male lead, an Asian news reporter. ”

Ding Cheng nodded, after reading the script, he had a hunch that the role of the male protagonist was indeed not suitable for him, but the second male had a play.

"After all, it is the Oscar Golden Triangle, Spielberg and Tom Hanks should be working together for the fifth time, plus three Oscar actresses Aunt May, nine little golden men have joined forces to ......"

Su Yao smiled: "Even the second male is a potential stock worth trying!"

As Ding Cheng thought, now that the box office has proven its commercial ability, it needs several profound themes to prove its acting skills and heritage, which is a good start.

contacted the director and agreed to play the second male lead, and I am looking forward to working with the top luxury lineup.

Two days later, I got a hundred pages of background information, not only about my own role, but also about several major actors and real history, many of which were even secrets that had never been disclosed to the public.

The Washington Post was a small regional family business at the time, headed by Catherine, played by a female heroine, Aunt May. It was a time when women could only gossip at tea parties, and men had to leave the table when they talked about politics.

The position of head was originally passed from her father to her son-in-law, but it was Catherine who provoked this girder when her husband committed suicide. Because of the poor business conditions, the Washington Post decided to go public to raise some funds.

At this juncture, after the rival New York Times began publishing explosive content, the Nixon administration issued a temporary restraining order through the court on national security grounds, and the New York Times was temporarily banned.

Reporters led by Ben Bradley, the editor-in-chief of the Washington Post, also got the report from the leaker Daniel through some efforts.

That's when contradictions and controversies come. If it insists on publishing the leaks, the Washington Post will inevitably suffer a lawsuit from the White House, and the lawsuit will scare away investors and risk bankruptcy for the soon-to-be-listed Post. And because of the counter-espionage law, the head and editor-in-chief are even in danger of going to jail.

The Post's lawyers were adamantly opposed to publication on the basis of risk, while editors and reporters were adamantly supportive of publication on the basis of professional conscience. Sandwiched in the middle is the newly-appointed, middle-aged female head Catherine.

In Ding Cheng's view, although the historical background of this incident is complicated, at the end of the Washington Post, which the film focuses on, the plot is actually very short and direct: risk lawsuits, bankruptcy, and prison, or not?

To this day, we all know that it was finally posted, and we all know that media freedom in the United States today is a noisy topic. But the calmness of this script completely isolates the noise in reality.

There were no demonstrations with slogans in the face, and there were no speeches with burning passions and raising their arms and shouting. In particular, the multi-party phone call, analyzing the stock price, analyzing the consequences, and analyzing the legal risks, although they were-for-tat, they were all frank with each other.

Rather than gloating over the ban on the New York Times, he saw his competitors as one with himself, a matter of life and death for the publishing industry.

All this convinces the audience that the parties are not desperate to become famous at the risk of going to prison. The reason why it should be resolutely published is not to shout politically correct slogans. This is out of an absolute conscience.

Another highlight is the rise of women, the female head Catherine, as a rich lady, has never worked for more than 40 years, let alone has taken on any major responsibilities.

In that man's world, although she is in a high position, the men around her don't actually take her too seriously, and more importantly, she doesn't have this self-confidence.

For example, at the investment banking meeting about listing, she prepared a long-term statement in advance, but she couldn't say it. As a subordinate, the editor-in-chief has visited many times unexpectedly, and there are many insiders' self-satisfaction and arrogance in conversations.

Looking back at Meryl Streep, who often plays some domineering and strong roles, the most impressive is the fashionable female devil in "The Devil Wears Prada".

This time, the image is completely subverted in the script, with a gentle temperament and hesitation, but after making up her mind, she doesn't need to shout loudly to prove that she is the strongest person in the whole movie.

In particular, the screenwriter designed to come out of the Supreme Court after the victory, and the men of the New York Times get all the spotlight, while she silently walks out the side door, and is greeted by the reverent gaze of a group of inspired women.

Spielberg is undoubtedly a great director, and this is not just a work that pushes the eyes of the media and promotes idealism. The coherent theatrical text contains a threefold theme: first, how the media, which represents the power of public scrutiny, triumphs over the power of the government to cross boundaries.

The second is how a newspaper can get rid of its business difficulties and become a winner in market competition.

The third is how its boss, a woman who has been a housewife for 15 years, overcomes the shadow of lack of self-confidence and gender pressure to grow in life.

The standard traditional heroic narrative of dilemma-challenge-victory seems to be old-fashioned but perfectly unified in the events, and can be interpreted from any angle.

Compared with "Focus", you can see this obvious difference. All of the former's personalities and behaviors revolve around the reporting of a religious scandal, with the editor-in-chief, editor-in-charge, and reporters performing their respective roles and performing at different levels.

In the Post, as the central event progresses, three threads are interspersed and alternated: the media's revelations and government interference form a contradiction of values in the background, the value orientation of the newspaper and the commercial considerations of the board of directors form a real risk, and the embarrassing existence of the female president forms a personal inner conflict with the complex situation she faces.

As the countdown to press press kicked off, the triple contradiction was brought together in one spotlight – the thrilling conference call.

The heroine stands alone listening to the war of words from the men on the phone, all of whom are trying to convince her with both hard and soft forces, and she must make decisions that will determine success or failure and get out of this darkest moment.

Ding Cheng even closed his eyes and simulated that he was the director, how to deal with this shot?

What difference would it make if you used a traditional parallel shot to show multiple characters at the same time?

Will it distract the tension of the plot and lose this huge sense of oppression?

finally ushered in the official start of filming, met the director and the two seniors, and was also full of expectations for joining each other.

The second male actor actually doesn't have many scenes, and most of the time he observes the director's scheduling and lens use, which are valuable experiences that the system can't give.

The masterful scheduling makes the plot rhythm unhurried and impatient, and the dramatic conflicts are elevated layer by layer, pushing the characters into the dilemma of "to be or not to be".

Laying a timed lock on the narrative line will trigger certain events or puzzles when the story progresses to a certain time, forcing the characters to solve them within a predetermined time.

In the first ten minutes, the main topic is introduced, the basic characteristics of the characters are presented, and the top-secret information that leads the whole story is used as bait to reveal it all.

Once the tension is established, the tone of the film is reflected in the characteristic lighting and scenes, and tends to stabilize.

In Ding Cheng's eyes, "The Washington Post" has many of the cinematic elements that Spielberg used in "Bridge of Spies", but it is different in theme refinement.

The characters and story line in the opening chapter seem complicated, but after entering the second scene, the complexity begins to be simplified, and two absolute characters begin to stand out, namely the female boss of the Washington Post, Kai, and the legendary editor-in-chief.