Venice Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday night with the splashy premiere of “Ink,” an explosive drama from director Danny Boyle about the rise of Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid empire.
The film, which stars Jack O’Connell as The Sun editor Larry Lamb and Guy Pearce as media mogul Rupert Murdoch, was met with a short-but-sweet standing ovation of nearly four-and-a-half minutes. O’Connell appeared to joke about the marathon applause with Boyle, prompting laughs from co-stars Claire Foy and Pearce.
It’s become customary for audiences at Venice to clap and cheer for seemingly forever after the credits roll at premieres. In the case of “Ink,” the hoopla may have been cut short because O’Connell and Claire Foy, who stars as a fictional journalist, began to walk back to their seats, collect their belongings and head for the exit. That’s after festival director Alberto Barbera tried to extend the clapping by telling the cast to move up on the stairs inside the Palazzo del Cinema, where the premiere was held. They obliged, but only for a few moments.
“Ink” premiered on Wednesday evening after a tribute to George Clooney, who was honored with a life achievement award. Clooney and his wife Amal walked the red carpet along with O’Connell, Pearce, Foy and Boyle. Other A-listers, like Jonathan Bailey, were also in attendance. They dutifully signed autographs and posed for selfies with the superfans (some of whom had camped out overnight for a prime spot in front of the red carpet) before heading into the Sala Grande Theatre. It was so hot and humid on Lido that O’Connell took off his Dunhill coat and handed it to a publicist before blotting the sweat on his face and white shirt with paper towels.
Set in 1969 London, “Ink” follows a young Murdoch, who buys The Sun and transforms the struggling paper into a high-selling tabloid. O’Connell stars as “The Sun” editor Larry Lamb, Pearce portrays Murdoch, and Foy plays a fictional journalist named Jules Davies.
Of course, Murdoch became one of the most influential — and divisive — media figures in history. The 95-year-old Australian built an empire spanning television, sports and entertainment through the conglomerate Fox Corporation, which includes Fox News and Fox Sports, as well as newspapers such as Wall Street Journal and New York Post. During Wednesday morning’s press conference for “Ink,” Boyle noted the movie doesn’t “monsterize” Murdoch, which he says, “a lot of people do now.”
“He represented, at the time, a breath of fresh air in what was a very rigid British society,” Boyle said. “He offered a kind of freedom with a different voice.”
“Ink,” which was acquired by Netflix prior to the festival, is competing for the Golden Lion. After Venice, the streamer will bring the awards hopeful to North America for stops at Telluride and Toronto International Film Festival. “Ink” will debut in theaters on Dec. 11 before landing on Netflix on Jan. 8.
Venice is opening against a politically charged backdrop, and jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal spoke to tensions surrounding the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as U.S. politics, at Wednesday morning’s press conference. She said she thinks movies are “fundamentally, unavoidably political,” adding that no subject should be off limits. “I think we can challenge ourselves to hear stories about the most corrupt, most perverse people because it opens up the opportunity to find empathy for those people.”
Gyllenhaal also spoke about lack of female directors in this year’s competition lineup. Only two films up for the Golden Lion — “Woman Unknown,” a drama by Danish-Egyptian filmmaker May El-Toukhysolely and “Naza,” a documentary co-helmed by “No Other Land” filmmakers Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham, were directed by women.
“There’s a systemic problem,” she said. “It’s harder for women to get films financed.”
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