Clooney to direct film on phone hacking scandal

Actor George Clooney will put on the director's hat for "Hack Attack", a film based on a British phone hacking scandal.

The project is an adaptation of journalist Nick Davies' book of the same name about Rupert Murdoch's news empire celebrity phone hacking scandal, which led to the closure of the News of the World, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"This has all the elements - lying, corruption, blackmail - at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London," Clooney said in a statement.

Clooney and Grant Heslov will co-produce the film under their Smokehouse banner for Sony. Its shooting is scheduled to begin next year.