Danny Boyle to Receive Variety’s Creative Impact in Directing Award at Venice

Variety will honor Oscar-winning British filmmaker Danny Boyle with its Creative Impact in Directing Award at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday.

Boyle, whose wide-ranging credits span “Trainspotting,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Steve Jobs” and the “28 Days Later” franchise, will receive the award during Variety’s Venice pre-opening night party at the Hotel Excelsior on the Lido.

Boyle’s next film “Ink,” a drama about the birth of Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid empire, will kick off the festival on Sept. 2.

“From changing independent film with ‘Trainspotting’ to winning the Oscar for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ to terrifying audiences with the ’28 Days Later’ franchise, Danny Boyle has inspired, entertained and transported us with his singular vision of storytelling,“ said Ramin Setoodeh, Variety’s co-editor-in-chief and co-president. “His new film, ‘Ink,’ starring Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy, will be one of this fall’s great discoveries. We are thrilled to honor him with Variety’s Creative Impact Award for directing at the Venice Film Festival.“

Boyle will be joined at the Venice event by “Ink” stars O’Connell, Pearce and Foy, as well as Graham and producers Tracey Seaward, Tessa Ross and Michael Ellenberg, alongside Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera and members of the jury.

Previous recipients of Variety’s Creative Impact in Directing Award include Guillermo Del Toro and Jacques Audiard.

Boyle most recently returned to the zombie franchise “28 Days Later,” directing “28 Years Later” and serving as a producer on its follow-up, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.” Boyle previously won the directing Oscar for “Slumdog Millionaire,” which became one of the rare films to sweep the Academy Awards, BAFTAs and Golden Globes as well as the PGA and DGA prizes for best picture and directing.

“Ink“ is based on James Graham’s Tony and Olivier Award-winning play about the period in 1969 when Murdoch and editor Larry Lamb transformed British tabloid journalism.

The film will open in select theaters Dec. 11 before streaming on Netflix on Jan. 8 in the U.S. and Latin America. Following Venice, it will make its Canadian debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Studiocanal handles worldwide sales and will release the film theatrically starting in January across its territories.