Rupert Murdoch Backs Guy Pearce Casting in Danny Boyle’s Venice-Premiering ‘Ink’
Developing story first seen 1 hour ago
Danny Boyle has given further details about "Ink" at its Venice press conference, revealing a fuller cast beyond Guy Pearce's Rupert Murdoch, including Jack O'Connell as editor Larry Lamb and Claire Foy as Jules Davies, a new composite character based on female executives at The Sun. Boyle said he deliberately avoided "monsterising" Murdoch, arguing that in 1969 he represented "a breath of fresh air" against a rigid British establishment, while writer James Graham confirmed Murdoch had seen the original stage play twice without revealing his opinion of it. Boyle also used the platform to warn about AI's threat to journalism, questioning whether an AI-generated news outlet could ever "speak truth to power".
The film, adapted from Graham's play, dramatises Murdoch's 1969 takeover of the failing Sun and his partnership with Lamb, whose populist formula later shaped Murdoch's US ventures including the New York Post and Fox News. It is screening in competition for the Golden Lion at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, having opened the event on Tuesday. Studiocanal will release it theatrically in the US on 11 December, followed by Netflix streaming there and in Latin America from 8 January, while UK cinemas will get the film the same day, alongside releases in France, Germany, Poland, Australia and New Zealand.
- Full "Ink" cast revealed: O'Connell as Lamb, Foy as new character Jules Davies
- Boyle says he avoided portraying Murdoch as a villain
- Murdoch saw the stage play twice; UK cinema release set for 8 January
New here? Start with this
Rupert Murdoch bought The Sun newspaper in 1969, when it was struggling, and rebuilt it with editor Larry Lamb using a populist style that later shaped his American ventures, including the New York Post and Fox News. That takeover is the subject of "Ink", a stage play by James Graham now adapted into a film directed by Danny Boyle, with Guy Pearce playing Murdoch and Jack O'Connell playing Lamb.
The film had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, one of the world's leading film events, where it is competing for the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion. Murdoch himself, now in his nineties and one of the most influential media proprietors of the past century, is known to have seen the original play twice.
The story matters because it dramatises the origins of a media approach that went on to shape tabloid journalism and, eventually, major US news outlets, at a time when the industry itself is being reshaped by new pressures such as artificial intelligence. The film is due for cinema and streaming release in several countries, including the UK and US, later this year and into January.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those sympathetic to Boyle's approach argue that a nuanced, non-caricatured Murdoch makes for better history and better drama, noting that in 1969 he genuinely was an outsider shaking up a hidebound, class-bound Fleet Street establishment. They contend that the populist journalism he and Larry Lamb pioneered gave working-class readers a voice and stories they cared about, rather than dictating from on high, and that reducing a complex, consequential figure to a pantomime villain would be both lazy storytelling and poor history. Refusing to "monsterise" him, on this view, respects audiences enough to let them draw their own conclusions.
The case against
Critics of this softer portrayal argue that Murdoch's legacy cannot be honestly separated from the tabloidisation of the press, the erosion of journalistic standards, and the populist formula that later fed into Fox News and its role in political polarisation and misinformation. They would say that framing his 1969 takeover primarily as a plucky challenge to a stuffy establishment risks whitewashing decades of subsequent harm, including phone hacking and the concentration of media power, and that sympathetic treatment of a still-living, still-influential figure carries real responsibility. For them, artistic nuance should not tip into softening accountability for lasting damage to public discourse.
Full account
Danny Boyle's new film "Ink" opened the 83rd Venice Film Festival this week, bringing to the screen James Graham's Tony-winning stage play about Rupert Murdoch's takeover of The Sun newspaper in 1969. Speaking at the festival's press conference, star Guy Pearce, who plays Murdoch, said he had not spoken to the media mogul directly but had exchanged messages with his daughter, Elisabeth Murdoch, who reportedly told him her father was "very happy" with the casting — though he had yet to see the finished film.
The film follows Murdoch as he buys the then-struggling Sun and appoints Larry Lamb, played by Jack O'Connell, as editor, tasking him with overtaking the dominant Daily Mirror. Claire Foy also stars as Jules Davies, a character created for the film as a composite of the female executives who worked alongside Lamb, a departure from the original stage production. One report placed particular emphasis on the longer-term consequences of the Sun venture, noting that the tactics developed there would later inform Murdoch's expansion into the American media landscape through titles such as the New York Post and Fox News.
Boyle told reporters he was keen not to "monsterise" Murdoch on screen, arguing that in 1969 he represented a jolt of freedom and a different voice within what was then a rigid British establishment, even as the film goes further than the stage play in confronting the darker sides of both Murdoch and Lamb. Screenwriter James Graham recalled that Murdoch had attended the original play twice, in the West End and on Broadway, remaining characteristically guarded about his opinion of it, though he seemed to particularly enjoy a scene capturing the grime and noise of the printing presses. Graham predicted Murdoch would ultimately be flattered by Pearce's portrayal.
Beyond the casting talk, Boyle used the platform to reflect on journalism's wider role, describing the press's capacity to hold power to account as one of the fundamental pillars of civil society, while voicing concern about the pressures facing print media and the emerging threat posed by AI-generated news. "Ink" is competing for the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion, and marks Boyle's first appearance at Venice, arriving after his return to the "28 Years Later" franchise and following a career that includes "Trainspotting," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Steve Jobs." Netflix has acquired US and Latin American rights, while Studiocanal is handling theatrical release in territories including the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
Where outlets differ
One account frames the press conference as taking place on the Wednesday of the premiere, while the other dates it to the Tuesday beforehand.
One source leans into the film's political characterisation, describing the Murdoch–Lamb partnership in more pointed, ideological terms and tracing its influence on Murdoch's later US media ventures (New York Post, Fox News); the other stays more neutral on this point.
Only one account includes Claire Foy's remarks about the allure and power of 1960s Fleet Street journalism, and details on her newly created character, Jules Davies.
Only one account carries Boyle's extended comments on journalism's societal value and the threat AI poses to the profession, plus his reflections on Murdoch as fundamentally 'a print man.'
Only one account includes Boyle's comparison of Jack O'Connell's performance to Al Pacino in 'The Godfather Part II,' and background on distribution deals (Netflix, Studiocanal) and Boyle's filmography.
Coverage
- Variety — Rupert Murdoch ‘Is Very Happy’ Guy Pearce Is Playing Him in ‘Ink’; Actor Says Mogul’s Daughter Shared Praise
- The Hollywood Reporter — Rupert Murdoch Was “Very Happy” With the Casting of Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink’