When Cate Marquis reviewed BRIDGE OF SPIES here at We Are Movie Geeks, she wrote “With Spielberg directing and the Coens writing, BRIDGE OF SPIES is the best of both. Add in Hanks and Rylance providing strong performances, and this film is an entertainment winner sure to stick in audience’s minds for a while.”(read all of Cate’s review HERE).
Soon you’ll be able to own the BRIDGE OF SPIES Blu-ray!
Disney and Dreamworks invite you to take a step back into an era of espionage and Cold War. Steven Spielberg directs a dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, Bridge of Spies tells the story of James Donovan (Tom Hanks), a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on a near impossible mission to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot. Bring home this high stakes suspense story on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and Digital HD February 2, 2016.
Check out all of these extras that will be on the Blu-ray:
A CASE OF THE COLD WAR: BRIDGE OF SPIES– The story of James Donovan, Francis Gary Powers and Rudolf Abel encapsulates the Cold War era—a tense political climate shrouded in propaganda, espionage and the threat of nuclear war. This piece explores the characters and the real-life people they’re based on, ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks share personal stories of the Cold War, describing how experiences from their youth were part of the attraction to the script, how this influenced the way they approached the film and why the history behind Bride Of Spies resonates across generations and is relevant in today’s political climate.
U-2 SPY PLANE: BEALE AIR FORCE BASE – Showcases spectacular footage shot at the Beale Air Force Base of the U-2 plane and the scene where Powers and other pilots are instructed about their spying mission, including a cameo appearance in the film by Francis Gary Powers son, Gary Powers Jr. and discussion with the Air Force liaison about the significance of the scene and why they got behind the film
SPY SWAP: LOOKING BACK ON THE FINAL ACT – Steven Spielberg and his team stage the pivotal scene of the film at Glienicke Bridge, the very same location where the historic exchange of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel and U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers took place. Gary Powers Jr. shares his memories of his father’s experience with voiceover recordings from Francis Gary Powers, as filmmakers and the cast recreate a page of Cold War history while filming in the presence of Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel.
BERLIN 1961: RECREATING THE DIVIDE – A mix of behind-the-scenes footage with iconic archival imagery transports viewers to another place and time as the filmmakers construct the Berlin Wall, envision what it was like to cross through Checkpoint Charlie, and recreate the divide. On set in Berlin just days after the 25th anniversary celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a historian who lived through the experience describes what being there means to her. In Poland, where the Wall was recreated for the film, tanks, hundreds of extras and powerful sequences make the setting feel epic and surreal.
The Cold War spy drama BRIDGE OF SPIES is Steven Spielberg’s best film in years. This Oscar-bait film, based on the real events around the American U-2 pilot was shot down and captured over Soviet Russian airspace, features a script co-written by Joel and Ethan Coen, a cast headed by Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance, the renowned British actor some audiences might know from the BBC’s bloody historical drama series “Wolf Hall” that played on PBS, and photography by the Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, whose past films include “Schindler’s List,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.”
All that talent comes together in the perfect blend to create a highly entertaining film. The film is set in the late ’50s-early ’60s Cold War, the period between the Commie-hunting hysteria of the McCarthy era and the Cuba Missile Crisis. BRIDGE OF SPIES dramatizes two interconnected spy cases, the less-remembered “hollow nickel” case in which suspected Soviet spy Rudolf Abel was caught in New York and then tried for espionage. The second case is the famous U-2 spy plane incident, in which American pilot Francis Gary Power was shot down over Russian airspace and was held as a spy. While officially denying Powers was spying, the Americans secretly attempt to arrange a swap before the young pilot breaks and spills secrets – a swap of Gary Powers for Rudolf Abel.
The first half of the film is essentially a courtroom drama set against the public outrage over a Soviet spy caught on American soil, while the second half is more a spy thriller, much of it taking place in Communist East Berlin shortly after the Berlin Wall went up.
Tom Hanks plays James Donovan, a successful insurance lawyer that the U.S. government recruits to serve as Rudolf Abel’s (Mark Rylance) court-appointed defense lawyer, and who later helped broker the prisoner exchange for Powers. Abel is a quiet, balding, bespectacled middle-aged man who spends his days painting while living in a tiny New York apartment. He hardly seems anyone’s idea of a spy yet when the FBI finds evidence that he is smuggling secrets to the Russians, he is arrested. The U.S. government is concerned that the trial appear fair to the international community, so it needs a lawyer to act as his defense attorney – a job sure to make the attorney involved a target of popular hatred. When Donovan’s politically-connected boss (Alan Alda) approaches him about defending Abel, Donovan balks, objecting that he is an insurance lawyer, not a defense attorney. Reluctantly, Donovan agrees to do it, as a service to his country, and because it will put the firm in a good light with the government, joking that at least it will be a quick conviction and all be over soon.
