While his fiancé, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, was spotted visiting the Alexander McQueen studio for a suspected wedding dress consultation, George Clooney announced that he’ll be directing a film based on the book Hack Attack by journalist Nick Davies about the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.
The book Hack Attack: The Inside Story of How the Truth Caught Up With Rupert Murdoch is a detailed account of years of phone hacking, blackmail, bribery and cover-ups by media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and British subsidiary News International. The targets of the hacking were predominantly high-profile British celebrities such as Sienna Miller and Hugh Grant, politicians and even the British Royal Family but perversely also included was murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, families of deceased British soldiers and even victims of the July 7 London bombings.
Davies was the investigative journalist who exposed the wide-ranging privacy violations in 2009 with a revealing report in the Guardian newspaper. He relentlessly pursued the story, covering it right through the governmental investigation and subsequent trial.
In a his statement about the film adaptation of the book, Clooney said: “This has all the elements – lying, corruption, blackmail – at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London. And the fact that it’s true is the best part. Nick is a brave and stubborn reporter and we consider it an honour to put his book to film.”
The film will be produced for Sony Pictures by Clooney and his partner Grant Heslov’s production company Smokehouse Pictures that has produced several entertaining hits that are loosely based on historical events such as Argo and Monument’s Men.
Apart from his impressive acting and directing accolades, Clooney is also known for his political activism and humanitarian efforts. His worldly interests could have been inspired by his father Nick Clooney who was a journalist and anchorman – as Michael De Luca, president of production at Columbia Pictures explained: “As the son of a journalist, George has a sharp interest in the role journalism plays in all of our lives. 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.”
Filming is expected to begin next year.
Image: Getty
