Director Danny Boyle’s film ‘Ink’ tells the story of Rupert Murdoch’s rise on London’s Fleet Street and his acquisition of The Sun newspaper. The project is based on a Tony-nominated stage play by James Graham, who also adapted it for the screen. Guy Pearce portrays the young Murdoch, while Jack O’Connell takes on the role of editor Larry Lamb, the working-class journalist instrumental in transforming The Sun into a populist publication. The film is scheduled to premiere at the London Film Festival, with theatrical release in select venues followed by availability on streaming platforms.
Production designers Gareth Pugh and Carson McColl collaborated with Boyle to construct an immersive 1969 setting. The director’s vision called for a period recreation that felt immediate and engaging rather than distant or academic. The original Sun headquarters, located on Bouverie Street, no longer exists in recognizable form. The production team discovered a vacant council building in Bromley that offered the architectural variety needed to house multiple set pieces, particularly the central newsroom.
The newsroom required extensive planning and consultation with individuals who had worked on Fleet Street during the period. Designers mapped the space to reflect the daily workflow and escalating activity typical of newspaper operations during that era. McColl and Pugh incorporated period details including rotary telephones, typewriters, and functioning Linotype machines—rare artifacts that proved challenging to source. The set decorator located three fully operational Linotype machines through specialized collectors of vintage printing equipment.
Larry Lamb’s office was deliberately designed to convey his character’s arc throughout the narrative, with gridded glass windows allowing visibility into his progressively isolated position as the story unfolds. The production team ensured even minor functional elements, such as the character’s telephone, connected to relevant props and served narrative purposes.
Additional sequences presented unique challenges requiring creative problem-solving. A scene set in the London Underground required innovative solutions when museum restrictions limited access to period-appropriate train cars. The production employed wind machines, flying newspapers, and coordinated lighting effects to create the desired sense of motion and energy. Contemporary camera techniques, including 360-degree filming for select sequences, complemented traditional set design approaches.
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