Jack Nicholson modeled his gangster character in The Departed on infamous Boston crime lord, Whitey Bulger. Now Johnny Depp is giving us the real deal.
Black Mass will be the true-life story of Whitey Bulger, the Boston mob kingpin who spent more than a decade on the FBI’s Most Wanted List before he was apprehended in June 2011.
Penned by first-time screenwriter Mark Mallouk and directed by Barry Levinson, “Black Mass” takes it title from Dick Lehr and Gerald O’Neill’s 2001 bestseller “Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob.”
In a statement, Cross Creek (the film’s production company) president Brian Oliver said, “I could not be more thrilled to have the biggest star in the world and Academy Award winning director Barry Levinson to finally bring this incredible story to the big screen. We have been working on this project since we originally optioned the book in 2005. Black Mass expertly details the twists and turns of this highly complex story, painting a vivid portrait of Boston’s underbelly and its corrupt political machine, as well as exposing the worst scandal in FBI history. It’s also an examination of loyalty to family, Irish heritage, and South Boston.”
