Netflix takes Danny Boyle’s Rupert Murdoch thriller Ink
Danny Boyle’s Ink, starring Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch, has landed at Netflix for U.S. and Latin American distribution before Venice.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
Netflix has picked up U.S. and Latin American distribution rights to Ink, Danny Boyle’s new thriller about the birth of a different kind of news operation, Deadline reported.
The deal lands before the film’s world premiere on September 2, when Ink is set to open the 83rd Venice Film Festival.
Guy Pearce plays Rupert Murdoch in the film, according to Deadline. The cast also includes Jack O’Connell and Claire Foy.
Boyle, an Oscar winner, directs from a screenplay by James Graham. Graham adapted the film from his own Tony-nominated stage play, according to the report.
What Ink is about
Ink is described as a thriller centered on a group of outsiders and ambitious thinkers who set out to create a new style of news. Deadline said the film is billed around an idea that catered to what audiences wanted and helped reshape the media world that followed.
The project brings Boyle back to a story with pace, power and public consequences. Graham, whose work on the stage play drew Tony attention, also carries the material from theater to screen.
The Venice slot gives the film a high-profile launch. Opening night at the festival places Ink in front of international press and industry audiences before its wider rollout.
Who is behind the film
Ink is a Studiocanal, Media Res and House Productions film, according to Deadline.
Boyle produced the movie with Tracey Seaward, Tessa Ross and Michael Ellenberg for Media Res.
The executive producer list includes Anna Marsh, Ron Halpern and Joe Naftalin for Studiocanal, along with Tonia Davis, Zoë Edwards, James Graham and Sudie Smyth for Studiocanal, Deadline reported.
Studiocanal handled worldwide sales on the film. The company negotiated the Netflix agreement together with WME Independent, according to the report.
Where it will be released
Netflix’s deal covers the United States and Latin America.
Studiocanal will release Ink theatrically in its own territories: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia and New Zealand, Deadline reported.
No additional release timing was included in the report beyond the September 2 Venice world premiere.
The acquisition gives Netflix a prestige festival title with a recognizable filmmaker, a loaded media-world subject and a cast led by Pearce, O’Connell and Foy. For Venice, it adds a splashy opener rooted in newspaper history and adapted from a decorated play.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.