Black Mass (DVD)

Black Mass is a 2015 American biographical crime drama film about American mobster Whitey Bulger. Directed by Scott Cooper and written by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, it is based on Dick Lehr and Gerard O Neill s 2001 book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob. The film features an ensemble cast led by Johnny Depp as Bulger, alongside Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Peter Sarsgaard, Dakota Johnson, and Corey Stoll.

Principal photography of the film began on May 19, 2014, in Boston and wrapped on August 1, 2014. The film had its world premiere at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival and was released by Warner Bros. worldwide on September 18, 2015. It received generally positive reviews and grossed $99 million on a $53 million budget.

Plot

In 1975, James Whitey Bulger, leader of the Winter Hill Gang, controls most organized crime within South Boston, along with his right-hand man Stephen Flemmi, newcomer Kevin Weeks, and callous hitman Johnny Martorano. Bulger lives with his longtime partner Lindsey Cyr and their young son Douglas.

Bulger s supremacy is challenged by the North End-based Angiulo Brothers, a rival gang that is part of the New England Mafia family. FBI agent John Connolly returns to the area, having grown up in South Boston as a friend of Whitey and his brother, Massachusetts Senate President William Billy Bulger.

After the Angiulo Brothers send a motorcycle-riding assassin who murders a Winter Hill soldier, Whitey becomes an informant for Connolly. Connolly believes he can infiltrate the Angiulo Brothers organization with Whitey s help. Although Whitey hates the idea of being a rat, he understands the protection doing so would afford him, his gang, and his family. Douglas suffers from Reye syndrome, leading the devastated Lindsey to remove him from life support over Whitey s furious objections.

Although Connolly is supported by his co-worker John Morris, their boss, Charles McGuire, is suspicious. Whitey increasingly exploits his status as an informant, using Connolly s protection as a cover for his crimes. When Connolly demands information on the Angiulos racketeering locations, Whitey gets pictures of the rival gang s hideouts, allowing the FBI to plant wiretaps. The FBI arrests the Angiulos, thus eliminating the remaining opposition to Whitey s power. Blinded by his past, Connolly grows closer to Whitey and the gang and even invites them to his house for a cookout. His wife, Marianne, sees negative changes in her husband as his agent-informant relationship with Whitey grows, including accepting expensive gifts and money from the gang.

An associate, Brian Halloran, fears for his own life and goes to the FBI to report Whitey s involvement, much to Connolly s displeasure. Connolly then tells Whitey of Halloran s accusation, thereby resulting in the murders of Halloran and an unnamed accomplice. Following his mother s death, Whitey s behavior becomes increasingly violent and unpredictable, deteriorating his informant relationship.

When bulldog prosecutor Fred Wyshak is appointed the new assistant U. S. Attorney in Boston, Connolly attempts to make friends and perhaps divert his attention from Whitey. Still, Wyshak bluntly refuses and demands the FBI arrest him. John McIntyre, an informant within the Winter Hill Gang, informs on an attempt by Whitey to smuggle weapons for the IRA. The shipment is seized, and Whitey kills McIntyre after Connolly tips him off.

Wyshak and McGuire investigate Connolly s management of Whitey s informant role and realize that most of the tips provided by Whitey were already obtained from other informants (that Bulger could ve possibly killed since he was ironically known for killing Rats ). Morris, disillusioned and fearing prosecution for his association with Connolly s activities, divulges Connolly s and Whitey s relationship to The Boston Globe, and a front-page story exposes the FBI s links to organized crime. As Connolly, Flemmi, Weeks, and Martorano are arrested, Whitey gives Billy a final goodbye from a gas station pay phone before leaving Boston.

A textual epilogue reveals Weeks received a five-year sentence, Martorano a twelve-year sentence, and Flemmi a life sentence, while Morris received immunity for his cooperation; Billy became Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts but resigned following the discovery that he was in touch with Whitey; Connolly was convicted of second-degree murder and received a forty-year sentence, and Whitey, after an anonymous tip led to his arrest on June 22, 2011, in Santa Monica, California, received two consecutive life sentences with an added five years.

