Spielberg films The Post in New York suburb

Steven Spielberg filmed his true-life movie The Post in Westchester, north of New York City, building a 1970s set in an old office block.

By Nick Goundry 19 Jan 2018

Spielberg films The Post in New York suburb
The Post

Steven Spielberg filmed his true-life movie The Post in Westchester, north of New York City, building a 1970s set in an old office block.

Set in 1971, the film tells the true story of the staff of the Washington Post newspaper as they grapple with the legalities of publishing leaked classified government documents exposing the realities of the Vietnam War.

Meryl Streep stars as Washington Post heiress Kay Graham and Tom Hanks features as her editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee. Spielberg also resumed a long-term collaboration with cinematographer Janusz Kaminski.

“I wanted with Janusz to make the film look like it was not a contemporary film but rather shot in the early 1970s,” said Spielberg. “It was all about colour temperature and palette, and co-ordinating Janusz’s lighting with Ann Roth’s brilliant costumes.”

Other key locations included the General Society of Mechanics and Trades building in New York that stood in for the exterior façade of the New York Times as it appeared in 1971, a paper that was another vital component of the story.

Spielberg filmed on sets built at Brooklyn’s Steiner Studios for scenes set in the homes of Graham and Bradlee. The director had worked there before on Bridge of Spies and the facility has also hosted projects ranging from Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street through to the rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

New York remains one of the top production hubs in the US, with iconic locations and generous filming incentive support.

Washington, DC, is a common story setting for US films and TV shows but the city is rarely used as a filming location for any length of time as security concerns and a multitude of overlapping jurisdictional issues make production a challenge.

See KFTV's production guide for more on filming in New York.

Images: Niko Tavernise/20th Century Fox

Meryl Streep stars as Washington Post heiress Kay Graham and Tom Hanks features as her editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee. Spielberg also resumed a long-term collaboration with cinematographer Janusz Kaminski.

“I wanted with Janusz to make the film look like it was not a contemporary film but rather shot in the early 1970s,” said Spielberg. “It was all about colour temperature and palette, and co-ordinating Janusz’s lighting with Ann Roth’s brilliant costumes.”

Other key locations included the General Society of Mechanics and Trades building in New York that stood in for the exterior façade of the New York Times as it appeared in 1971, a paper that was another vital component of the story.

Spielberg filmed on sets built at Brooklyn’s Steiner Studios for scenes set in the homes of Graham and Bradlee. The director had worked there before on Bridge of Spies and the facility has also hosted projects ranging from Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street through to the rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

New York remains one of the top production hubs in the US, with iconic locations and generous filming incentive support.

Washington, DC, is a common story setting for US films and TV shows but the city is rarely used as a filming location for any length of time as security concerns and a multitude of overlapping jurisdictional issues make production a challenge.

See KFTV's production guide for more on filming in New York.

Images: Niko Tavernise/20th Century Fox

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