Claire Foy embraced old Hollywood glamour in a striking red gown and opera gloves as she led the arrivals at the Venice Film Festival premiere of "Ink" on Wednesday. The "Crown" star, 42, plays Jules Davies, a fictional newspaper executive at The Sun, in Danny Boyle's new film.
Foy described her experience portraying a figure in 1960s tabloid journalism as "really intoxicating," expressing a sense of jealousy toward reporters for the power they held. "They had power at their fingertips," Foy said. "They knew what they wrote would be what people read and what people believed."
The film, which delves into Rupert Murdoch's 1969 takeover of The Sun and his appointment of editor Larry Lamb, also features Guy Pearce as Murdoch. Pearce revealed he had communicated with Murdoch's daughter, Elisabeth, who conveyed her father's pleasure with his casting, though Murdoch had not yet seen the film at that point.
Director Danny Boyle commented that Murdoch, now 93, "represented at the time a breath of fresh air in what was a very rigid British society. It begins with something that's fun and different, challenging a rigid order."
George Clooney, who is in Venice to receive a Lifetime Achievement award, also walked the red carpet with his wife, Amal. Clooney, 65, spoke about his evolving relationship with his career as he ages. "I'm 65 years old — everything is melancholy," he joked. "You brush your teeth and you're like, 'My teeth used to be so much better.' Everything about getting older…" He added that he is working less and has stepped away from directing movies due to the time commitment, prioritizing his two children. "I can't pull the kids out of school anymore. I'm happy to doing this, being an actor, again. It's fun. I'm a character actor now."
Clooney expressed a desire to make a new "Oceans" movie with friends Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, stating it would happen as soon as their schedules align.
"Ink" is adapted from Graham's stage play of the same name, which premiered in London's West End in 2017 and later transferred to Broadway, earning two Tony Awards.
Jack O'Connell stars as Larry Lamb, tasked with transforming the struggling newspaper into a tabloid capable of surpassing its rival, the Daily Mirror. Foy's character, Jules Davies, is depicted as the sole female reporter recruited to the fledgling team.
The film's narrative unfolds against the backdrop of 1969, the year of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, as Lamb assembles a newsroom to relaunch the newspaper. The film is set to arrive in UK cinemas on January 8, 2027, and will be available to stream on Netflix in the US on the same day, with a limited cinema run in the US beginning December 11, 2026.
The Venice International Film Festival continues until September 12.