Danny Boyle's 'Ink' to Open Venice Film Festival in September

The biographical drama will world premiere in the festival's main competition section, marking Boyle's first feature to play on the Lido.

Ink chronicles the early days of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, focusing on his acquisition and transformation of the British tabloid The Sun. The film is adapted by Olivier Award-winning playwright James Graham from his own stage production.

Who stars in the film?

Guy Pearce plays the central role of Rupert Murdoch. Jack O'Connell stars as Larry Lamb, the editor Murdoch entrusted to run the newspaper. Claire Foy appears as Jules Davies. The cast brings together what festival director Alberto Barbera called "three of the most acclaimed actors in contemporary British cinema."

Barbera highlighted the project's pedigree in a statement. "An Oscar-winning director, one of the leading playwrights on the London theater scene, and three of the most acclaimed actors in contemporary British cinema — these are the credentials behind Danny Boyle’s film," he said.

What is the film about?

The story is set in 1969, the same year as the moon landing. It follows Murdoch and Lamb as they launch a new kind of popular newspaper. Boyle described the project as an account of how these men "created a new tabloid which against all the odds became the biggest selling newspaper in the world."

Barbera's statement further outlined the plot. "It is an account of publisher Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of the daily newspaper The Sun, which he entrusted to the unscrupulous Larry Lamb, turning it into Britain’s best-selling tabloid at the expense of its rival, The Mirror."

"Ink" will have its world premiere at the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema on the festival's opening night. Following its festival bow, Studiocanal will handle theatrical distribution in key territories including the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, and Australia.