Netflix's "Ink," directed by Danny Boyle and starring Jack O'Connell as tabloid editor Larry Lamb, will open the Venice Film Festival on 2 September before a limited December cinema release and streaming from 8 January. The film dramatises how Lamb, hired by Rupert Murdoch (played by Guy Pearce) in 1969, transformed The Sun into a sensationalist tabloid powerhouse through provocative tactics such as Page 3 nudity, reshaping Fleet Street journalism and, the film argues, laying groundwork for today's media landscape.

O'Connell, previously seen in "Sinners" and "28 Years Later," described Lamb as ruthlessly fixated on sales, "bending the rules" without hesitation. Boyle, known for "Steve Jobs" and "127 Hours," insists the film avoids demonising Murdoch alone, stressing collective public responsibility for tabloid culture, while Claire Foy also stars as a journalist central to the story. With several major studios pulling back from Venice after recent high-profile flops, "Ink" arrives with less competition, and its political undertones feel timely given the current US midterm climate and Netflix's renewed willingness to tackle divisive subject matter.