Director Danny Boyle’s biographical media drama Ink officially opened the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on Wednesday night, presenting an examination of the late-1960s British press landscape and Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of The Sun.
Adapted by playwright James Graham from his 2017 stage play of the same name, the feature chronicles Murdoch’s 1969 takeover of the struggling publication and his collaboration with newly appointed editor Larry Lamb. The pair implemented aggressive populist coverage, sensational headlines, and provocative editorial shifts that rapidly propelled the paper into a circulation powerhouse, laying foundational strategies Murdoch later utilized across his international media network.
Guy Pearce stars as Murdoch, while Jack O’Connell portrays Lamb. Claire Foy co-stars as Jules Davies, a character created for the screen adaptation as an amalgam of female journalists and editorial staff who worked at Fleet Street publications during the period.
Speaking at the Venice press conference, Boyle emphasized that the production deliberately avoided presenting Murdoch as a caricature, noting that the Australian publisher initially emerged as an outsider challenging an insular British class system. Boyle described the drama as a contemporary reflection on institutional media, audience complicity, and the historical pivot toward modern news commodification. The filmmaker also commented on the evolution of journalism, cautioning against the rise of artificial intelligence in newsrooms and questioning whether automated platforms would maintain the adversarial integrity necessary to scrutinize corporate authority.
During the event, Pearce revealed that Murdoch was aware of his casting prior to viewing the finished project. “I had some messaging with Elisabeth [Murdoch], his daughter, and she said, ‘Dad’s very happy that you are playing him,'” Pearce stated. Graham added that Murdoch previously attended performances of the original stage production in London and New York.
Ink is scheduled for a limited theatrical run in the United States on December 11, 2026, before debuting on Netflix across North and Latin America on January 8, 2027. StudioCanal will handle international theatrical distribution, launching the film in the United Kingdom and Ireland on January 8, 2027.
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