Black Mass, the Johnny Depp fronted biopic about the life of notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger, has been one of the big successes of the fall season so far. It opened strong at the box office, raking in a$31 million in its first week, and has put Depp in serious conversation for the best actor trophy at next year's Academy Awards.
The movie is clearly a bonafide success, but how different would Bulger's story be if Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were the ones who told it?
The pair have long and storied ties with the city of Boston; so it would make sense for them to try and tackle the life of one of its most infamous citizens. Rumors of a Damon-Affleck produced Bulger film have swirled around Hollywood circles for years, but so far nothing has materialized.
That all changed last week, when Damon answered questions regarding the fate of the project. In an interview with The Boston Globe to promote his new film The Martian, he described what he and Affleck had envisioned for their take on Bulger's tale.
"Ben and I had an idea that we would do it more like 'Unforgiven' - which was the anti-western. We wanted to do the anti-gangster movie. I got a letter from somebody - from a writer in South Boston when [Bulger] got caught and we announced that we were going to do this story. He sent me this letter and he was like, 'Don't glorify this guy anymore. Just stop. Please. He caused so much damage to so many people.'
The paper mentions that the film's production is in limbo due to the release of Black Mass.
Bulger's life and exploits would certainly be enough to fill more than one feature film. But for now at least, this little snippet from Damon is all were probably going to get.
