Rupert Murdoch Was “Very Happy” With the Casting of Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink’
Danny Boyle presented his new film "Ink" at the Venice Film Festival, where it opens the 83rd Biennale. The film, based on James Graham's stage play, dramatises Rupert Murdoch's 1969 acquisition of the ailing tabloid The Sun and his partnership with editor Larry Lamb, tracing how the populist formula they created shaped Murdoch's later US media ventures, including the New York Post and Fox News.
Guy Pearce stars as Murdoch, Jack O'Connell as Lamb, and Claire Foy as Jules Davies, a new character composited from women who worked under Lamb. Pearce revealed that Murdoch's daughter Elizabeth told him her father was "very happy" with his casting, though he had not yet seen the film; Murdoch had, however, watched the stage version twice. Boyle said he avoided "monsterising" Murdoch and framed the story as relevant to today's media landscape, including the threat AI poses to journalism. "Ink" screens in competition in Venice before a US cinema release on 11 December, hitting Netflix on 8 January, and opening in UK cinemas the same day via Studiocanal.
- Danny Boyle's "Ink" premieres at Venice, opening the festival
- Guy Pearce plays Murdoch; Elizabeth Murdoch says her father approves
- UK cinema release and Netflix launch both set for 8 January