--- description: George Clooney is on board to direct a big screen adaptation about the tabloid phone-hacking scandal that engulfed Britain in controversy. title: George Clooney Set to Direct Movie About Britain's Phone-Hacking Scandal image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt851704e3fb46f697/6986a1f6cd684800d30964f6/george-clooney.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # George Clooney Set To Direct Movie About Britain's Phone-Hacking Scandal by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 4, 2014 11:21 AM CUT  SHANGHAI, CHINA - MAY 16: (CHINA OUT) Actor George Clooney arrives for the red carpet of Omega Le Jardin Secret dinner party on May 16, 2014 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images) SHANGHAI, CHINA - MAY 16: (CHINA OUT) Actor George Clooney arrives for the red carpet of Omega Le Jardin Secret dinner party on May 16, 2014 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)ChinaFotoPress—ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 4, 2014 11:21 AM CUT George Clooney is on board to direct a [big screen adaptation](http://deadline.com/2014/09/george-clooney-british-phone-hacking-scandal-project-hack-attack-828510/ "undefined") about the tabloid phone-hacking scandal that engulfed Britain in controversy. The Sony Pictures film will be adapted from the 2014 book _Hack Attack_ by journalist Nick Davies. The book explores how staff at the British tabloid the _News of the World_ — owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch — hacked into voice mails of politicians, celebrities, members of the royal family and crime victims looking for scoops. Davies was one of the journalists responsible for exposing the phone-hacking, which resulted in the shuttering of _News of the World,_ the arrests of several top editors and an extensive government inquiry into Britain’s journalism practices. The film adaptation could potentially have a large pool of talent to tap into as Sienna Miller, Steve Coogan and Hugh Grant were just a few of the high-profile figures who gave testimony at the inquiry about their own experiences with the tabloids. “This has all the elements – lying, corruption, blackmail – at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London,” Clooney said of the project [in a statement ](http://deadline.com/2014/09/george-clooney-british-phone-hacking-scandal-project-hack-attack-828510/ "undefined")released Wednesday. “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.” Clooney also has a personal connection to the film’s subject matter. The actor, who received an Oscar nod for filmmaking in 2005 for _Good Night, and Good Luck_, about radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow, is also the son of an American broadcast journalist, Nick Clooney. What’s more, earlier this year [he blasted British paper](http://time.com/2969159/george-clooney-daily-mail-usa-today-op-ed/ "undefined") _The Daily Mail_ for a false story about his fiancée Amal Alamuddin and accused it of fabricating stories. We’re not expecting the British press to appear in the best light in the upcoming film. \[[_Deadline_](http://deadline.com/2014/09/george-clooney-british-phone-hacking-scandal-project-hack-attack-828510/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3267314/george-clooney-phone-hacking-movie/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3267314/george-clooney-phone-hacking-movie/"},"headline":"George Clooney Set To Direct Movie About Britain's Phone-Hacking Scandal","datePublished":"2014-09-04T11:21:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:00:08.241Z","description":"We hope Hugh Grant plays himself","url":"https://time.com/3267314/george-clooney-phone-hacking-movie/","keywords":["movies","Britain","George Clooney","Rupert Murdoch"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt851704e3fb46f697/6986a1f6cd684800d30964f6/george-clooney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt851704e3fb46f697/6986a1f6cd684800d30964f6/george-clooney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Omega Le Jardin Secret Dinner Party","caption":"Omega Le Jardin Secret Dinner Party","creditText":"ChinaFotoPress—ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3267314/george-clooney-phone-hacking-movie/","name":"George Clooney Set To Direct Movie About Britain's Phone-Hacking Scandal"}}]}] ```