(MENAFN- Daily News Egypt) Detailing a battle for press freedom at the height of the Watergate scandal, Steven Spielberg's new movie "The Post" echoes loudly today. It's also a strong Oscar contender after picking up a best film of 2017 award.In his latest film about the battle by newspapers to publish the leaked Pentagon Papers detailing the US government's misleading portrayal of the Vietnam War, director Steven Spielberg rushed to get the movie shot and released within a year. His motivation was a need to highlight an alarming echo with the Trump presidency.

"I just felt that there was an urgency to reflect 1971 and 2017 because they were very terrifyingly similar," the Oscar-winning director told a Hollywood audience after a screening of the film on Monday.

"Our intended audience are the people who have spent the last 13, 14 months thirsting and starving for the truth," Spielberg said. "They are out there, and they need some good news."

Read more: Donald Trump renews threats against press, hints at revoking TV licenses

The film dramatizes the decisions by the New York Times and the Washington Post to publish the top-secret Pentagon Papers about the Vietnam War in the face of injunctions by the Nixon administration — a battle that went to the Supreme Court and ultimately lead to Nixon's impeachment.

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