George Clooney will reportedly direct UK phone-hacking film
The movie directed by George Clooney will be based on Guardian reporter Nick Davies' book 'Hack Attack.' George Clooney has previously directed such films as 2005's 'Good Night, and Good Luck' and this year's 'The Monuments Men.'
George Clooney will reportedly direct a movie based on the book 'Hack Attack' by Nick Davies.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
George Clooney will reportedly direct a film based on the UK phone-hacking scandal that came to light in 2011.
The film will be based on the book 鈥淗ack Attack鈥� by Guardian reporter Nick Davies, which tells the story of how he discovered the hacking done by various employees of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The newspaper News of the World closed in 2011 following the revelations. Various celebrities, including 鈥淗arry Potter鈥� author J.K. Rowling and actors Jude Law, Sienna Miller, and Hugh Grant, all testified as part of the Leveson Inquiry that looked into the standards and practices of newspapers.
According to , the movie, directed by Clooney, will be for Sony Pictures.聽
鈥淭his has all the elements 鈥� lying, corruption, blackmail 鈥� at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London,鈥� Clooney said in a . 鈥淎nd the fact that it鈥檚 true is the best part. Nick is a brave and stubborn reporter and we consider it an honor to put his book to film.鈥澛�
Michael De Luca, who is president of production for Columbia Pictures (part of Sony), said in a , 鈥淎s the son of a journalist, George has a sharp interest in the role journalism plays in all of our lives 鈥� whether that鈥檚 for good, as in Good Night, and Good Luck, or for bad. With Hack Attack, George will explore the dark side of that world, a business where all of the rules of journalism are broken in the race for an easy and ever-larger payday.鈥澛�
As noted by De Luca, Clooney directed the 2005 film 鈥淕ood Night, and Good Luck鈥� about journalist Edward R. Murrow, also starring in the film as former CBS president Fred W. Friendly. Clooney鈥檚 other directorial credits include 2008鈥檚 鈥淟eatherheads,鈥� the 2011 movie 鈥淭he Ides of March,鈥� and 鈥淭he Monuments Men,鈥� which was released this past February.聽
Clooney is no stranger to the UK press. Earlier this year, the actor wrote an for USA Today after the British Daily Mail tabloid wrote a story about Clooney's聽fianc茅e's mother, saying that she was against the planned marriage due to religious differences. Clooney accused the paper of fabricating their story. The Daily Mail apologized to Clooney and removed the story from their website.