While it flirted with the title St. James Place during production, Steven Spielberg's upcoming Cold War thriller, which marks his fourth collaboration with Tom Hanks, has gone without an official title for months. That changed, however, as the latest Spielberg vehicle now officially goes under the title Bridge of Spies.
The title confirmation comes from producer Marc Platt. When he spoke with The Daily Pennslyvania, he let the new title slip as he talked about his upcoming schedule, which also includes the release of Ricki and the Flash, starring Meryl Streep, in August and also his current involvement in Ang Lee's adaptation of Ben Fountain's novel Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Oh yeah, and also his work on that ever-pestering film version of Wicked, which the producers hope to get in front of screens by 2016, at the earliest.
As noted by Slashfilm, the title Bridge of Spies refers to a bridge which reached former West Berlin to the center of Potsdam, a city formally under East Germany's control. Although actually titled the "Bridge of Unity," and later "Glienicke Bridge," the name "Bridge of Spies" was dubbed by American and Soviet intelligence organizations in the '60s that performed prisoner exchanges on this very location.
Spielberg's latest centers on the first prisoner exchange on the titular bridge, and lawyer James Donovan (Hanks) efforts to negotiate pilot Francis Gary Power's release when his plane gets shot down inside the Soviet Union. In addition to Hanks, Amy Ryan, Alan Arkin, Eve Hewson (The Knick) and Mark Rylance star, under a screenplay written by Matt Charman and Joel & Ethan Coen.
In addition to the title announcement, JWFN.com, a fan site for composer John Williams, revealed the not-so-surprising news that Williams shall score Spielberg's upcoming Oscar-contender before it comes to theaters on October 16. For anyone keeping track at home, Bridge of Spies marks the 27th (!) time Williams composes a score for his buddy Spielberg.
Bridge of Spies is one of multiple projects Spielberg has in the works at the moment. While he works on post-production on this movie, he also is in pre-production on his Roland Dahl adaptation The BFG. He also has considerations to direct Thank You For Your Service, It's What I Do, starring Jennifer Lawrence and also possibly an Indiana Jones reboot with Chris Pratt in the titular role.
Image courtesy of ACE/INFphoto.com