Still, Donovan is a true Greatest Generation type and once he takes the job, he is fully committed. He aims to give Abel his Constitutional right to a good defense, an attitude that sometimes brings Donovan into conflict with the judge or others who only want him to go through the motions. When he meets the accused spy, Donovan is surprised to find a gentle, remarkably calm man with a British accent, who seems more concerned with being able to continue his artwork while jailed than in the charges against him. Intrigued by Abel’s unflappable demeanor, Donovan finally asks “Aren’t you worried?” to which Abel, leaning forward and visibly perking up, replies “Would it help?” as if eager to accommodate the request. The phrase becomes a kind of tag-line as the two men develop a mutual respect and even a kind of unlikely friendship.
Although BRIDGE OF SPIES is basically a spy drama, the script by the Coen brothers interjects a healthy dose of humor, generally of the sly or ironic variety, into the film’s taut, twisty, true Cold War tale, which blends courtroom drama and spy intrigue. The Coen brothers signature sensibility counter balances Spielberg’s tendency to the sentimentality, to create a perfect sweet spot for the film’s tone. Spielberg’s magical touch taps into a classic period style for the film, much as he did for “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” which is paired with Hanks’ James Stewart-style likeability. This already powerful convergence of cinematic forces is further enhanced by Janusz Kaminski’s atmospheric photography which adds a noir-ish feel to the film.
Top-notch acting performances from Tom Hanks, in perhaps one of his best roles, and the scene-stealing Mark Rylance further boost this crowd-pleasing movie. While lead Tom Hanks is excellent in his meaty role, renowned British theater actor Mark Rylance pretty much steals the show as Rudolf Abel, the British-born, East Germany-based KGB spy. Rylance delivers a striking portrayal of a gentle, harmless-seeming man who cleverly evades every effort to pin him down. Rylance’s polite, dryly funny artist Abel seems so non-threatening, it is hard to see him as villain, which gains him some audience sympathy even though he was almost certainly passing secrets.
The story is set at a time of both nationalist hysteria over Communists and nuclear war, and conformist group-think. When people complain that Abel is a “traitor,” Donovan reminds them Abel is not an American, and he is serving his own country, although he is breaking our laws. While the U.S. government wants to produce the appearance of fairness in the trial, everyone from the judge onward is eager to see Abel convicted, as swiftly as possible. Yet Dovovan’s own professional integrity compels him to do his job diligently, something he becomes more stubborn about as the trial unfolds. Donovan’s requests for due-process are met with a certain irritation. Given the rising Cold War tensions, Donovan becomes convinced that an American spy is sure to be captured by the Russians at some point. He uses the argument that Abel might be a valuable bargaining chip should an American be caught as he fights hard to save Abel from execution.
When there is such a spy captured, the CIA comes to Donovan for help with backdoor negotiations for a trade, a kind of farcical but scary secret diplomatic dance in East Germany, just as the Berlin Wall is going up, with a bunch of East German spies posing as Abel’s family and and ever-shifting representatives of the Soviet side. The CIA is only interested in getting pilot Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) back but Donovan is determined to also free an American student Frederick Pryor (Will Rogers) who was caught on the wrong side of the Wall when it went up.
The film captures the period perfect through period details, muted colors and spot-on portrayal of the feel of Cold War America and its paranoia about nuclear war and obsession with conformity. Donovan’s son watches the famous “Duck and Cover” nuclear attack-preparedness government educational film at school, and then comes home to insist that the family keep bathtub filled with water in case of nuclear attack, an incident Spielberg drew from his own childhood. Donovan’s spouse Mary (Amy Ryan) is the perfect housewife, raising their three children in picket-fence suburbia. Period details are perfect as well, down to Donovan’s favorite coffee, Nescafe instant.
With Spielberg directing and the Coens writing, BRIDGE OF SPIES is the best of both. Add in Hanks and Rylance providing strong performances, and this film is an entertainment winner sure to stick in audience’s minds for a while.
