Murdoch Happy With Pearce Casting in Film Ink

Rupert Murdoch is reportedly "very happy" that actor Guy Pearce has been cast to play him in the new film "Ink," according to the actor. Pearce shared the sentiment at the Venice Film Festival, where the movie, directed by Danny Boyle, is the opening film. The biographical drama explores the media mogul's early career, specifically his 1969 acquisition and transformation of the British tabloid The Sun. Pearce told reporters at the festival that he had communicated with Murdoch's daughter, Elisabeth. "She did say to me, 'Dad's very happy that you're playing him,'" Pearce stated. However, he added a note of caution, saying, "But he hadn't seen the film at that point, so we'll see." The film is an adaptation of a stage play by James Graham, which ran in London's West End and on Broadway between 2017 and 2019. Graham confirmed that Murdoch attended performances of the play twice, once in London and once in New York. The playwright recalled that Murdoch was "very good at sort of not really giving anything away," but noted he seemed particularly charmed by a sequence depicting the physical process of printing a newspaper.