George Clooney To Direct Movie About UK Phone-Hacking Scandal
Shooting is set to begin in early 2015
Hollywood icon George Clooney will direct a new movie about the British phone-hacking scandal.
The film is based on the book Hack Attack by Guardian journalist Nick Davies, which investigates the huge scandal that resulted in the closure of the News of the World.
“This has all the elements – lying, corruption, blackmail – at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London,” George Clooney said in a statement.
“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.”
Michael De Luca from Columbia Pictures added: “As the son of a journalist, George has a sharp interest in the role journalism plays in all of our lives – whether that’s 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.”
Shooting is set to begin on the movie in early 2015.
Alongside his acting career, George Clooney has directed five full-length movies to date – Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), Leatherheads (2008), The Ides of March (2011) and The Monuments Men from earlier this year.
Earlier this summer George slammed the Daily Mail for publishing a “fabricated” story about his wife-to-be Amal Alamuddin.
In a strongly worded USA Today blog post, Clooney accused the British paper of “inciting violence” and "exploiting religious differences where none exist" after they claimed Amal’s mother Baria opposed the marriage on religious grounds.
The actor later refused the Daily Mail’s apology.