Embattled News Corp exec James Murdoch was slammed during his Parliament appearance today, during which time he was asked to clarify points he made during his first testimony in July. Members of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee were “at times hostile” toward Murdoch, according to the Los Angeles Times, and at one point compared Murdoch to a crime family boss.

Even so, Murdoch held firm to his original story, claiming that he was unaware of the widespread hacking that was purportedly rampant at News Corp publication News of the World.

News Corp announced today that it was launching a new hotline for employees who wish to report illegal activity at the company — either witnessed or suspected. It’s (seemingly) a good-faith effort to improve the company’s practices (not to mention appearance) in the wake of the recent phone hacking scandal that Murdoch, quite rightly, has called a “black eye” on the face of the company.

NSFW alert!

I suppose it was inevitable. Blush, a German intimate apparel maker, has released a series of ads that lampoon the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Faux “headlines” in the ads include “Rupert: Why Listen if You Can Watch,” “Hello James, Look at Our Little Secrets!” and the somewhat incomprehensible “Hacking That’ll Even Make Rupert Blush” (huh?).

As AdWeek points out, some of the series “stoops pretty low,” but it’s certainly umm, eye-grabbing and it’s sure to get some attention. Check out the full series after the jump. Needless to say, these are lingerie ads so several of the images are NSFW.

It’s long been suggested that Rupert Murdoch’s success was due in some part to his political connections. Actor and alleged phone hacking victim Hugh Grant has even gone so far as to argue that U.K. politicians “were terrified” of the media titan and that they, subsequently, did not “take him on” in a timely fashion (in his mind).

Anyway you slice it, the relationship between News Corp and the politierati has been the stuff of legend. Now, it would seem, the waters are about to get much less murky.

After the made-for-T.V. blockbuster that was “Too Big to Fail,” it’s pretty obvious that a News Corp hacking scandal movie should be next. Alleged bribes, celebrity intrigue — this scandal has it all.

And, just like “Too Big to Fail”, there is an odd joy that comes with imagining and analyzing the hypothetical fantasy cast. With that in mind, we were psyched to see that the folks over at Powerwall came up with some fun, hypothetical actor-character match-ups.

He’s the heir apparent who’s now, apparently, erred.

During the Parliament hearings, James Murdoch might have appeared the Winklevoss to his Dad’s Mr. Magoo — handsome, sharp and quick with an answer — but the brainy protege of media’s most (in)famous mogul is now facing a landslide of accusations he can’t outrun. And while Rupert Murdoch’s career is in jeopardy, it’s arguably less important than James’. After all, the elder Murdoch is 80 and may or may not be senile, depending on how convincing you found his “old man” performance on Tuesday.

But will Rupert’s would-be rising star bounce back from this mess? We sincerely doubt it.