George Clooney is directing Hack Attack for Sony, a big screen account of the UK hacking scandal that shook a media empire.
George Clooney has famously said that he makes “one for them, one for me.” Hack Attack, his next project that will be tackling the global scandal surrounding British newspaper News of the World, will likely be one for all of us.
As demonstrated by the masterful Good Night and Good Luck (2005), Clooney is at his best as a filmmaker when tackling the subject of ethics, responsibility, and especially journalism (he is the son of Cincinnati news anchor Nick Clooney). So, it seems only fitting that Clooney will be the director and producer who turns his lens on the hacking scandal that shook Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation to its core and ended the 168-year run of Britain’s News of the World.
As reported in Variety, Hack Attack will be an adaptation of journalist Nick Davies’ bestseller that chronicled his six-year probe into Murdoch’s News Corp., as well as its subsidiary News International, which revealed that News of the World was regularly hacking into the voicemails and private accounts of politicians, celebrities, and even the victims of terrorist attacks and murders.
As developed at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Hack Attack will be produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov through their Smokehouse production company.
“This has all the elements—lying corruption, blackmail—at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London,” Clooney said in a statement. “And the fact that it’s true is the best part. Nick [Davies] is a brave and stubborn reporter and we consider it an honor to put his book to film.”
Michael de Luca is also set to produce the picture, which will begin shooting next year.
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