BRIDGE OF SPIES releases in Theaters
on Friday, October 16th, 2015
This week’s episode of our podcast WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is up! Hear WAMG’s Michelle McCue, Jim Batts and Tom Stockman discuss the weekend box office, and next weekend’s releases. We’ll review SICARIO, THE WALK, ESCOBAR: PARADISE LOST, FINDERS KEEPERS, BRIDGE OF SPIES, DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF NATIONAL LAMPOON, and THE MARTIAN. We’ll also preview PAN and 99 HOMES. Michael Haffner calls in to discuss his film-going adventures at Fantastic Fest in Austin last week, and we’ll talk about Vincent Price and the Price-related events in St. Louis this weekend . WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is a weekly podcast and can be heard streaming at ONStl.com Online Radio.
On Sunday, cast and filmmakers from DreamWorks Pictures dramatic thriller BRIDGE OF SPIES celebrated the film’s world premiere at Alice Tully Hall as part of the 53rd Annual New York Film Festival where they received a standing ovation.
One of the best films this year, BRIDGE OF SPIES stars Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Scott Shepherd, Amy Ryan, Sebastian Koch, Alan Alda, Austin Stowell, Mikhail Gorevoy and Will Rogers.
The first reviews came out this evening:
“It’s no small feat turning a shyster and a spy into national heroes, but that’s the unique achievement of Steven Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies.” If Jimmy Stewart were alive today, the director surely would have asked him to play James Donovan, a noble New York insurance lawyer roped into providing an alleged Soviet agent with pro-bono legal representation, who later goes on to broker his exchange for two Americans held captive by Commies. Failing that, he’d done one better and cast honorary Boy Scout and all-around good guy Tom Hanks in the role, transforming a potential indictment of patriotic hypocrisy and Cold War subterfuge into a riveting, feel-good time for the whole family (two instances of the “F-word” notwithstanding), putting it on track to top “War Horse.”
The true standout in the film is Mark Rylance as Soviet Spy, Rudolf Abel.
Rylance, one of the greatest of contemporary stage actors, has to date had only an intermittent screen career, but Bridge of Spies suggests that could be about to change. He brings fascination and very, very subtle comic touches to a man who has made every effort to appear as bland, even invisible, as possible. The entire cast is engaging down the line.
It’s a classicist movie, made for adults, that dares to say there’s nothing unfashionable about the honorable man. Gregory Peck once wanted to make this based-on-a-true-story movie in the 1960s, and Spielberg’s effort feels crafted for that era, mixed with Billy Wilder’s heart and Howard Hawks’ sincerity.
BRIDGE OF SPIES effectively demonstrates how sharp and entertaining Spielberg’s skill set can be. Especially when someone like Hanks, at the peak of his craft, is on board.
You would expect a movie with the Coens, Spielberg, and Hanks names on it to be an instant contender for Oscars. Certainly, Bridge Of Spies is that and then some. This is prime Academy fodder and I think you can rightly expect it to be a major player in Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Actor, Supporting Actor (for the great Mark Rylance who plays Rudolf Abel, the spy in question), Thomas Newman’s score, editing, and cinematography from Spielberg regulars Michael Kahn and Janusz Kaminski respectively as well as top Production Design from Adam Stockhausen.
Cast and filmmakers in attendance included: director/producer Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda, Austin Stowell, Billy Magnussen, Scott Shepherd, Sebastian Koch, screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen and Joel Coen, production designer Adam Stockhausen and costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone.
Steven Spielberg introduces the cast as DreamWorks Pictures and Fox2000 Pictures present the “Bridge of Spies” world premiere at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in New York on October 4, 2015 (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)Mark Rylance, Austin Stowell, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda and Tom Hanks flank Director Steven Spielberg as DreamWorks Pictures and Fox2000 Pictures present the “Bridge of Spies” world premiere at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in New York on October 4, 2015 (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)Tom Hanks arrives as DreamWorks Pictures and Fox2000 Pictures present the “Bridge of Spies” world premiere at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in New York on October 4, 2015 (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw arrive as DreamWorks Pictures and Fox2000 Pictures present the “Bridge of Spies” world premiere at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in New York on October 4, 2015 (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)Tom Hanks joins Steven Spielberg onstage as DreamWorks Pictures and Fox2000 Pictures present the “Bridge of Spies” world premiere at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in New York on October 4, 2015 (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
A dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures’ BRIDGE OF SPIES is the story of James Donovan, a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
Screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen have woven this remarkable experience in Donovan’s life into a story inspired by true events that captures the essence of a man who risked everything and vividly brings his personal journey to life.
