Venice opens with 'Ink,' a rollicking tale of tabloid power

The Venice Film Festival opened on Wednesday with the world premiere of Danny Boyle's "Ink," a rollicking portrait of the rise of the British tabloid the Sun and its founder Rupert Murdoch, according to the New York Times. The film, which stars Guy Pearce as Murdoch, examines how tabloid journalism reshaped British public life in the late 20th century, a story that resonates far beyond Fleet Street.

The Guardian reported that Murdoch himself is "very happy" to be portrayed by Pearce, according to the actor, who said the press baron's daughter Elisabeth told him her father was pleased — though he had not yet seen the film. The anecdote underscores the strange intimacy between the media mogul and the festival that has long celebrated cinema's power to scrutinise power.

The opening selection marks a deliberate choice by festival organisers to engage with questions of media ethics and political influence at a moment when journalism's role in democracy is under renewed scrutiny across Europe. Boyle's trademark energetic style, the Times noted, turns the story of the Sun's ascendancy into an entertaining, if unsettling, spectacle.