Cast

• Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger
• Joel Edgerton as John Connolly
• Benedict Cumberbatch as William Billy Bulger
• Rory Cochrane as Stephen The Rifleman Flemmi
• Kevin Bacon as Charles McGuire
• Jesse Plemons as Kevin Weeks
• Peter Sarsgaard as Brian Halloran
• Dakota Johnson as Lindsey Cyr
• Corey Stoll as Fred Wyshak
• David Harbour as John Morris
• Julianne Nicholson as Marianne Connolly (née Lockary)
• Adam Scott as Robert Fitzpatrick
• Brad Carter as John McIntyre
• W. Earl Brown as Johnny Martorano
• Mark Mahoney as Mickey Maloney
• Juno Temple as Deborah Hussey
• Erica McDermott as Mary Bulger
• Bill Camp as John Callahan
• Scott Anderson as Tommy King
• David DeBeck as Roger Wheeler
• Jamie Donnelly as Ms. Cody
• Patrick M. Walsh as Michael Donahue
• Jeremy Strong as Josh Bond (uncredited)
• James Russo as Scott Garriola (uncredited)

Production

Development

An idea for a film adaptation of Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob garnered interest intermittently since 2000. Even before its published release, the book s film rights had already been sold to Miramax, when Harvey Weinstein was still part of the company. According to co-author Dick Lehr, Weinstein had never exercised the film option for unknown reasons, and the rights expired. At one point afterwards, in 2002, filmmaker Robert Greenwald had planned to adapt Black Mass into a 4-hour miniseries for USA Network, but the project was never developed. Eventually in 2006, film producer Brian Oliver acquired the film rights for Black Mass, and was set to produce the adaptation with CP Production partners Michael Cerenzie and Christine Peters.

After Oliver s acquisition, Jim Sheridan was attached to direct the film. In 2009, Sheridan had finished writing a draft of the adapted screenplay with Nye Heron, and principal photography was reportedly scheduled to begin in April 2010. However, in December 2010, while discussing the troubled production of his 2011 film Dream House, Sheridan hinted at his detachment from the Black Mass project. Oliver s then-newly founded Cross Creek Pictures film production company took over financing for Black Mass, and Sheridan s exit was confirmed when Russell Gewirtz was hired in 2011 to write another draft for the adaptation, and Barry Levinson was attached to direct instead. The finished version of Black Mass was scripted by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, and has been billed as the true story of Whitey Bulger, FBI agent John Connolly and the FBI s witness protection program that was created by J. Edgar Hoover.

Later in January 2014, Scott Cooper was attached to re-write and direct the film. On February 27, 2014, Warner Bros. picked up the film s worldwide distribution rights, eyeing an October 2015 release, and the studio co-financed the film with Cross Creek.

Casting

Johnny Depp s involvement with Black Mass dates back to February 2013, when he was attached to star in the film, while Barry Levinson was still slated to direct and principal photography was scheduled to begin in May 2013. Depp briefly exited the project shortly after its sale at the 66th annual Cannes Film Festival, because of a salary dispute with Cross Creek Pictures. He later rejoined at around the same time Scott Cooper was attached to replace Levinson as director, and his signing for the film was made official in February 2014. Jesse Plemons and Juno Temple joined the cast to play as Kevin Weeks (a cohort of Bulger) and Deborah Hussey, one of Bulger s victims, respectively, around April 2014. Plemons reportedly prepared for his role by hiring a dialect coach and studying video of the actual Kevin Weeks.

Benedict Cumberbatch replaced Guy Pearce as William Billy Bulger on May 22, 2014. On June 10, it was announced that Jeremy Strong would co-star in the film. On June 14, James Russo joined the cast of the film to play Scott Garriola, one of the FBI agents who took down Bulger. On June 26, Kevin Bacon was added to the cast to play Charles McGuire, the FBI Special Agent in charge of the Boston field office and John Connolly s boss. On July 1, David Harbour was added to the cast of the film to star as John Morris, a corrupt FBI agent along with Connolly.

