George Clooney’s directorial efforts are divisive to say the least. For every The Ides Of March, there’s a flaccid schmaltz fest like The Monuments Men. While his upcoming roster of projects is hectic, including the Coens’ Hail Caesar (nothing to do with tyrannical simians) and production duties on Our Brand Is Crisis and Pioneer, he’s announced his next directing gig: Hack Attack.
Based on the book of the same name by journalist Nick Davies, the drama will centre around the recent phone hacking scandal in the UK. For those unaware of the story – Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid behemoth, News Of The World, came under fire when it was revealed that many of the paper’s reporters had illegally tapped the phones of celebrities (Hugh Grant for one), politicians and even a bunch of regular joes. The subsequent court case and inquiry saw many of the NOTW’s major players escorted to prison for their role in many questionable incidents.
The movie, in development at Sony, is set to follow Davies, one of the journalists who followed the case for six years, as he collected evidence against Murdoch’s evil media empire that eventually contributed to its downfall.
Clooney is clearly excited to get the ball rolling, saying:
“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 honor to put his book to film.”
The salt and pepper superstar has dallied with scandalous topics onscreen before, with hard-hitters Good Night and Good Luck and Michael Clayton. Does this mean Clooney’s losing streak (ahem, The Monuments Men) is over?
We’ll find out soon enough, as shooting on Hack Attack will begin sometime in 2015.
