Whitey Bulger is a popular guy around Tinsletown. The ex-mobster was the subject of Martin Scorsese’s THE DEPARTED, and brilliantly played by Jack Nicholson. There are two biopics on Bulger that are still trying to make their way to the big screen. One has Ben Affleck directing and Matt Damon taking the lead, and the other is the subject of this particular article.
BLACK MASS was once set with Barry Levinson directing and Johnny Depp starring. Both have since left the project. Joel Edgerton was asked to take part in the film but also took off. Both he and Depp left due to monetary reasons despite numerous attempts to find a middle ground.
Now Scott Cooper (OUT OF THE FURNACE, CRAZY HEART) is in early talks to direct the flick. They are saying that if the deal goes through than the film will end up at Berlin’s Europeon Film Market in February.
The true story is loosely based on New York Times best-seller Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob written by Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill. It will center on Bulger, “the South Boston criminal mastermind, who was sentenced in November to two consecutive life terms plus five years after being found guilty on 31 counts of racketeering, money laundering, extortion and weapons charges (including his role in 19 murders).”