The stellar production team includes director of photography Janusz Kaminski (“Saving Private Ryan”); production designer Adam Stockhausen (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”); costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone (“Foxcatcher”); editor Michael Kahn (“Lincoln”); and composer Thomas Newman (“Saving Mr. Banks”).
BRIDGE OF SPIES is in theaters on October 16, 2015.
WAMG has your free passes to one of the most riveting dramas of 2015!
A dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures’ BRIDGE OF SPIES tells the story of James Donovan, a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot. Screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen have woven this remarkable experience in Donovan’s life into a story inspired by true events that captures the essence of a man who risked everything and vividly brings his personal journey to life.
Directed by three-time Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg, BRIDGE OF SPIES stars: two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks as James Donovan; three-time Tony Award® winner Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel, a KGB agent defended by Donovan; Scott Shepherd as CIA operative Hoffman; Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan as James’ wife, Mary; Sebastian Koch as East German lawyer Vogel; and Academy Award nominee Alan Alda as Thomas Watters, a partner at Donovan’s law firm. The film is produced by Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger with Adam Somner, Daniel Lupi, Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Matt Charman and three-time Academy Award winners Ethan Coen & Joel Coen.
BRIDGE OF SPIES will be released in theaters on October 16, 2015.
WAMG invites you to enter for a chance to win a pass (Good for 2) to the advance screening of BRIDGE OF SPIES on Monday, October 12th at 7:30 PM in the St. Louis area.
Answer the following:
What date was the Berlin Wall destroyed:
November 9, 1999
November 9, 1989
November 9, 1988
During The U-2 Affair, who was the Soviet premier?
Joseph Stalin
Leonid Brezhnev
Nikita S. Khrushchev
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWERS AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. LIMIT TWO (2) ADMIT-ONE PASSES PER PERSON. THIS FILM IS RATED PG-13. MUST BE 13 YEARS OF AGE TO RECEIVE PASSES. EMPLOYEES OF ALL PROMOTIONAL PARTNERS AND THEIR AGENCIES ARE NOT ELIGIBLE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
WINNERS WILL BE CONTACTED VIA E-MAIL TO RECEIVE THEIR PASSES. SEATING IS LIMITED, SO ARRIVE EARLY. PASS DOES NOT GUARANTEE A SEAT AT THE SCREENING.
Check out the new clips from the dramatic thriller, BRIDGE OF SPIES, featuring Tom Hanks and Alan Alda.
A dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures’ BRIDGE OF SPIES tells the story of James Donovan, a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
Screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen have woven this remarkable experience in Donovan’s life into a story inspired by true events that captures the essence of a man who risked everything and vividly brings his personal journey to life.
Directed by three-time Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg, BRIDGE OF SPIES stars: two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks as James Donovan; three-time Tony Award winner Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel, a KGB agent defended by Donovan; Scott Shepherd as CIA operative Hoffman; Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan as James’ wife, Mary; Sebastian Koch as East German lawyer Vogel; and Academy Award nominee Alan Alda as Thomas Watters, a partner at Donovan’s law firm.
The film is produced by Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger with Adam Somner, Daniel Lupi, Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Matt Charman and three-time Academy Award winners Ethan Coen & Joel Coen.
The story of a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot, BRIDGE OF SPIES is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Hanks.
The film opens in U.S. theaters nationwide in one month on October 16th.
From the horrors of the Holocaust in “Schindler’s List” to the monumental invasion of Omaha Beach in “Saving Private Ryan,” three-time Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg has tackled seminal historical events throughout his career. A self professed student of history, Spielberg’s fascination with the Cold War dates back to childhood, when he remembers his father and grandfather and their stories of the deep seeded feelings of animosity and distrust which existed between the U.S. and Russia at the time.
“It was a very dangerous time to be in the headlines for standing up for a spy,” adds Spielberg, who is also a principal partner at DreamWorks, “Because as a kid growing up, I felt a tremendous sense of fear of the Atomic bomb and Soviet Russia.”
A dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures’ BRIDGE OF SPIES is the story of James Donovan, a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
Screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen have woven this remarkable experience in Donovan’s life into a story inspired by true events that captures the essence of a man who risked everything and vividly brings his personal journey to life.
The movie also stars three-time Tony Award winner Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel, a KGB agent defended by Donovan; Scott Shepherd as CIA operative Hoffman; Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan as James’ wife, Mary; Sebastian Koch as East German lawyer Vogel; and Academy Award nominee Alan Alda as Thomas Watters, a partner at Donovan’s law firm.
