George Clooney Is Getting Into The Hacking Scandal By Directing A New Movie

It’s not too surprising that Hollywood has been sniffing around the UK phone hacking scandal, but it’s even less surprising that it’s Rupert Murdoch’s 20th Century Fox won’t be making it.

Now Sony’s Hack Attack has a director, and it’s none other the George Clooney.

The film is an adaptation of journalist Nick Davies’ account of the British phone hacking scandal, which has surrounded Rupert Murdoch’s news empire for the last few years.

According to Variety, ‘Davies investigated News Corporation and its subsidiary, News International; his book shows how their habit of hacking into the voicemail messages of elected officials, celebrities, and even ordinary British citizens and the victims of terror attacks was wide-ranging and ongoing. The resulting scandal would not only mark the end of News of the World after 168 years of continuous publication, but spur a government inquiry that would bring to light some of the most unthinkable of business practices.’

“This has all the elements – lying, corruption, blackmail – at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London,” Clooney comment. “And the fact that it’s true is the best part. Nick is a brave and stubborn reporter and we consider it an honor to put his book to film.”

All Clooney’s films have had a political and social edge, and Hack Attack has the added interest for him that he’s the son of a journalist himself. There’s no news on when it might shoot.