The Japan Times - Rupert Murdoch 'very happy' to be played by Guy Pearce in new film

Pearce, known for his role as a dashing detective in "L.A. Confidential" and lately in "The Brutalist", was cast by Oscar-winning British director Danny Boyle to play Murdoch in his upcoming film, "Ink".

"I had some messaging with Elisabeth, his (Murdoch's) daughter, and she did say to me, 'Dad's very happy that you're playing him,'" Pearce told reporters at the Venice Film Festival, where "Ink" is the opening film.

"But he hadn't seen the film at that point, so we'll see," Pearce added.

Hit HBO series "Succession" was inspired by the Murdoch family, with the ruthless and cruel patriarch Logan Roy providing a hugely unflattering portrait of the real-life billionaire.

Boyle, despite his own left-wing politics, said he had not set out to make a negative film about Murdoch, now aged 95.

The tycoon's right-wing media empire is still a major political force in Britain, the United States and his native Australia, backing a string of conservative nationalist politicians and their agendas.

In "Ink", Boyle focuses on Murdoch's move into Britain in the late 1960s, when he bought the struggling tabloid The Sun and transformed it into a runaway success with a daily diet of sex, sport and scandal.

It is an adaptation of a play by British playwright James Graham, which ran in the West End and Broadway between 2017 and 2019.

"The stage play doesn't... monsterise Rupert Murdoch, which, of course, a lot of people do now," Boyle said.

"I think it's because he represented at the time... a breath of fresh air in what was a very rigid British society. And he's dealing with a lot of prejudice against him as an Australian, which I can understand," the "Trainspotting" and "Slumdog Millionaire" director added.

"He particularly had a loathing for the British establishment, which I personally share as well."

"Ink" follows the relationship between Murdoch and his first editor of "The Sun", Larry Lamb, with the latter the main character in the film, Boyle told reporters.

- Media magnet -

Murdoch, his business empire and his feuds with his six children have become rich pickings for authors, screenwriters and directors.

As well as "Succession", the five-times married tycoon has been the subject of a spate of biographies, as well as a new Netflix documentary, "Dynasty: The Murdochs" which was released in March this year.

The latter focused on Murdoch's fight with his children over efforts to install his eldest son Lachlan as his chosen successor to run an empire comprising Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The Sun and publisher HarperCollins.

That ended with a multi-billion-dollar settlement and court case that spilled some of the family's secrets into the public domain.

Murdoch has transformed tabloid newspapers, cable TV and satellite broadcasting over the last few decades while facing accusations of stoking nationalist populism across the English-speaking world.

Britain's exit from the European Union and the rise of Donald Trump are credited at least partly to Murdoch, while his media have long carried a pro-business agenda and have been sceptical about climate change.

Y.Ishikawa--JT