How Steven Spielberg Drives the Tension With Sound

Audiences often believe they most clearly recall what they see in a scene, but brilliant sound design will force you to see what’s most important. Steven Spielberg, and his sound design team, are masters of this. From sci-fi fantasies like E.T. and Jurassic Park to thrillers like Munich and The Post, the sound is always immensely descriptive and satisfying.

When we spoke with sound designer Gary Rydstrom about the tension he created for The Post,

Oscar Watch: How The Post‘s Sound Designer Re-created 1971 Newsroom Hustle & Bustle

Gary Rydstrom has won four Oscar awards with his ingenious sound design, but none of that expertise prepared the veteran audio expert for the mundane obstacle he overcame to re-create the sonic tumult of the Washington Post newsroom circa 1971. Steven Spielberg’s The Post casts Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks as publisher Kay Graham and editor Ben Bradlee, who risk treason charges from the White House by releasing portions of the Pentagon Papers.

Listen to This Glorious Conversation Between Steven Spielberg and Wonder Woman Director Patty Jenkins

We had a chance to hear Steven Spielberg speak in person about his riveting, timely new film The Post, at its’ Washington D.C. premiere, back on December 14. Many of the film’s sensational cast were on hand, including Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Matthew Rhys, Sarah Paulson and more. The Post chronicles the historic decision by The Washington Post to print the Pentagon papers, when publisher Katharine Graham (Streep) was fighting for financial solvency and against the real possibility that she and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks) were facing the possibility that publishing the papers could ruin them and the newspaper.

Steven Spielberg & the Cast of The Post Attend World Premiere in Washington

Last night, director Steven Spielberg and the cast of The Post premiered the film in Washington, DC. Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Matthew Rhys, Sarah Paulson and more walked the red carpet for the event. The movie that chronicles the brave decision by The Washington Post to print the Pentagon papers was screened before an audience of Senators and members of Congress.

The premiere took place just a mile from the former headquarters of The Washington Post,

Set Decorator Rena DeAngelo Recreates a 1970s Newsroom in Steven Spielberg’s The Post

The Post, Steven Spielberg’s latest film opening December 22nd, recounts the Washington Post’s part in bringing the Pentagon Papers to light, on the heels of the New York Times. For the first time, Spielberg is working together with Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, playing the newspaper’s first woman publisher, Katharine Graham, and its editor, Ben Bradlee. Set in the early 1970s, with much of the action taking place in the paper’s colorless newsroom,

Watch the First Trailer for Steven Spielberg’s Hugely Timely The Post

It’s difficult to imagine a more timely film than Steven Spielberg’s The Post. Starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, The Post covers the monumental and hugely controversial publication of the Pentagon Papers back in the 1970s, focusing on the absolute necessity of a free press in any functioning democracy. It goes without saying that The Post comes at a time when our current president attacks the press nearly daily,