Danny Boyle is taking Rupert Murdoch to Venice, and the festival is giving the film the opening-night spotlight.
‘Ink’, Boyle’s drama about Murdoch’s rise through Britain’s tabloid press, will have its world premiere in official competition and open the 83rd Venice Film Festival on September 2. The festival runs through September 12, with the full lineup due to be announced on July 23.
Guy Pearce plays Murdoch in the film, which follows the 1969 launch of The Sun and the newspaper’s push to become a dominant force in British media. Jack O’Connell plays Larry Lamb, the editor hired to help turn the paper into a national sensation. Claire Foy also stars as Jules Davies.
The movie is written by James Graham, who adapted it from his Tony-nominated stage play of the same name. Boyle produced the film with Tessa Ross, his collaborator on Slumdog Millionaire, and Tracey Seaward.
Boyle called the Venice slot a personal first. “This is my first time at the festival,” he said, describing the chance to open the event as “a huge honor.”
The director also framed the story as a look at the tabloid instincts that arrived long before the social-media age. “Shameless, irreverent and daring,” Boyle said of The Sun in the film’s announcement, adding that the paper challenged standards and changed the media climate.
