Brief
Production designers rebuild 1969 Sun newsroom for Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink’
Designers Gareth Pugh and Carson McColl transformed a vacant Bromley building into a functional 1969 newsroom for the film that premieres at the London Film Festival.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Danny Boyle’s new film “Ink”, which dramatizes Rupert Murdoch’s rise on Fleet Street, features a meticulously rebuilt 1969 Sun newspaper newsroom, according to Variety.
What happened
The production designers, Gareth Pugh and Carson McColl, were tasked with recreating the Sun’s 1969 headquarters, originally on Bouverie Street, for filming. They located a vacant council‑owned building in Bromley, UK, whose mixed architectural styles allowed them to construct the newsroom set. The set includes functional linotype machines, rotary phones and typewriters to mirror the era’s workflow.
What the reports add
Variety notes that Boyle wanted a period film that felt “immediate and grabby,” prompting the designers to focus on authenticity rather than nostalgia. McColl explained that the newsroom’s layout had to support the frantic daily rhythm from morning copy to the night deadline, and consultants with 1969 Fleet Street experience helped map the flow. Pugh described the space as the film’s “nerve center” and likened it to a spaceship, emphasizing the amount of time spent there during shooting.
What was said
McColl told Variety, “He said he wanted to reset the expectations of a period film.” He added, “For the space to feel real, the layout was key.” Pugh said, “A lot of Fleet Street doesn’t exist anymore,” and explained the choice of the Bromley location: “It had been vacated by the local council, and the mix of different architectural styles made it ideal for housing the various set‑pieces, particularly the newsroom.”
How it came about
“Ink” adapts James Graham’s Tony‑nominated play of the same name, with Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch and Jack O’Connell as editor Larry Lamb. The film will debut at the London Film Festival, open in select theatres on Dec. 11, and stream on Netflix from Jan. 8 in the U.S. and Latin America. Boyle gave the designers considerable latitude, allowing them to balance the low budget with creative solutions such as using authentic equipment while still achieving the required scale.
Key facts
- Danny Boyle’s film “Ink” recreates the 1969 Sun newsroom using period‑authentic equipment. (variety.com)
- Designers Gareth Pugh and Carson McColl built the set in a vacant Bromley building. (variety.com)
- The film premieres at the London Film Festival and opens in theatres on Dec. 11, 2026. (variety.com)
- “Ink” is based on James Graham’s play and stars Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch. (variety.com)
Sources
- [1] variety.com — originally reported as “How ‘Ink’ Production Designers Recreated The Sun Newsroom Using Functional Linotype Machines, Working Rotary Phones and Old Typewriters”