During one the commercial breaks in Thursday night’s Republican Debate, DreamWorks Pictures unveiled the first TV spot for director Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Cold War drama, BRIDGE OF SPIES. See it below.
In the 1950s during the early stages of the Cold War, tensions are rife between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., so when the FBI arrests Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), a Soviet agent living in New York, the fear and paranoia only escalate. Charged with sending coded messages back to Russia, Abel is questioned by the FBI but refuses to cooperate, declining their offer to turn on his country, and is detained in federal prison pending trial.
The government, in need of an independent attorney to take on Abel’s defense, approaches James Donovan (Tom Hanks), an insurance lawyer from Brooklyn. While highly regarded within the legal community for his profound skills as a negotiator, Donovan has little experience with allegations of this nature and magnitude and isn’t eager to get involved. Advocating such a deeply unpopular defense would make him a public figure and could subject his family to scrutiny, disdain and potentially, even danger.
Donovan eventually agrees to represent Abel, as he is committed to the principles of justice and the protection of basic human rights and wants to ensure Abel receives a fair trial, regardless of his citizenship. As he prepares his defense strategy, a bond begins to develop between the two men, one built on mutual respect and understanding. Donovan admires Abel’s strength and loyalty and mounts an impassioned plea, arguing that his actions were that of a good soldier following instructions on his country’s behalf, but to no avail.
Sometime later, an American U-2 spy plane is shot down over Soviet airspace while on a reconnaissance mission, and the pilot, Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), is convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison in the U.S.S.R.
The CIA, while categorically denying any knowledge of the mission, is fearful that Powers may be coerced into revealing classified information. Having witnessed Donovan’s impressive skills in the courtroom, CIA operative Hoffman (Scott Shepherd) secretly reaches out to recruit him for a national security mission of great importance.
Fueled by a love for his country, unwavering belief in his convictions and a tremendous amount of courage, Donovan is soon on a plane to Berlin to negotiate a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
The screenplay is by Matt Charman and three-time Academy Award winners Ethan Coen & Joel Coen. 12-time Oscar nominee Thomas Newman provides the score.
Dreamworks’ BRIDGE OF SPIES opens in theaters on October 16, 2015.
Hitting theaters in the thick of awards season, here’s a first look at the new trailer and photos for BRIDGE OF SPIES starring Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan, Scott Shepherd, Alan Alda and Mark Rylance.
From director Steven Spielberg, this dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures’ BRIDGE OF SPIES tells the story of James Donovan, a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
Screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen have woven this remarkable experience in Donovan’s life into a story inspired by true events that captures the essence of a man who risked everything and vividly brings his personal journey to life.
The film is produced by Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger with Adam Somner, Daniel Lupi, Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Matt Charman and three-time Academy Award winners Ethan Coen & Joel Coen.
The score is from 12-time Oscar nominee Thomas Newman.
In DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures’ dramatic thriller BRIDGE OF SPIES, directed by Steven Spielberg, Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks) and his wife Mary (Amy Ryan) become the target of anti-communist fears when Donovan agrees to defend a Soviet agent arrested in the U.S.Mark Rylance plays Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy arrested in the U.S. in the dramatic thriller BRIDGE OF SPIES, directed by Steven Spielberg.Tom Hanks stars as James Donovan in the incredible story of an ordinary man placed in extraordinary circumstances in DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 PIctures’ dramatic thriller BRIDGE OF SPIES, directed by Steven Spielberg.
Dreamworks BRIDGE OF SPIES is in theaters on October 16, 2015.
A dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures’ BRIDGE OF SPIES tells the story of James Donovan, a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
Screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen have woven this remarkable experience in Donovan’s life into a story inspired by true events that captures the essence of a man who risked everything and vividly brings his personal journey to life.
Directed by three-time Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg, BRIDGE OF SPIES stars: two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks as James Donovan; three-time Tony Award winner Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel, a KGB agent defended by Donovan; Scott Shepherd as CIA operative Hoffman; Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan as James’ wife, Mary; Sebastian Koch as East German lawyer Vogel; and Academy Award nominee Alan Alda as Thomas Watters, a partner at Donovan’s law firm.
The film is produced by Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger with Adam Somner, Daniel Lupi, Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Matt Charman and three-time Academy Award winners Ethan Coen & Joel Coen.
As was previously announced, 12-time Oscar nominee Thomas Newman (“The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Saving Mr. Banks”) has been signed to score the film.
Dreamworks BRIDGE OF SPIES is in theaters on October 16, 2015.
