Friday, February 28, 2014

Joel Edgerton Comes Back As Hardy Leaves "Black Mass"

Warner Bros purchased the distribution rights to the the crime biopic "Black Mass" starring Johnny Depp says Deadline.

The story follows South Boston criminal James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) who was betrayed by the FBI after he became an informant to bring down a rival crime family. Bulger was captured in June 2011 in Santa Monica following a 16-year manhunt.

A few weeks ago Tom Hardy was in talks to co-star as FBI handler John Connolly who was also a childhood friend of Bulger. In the 1970s, the pair joined forces with Bulger turning in his rivals to consolidate his power while Connolly scored the professional benefits of being the man who helped dismantle the mob. Eventually, Connolly was convicted of racketeering, obstruction of justice, and second-degree murder.

Australian actor Joel Edgerton was attached to play Connolly at first. Now, Hardy isn't involved and Edgerton has come back to the role.


The film is based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill.Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth. worked on  the adapted the screenplay, before Russell Gewirtz took over. Cooper is said to be working on a rewrite of the script

Brian Oliver, Tyler Thompson, Nigel Sinclair, Tobin Armbrust, John Lesher and Christi Dembrowski will produce the pic.

Production will take place in Boston starting late April to meet its just announced  October 2015 release date.

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