LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Actor-filmmaker George Clooney will direct a movie about the phone hacking scandal that ensnared some of Britain’s biggest media figures and politicians, studio Sony Pictures Entertainment said yesterday.
“Hack Attack” is based on the 2014 book of the same name by journalist Nick Davies, who details how British newspapers hacked the telephone voice mails of celebrities, members of the royal family and crime victims to gain private information.
“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,” Clooney said in a statement. “Nick is a brave and stubborn reporter and we consider it an honor to put his book to film.”
The phone hacking scandal led media mogul Rupert Murdoch to close the News of the World newspaper in 2011 and abandon a $12 billion bid for British pay TV broadcaster BSkyB following a public and political furor, and an exodus of advertisers.