Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink’ Makes Tabloid Headlines At Telluride

Photo via Mike van Schoonderwalt

⏱️ 5 min read · 🌐 Trending

Danny Boyle is back, and he’s bringing his trademark chaotic energy to a story that feels dangerously relevant to anyone who has ever scrolled through a headline designed purely to make you angry. Ink, the new drama helmed by the director of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, recently made its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. It’s a film about Rupert Murdoch, the launch of The Sun in 1969, and the ruthless machinery of tabloid journalism. But before you get too comfortable thinking this is just another biopic about a media mogul, let’s talk about the title. Boyle himself had to step up to the microphone in Telluride to clarify a very specific misunderstanding. He told the audience, “It’s not a movie about tattoos, which a lot of people assume it is.”

Honestly? I respect the clarification. In an era where visual shorthand rules everything, it’s easy to see how the word "Ink" could lead people to believe they’re about to watch a gritty crime thriller involving tattoo parlors and underground artists. But no. The ink here is literal printing ink. It’s the substance used to print newspapers by the millions. It’s the fuel for a machine that was designed to chug along, print lies, and sell them to the masses. This distinction matters because it sets the tone for the entire film. We aren’t looking at a character study of a body artist; we are looking at the industrialization of sensationalism.

The casting is where the film really starts to make sense. Guy Pearce, an Australian native, steps into the shoes of another Australian native: Rupert Murdoch. The source notes that Murdoch was dubbed “the Dirty Digger” by his British rivals, a nickname that perfectly encapsulates the era. Pearce has a history of playing men who are morally ambiguous but undeniably charismatic, and here he is tasked with portraying a man who took a "lightly regarded broadsheet" and turned it into the UK’s most popular rag. It’s a role that requires a specific kind of brashness. You have to sell the idea that this man is a visionary, even when the evidence suggests he’s just a guy who figured out that people prefer drama to facts.

Then there is Jack O’Connell, who plays Larry Lamb, the editor-in-chief. This is the key move in Murdoch’s strategy. He recruited Lamb, described as a "talented if perhaps overlooked veteran of Fleet Street," to run the show. O’Connell is no stranger to intense, physical roles, and Boyle clearly wanted him in the lead. The director admitted, “I’d worked with this guy on 28 Years Later, but he was in a tiny bit at the end of the film, a really daft bit at the end of the film… And I wanted to work with him so much.” That kind of directorial enthusiasm is rare. It suggests that Boyle sees something in O’Connell that fits the chaotic, high-stakes world of 1969 London. It’s not just a cameo; it’s a central pillar of the narrative.

The context of the film is crucial. We are set in 1969, a year that defined the modern world in so many ways. The moon landing happened. The counterculture was exploding. And in the middle of all that, a man decided that the best way to make money was to pick a side and yell louder than everyone else. Deadline’s Pete Hammond called Boyle “the perfect filmmaker to bring this world to life.” He notes that the film is “bright, fast-paced and lively,” matching the energy of a band of “questionable warriors” who were operating just after man first walked on the moon. That timing is not an accident. The film is positioning the birth of the modern tabloid as a cultural event that rivals the space race in its significance. It’s a bold claim, but given how much of our current media landscape is built on the foundations laid by The Sun, it’s not entirely unreasonable.

The adaptation comes from James Graham, who wrote the original 2018 play that won both Tony and Olivier awards. This is important because it means the dialogue and structure have already been tested on stage. Graham is known for his sharp, witty writing, and bringing that to the screen under Boyle’s direction is a strong combination. The source describes the era as one “before the internet and social media demanded faster and furiouser hits and clickbait to get attention.” This is a key point. The film isn’t just a historical drama; it’s a cautionary tale about the origins of the attention economy. It’s about how we got here. How we went from picking sides in a newspaper to being manipulated by algorithms that do the same thing, but faster and more personally.

So, when can you actually watch this? Ink is set to premiere on Netflix in January. This is a smart move for the platform. Netflix has been aggressively acquiring prestige dramas and biopics, and a film from Danny Boyle with this level of star power fits perfectly into their strategy. It’s the kind of content that generates buzz, sparks debate, and gets shared on social media. You can expect this to be a major talking point when it drops. The fact that it premiered at Telluride, a festival known for showcasing high-quality, artistic cinema, adds another layer of credibility. Boyle himself spoke about the privilege of showing the film in the Werner Herzog Theater, noting that it’s a “rush of the ocean to the heart for a filmmaker” when a festival invites your work. He also mentioned that he’s carving out time to see other films, including Wild Horse Nine, asking the crowd if anyone was there. It’s a reminder that even the biggest names in the industry are still fans of the craft.

My take? This feels like a film that will divide opinion. Some will see it as a fascinating look at a pivotal moment in media history. Others might find it too sympathetic to a man whose legacy is deeply controversial. But that’s the point. Ink isn’t trying to be a hagiography. It’s trying to be a mirror. It’s asking us to look at the roots of the media we consume today and ask how we got to this place. With Guy Pearce and Jack O’Connell leading the charge, and Danny Boyle at the helm, it has all the ingredients to be a hit. Whether it’s a masterpiece or just a very good movie, we’ll know in January. Until then, keep your eyes on the ink. It’s not on your skin, but it’s definitely on the page. And it’s coming to your screen.

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