The roles of Connolly – who was Whitey Bulger s FBI handler – and his first wife Marianne, were filled by Joel Edgerton and Julianne Nicholson, respectively. Cooper chose Nicholson for the part after her performance as Sally in Sam Shepard s off-Broadway play Heartless (before Claire van der Boom succeeded her for the play s two-week extension). Edgerton developed his portrayal of Connolly by studying past footage of the FBI agent before his imprisonment, some of which include his appearances on talk shows and in courtrooms. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Edgerton stated that he declined trying to meet with the actual Connolly, reasoning that Connolly has one version of events and the film has a different version . Edgerton originally dropped out of the project when Depp agreed to return, and Tom Hardy was in early talks for the role. However, Edgerton returned in the role.

In preparing for his role, Depp similarly studied surveillance and police audio footage involving Bulger. The actor was adamant in depicting the Boston gang leader s criminal and personal life as would be ultimately portrayed in the film. To achieve that, Depp attempted to meet with Bulger himself, but was declined a meeting and instead consulted Jay Carney, Bulger s attorney. Carney appeared on set a few times, to provide feedback on Depp s performance.

Filming

Principal photography commenced on May 19, 2014, in Boston; actors were seen filming scenes in Dorchester. On May 23, some shots were also filmed at Polish American Club (altered to recreate West Broadway s Triple O s Lounge, Whitey s infamous South Boston hangout), on Cambridge Street in Cambridge. On May 27, filming was taking place in East Boston, where Johnny Depp and Jesse Plemons were seen together on the set. Next day on May 28, Joel Edgerton was seen during filming of a scene on Silver Street in South Boston. On June 4, Depp was spotted in Lynn during a recreation of the 1982 murders of Brian Halloran and Michael Donahue by Bulger. On June 6–7, Depp was seen filming scenes at Copley Square in Boston.

On June 9, Depp s 51st birthday, he was filming scenes on location in Quincy, where actress Dakota Johnson was in Back Bay, playing Whitey Bulger s longtime former girlfriend, Lindsey Cyr. On June 11, shooting was underway in Lynn, where the crew was filming scenes in which Bulger and Stephen Flemmi pick up a prostitute named Deborah Hussey (played by Juno Temple) from the police station. Temple was seen on the set. On June 16, Depp and Plemons were spotted on the set of the film in South Boston.

On June 20, news posted some photos from the set of the film, which features classic cars from the film set in South Boston. On June 23, Cumberbatch and Depp were spotted during a re-creation of Saint Patrick s Day parade scenes in Lynn. On June 24, scenes were shot at the Harvard Club in Boston. On June 26, Cumberbatch was spotted with crew while filming around Ashmont Grill in Dorchester. On June 29, the pavement outside South Boston High School had graffiti readings of Stop Forced Busing and Press Print the Truth.

On July 2, Depp and Cumberbatch were together filming some scenes in Boston. On July 7–8, filming was set to take place on Gilson Road in Quincy. A four-story building on 6 Gilson Road was transformed to resemble the Princess Eugenia apartments in Santa Monica, California, where FBI agents arrested Bulger on June 22, 2011. Arrest scenes were filmed there on July 7 and 8, and Sienna Miller was spotted dressed as Catherine Greig. From July 8–10, scenes were filmed on Revere Beach, so that a portion of Revere Beach remained closed. Between July 11–12, Revere Beach Boulevard remained closed for shooting. Revere Beach was transformed into Miami Beach, Florida, as live palm trees had been planted in the sand and a pizza restaurant was transformed into a Cuban cafe on Revere Beach Boulevard across the street from Beach. Depp as Whitey Bulger and Miller as Catherine Greig were spotted on the Black Mass set on the Revere Beach on July 10, 2014.

On July 15, Cumberbatch wrapped filming for his part in Boston. On July 21, Depp filmed some scenes at the former Anthony s Hawthorne restaurant, located at Oxford Street and Central Avenue in Lynn, which wrapped up filming for his role.

In July, director Cooper told The Boston Globe that filming had to take place for two more weeks in Boston, focusing on the FBI s role in the Bulger story. On July 25, Kevin Bacon was in Boston, filming some remaining scenes for the film. According to The Boston Globe, filming for Black Mass wrapped up on August 1, 2014, in Boston.

Post-production

Sienna Miller was cast and filmed scenes as Catherine Greig, Bulger s companion while a fugitive, but her scenes ended up getting cut from the film due to narrative choices . Erica McDermott was cast as Mary Bulger, wife of Billy Bulger, but the majority of her scenes were cut out.

Release

On June 30, 2014, Warner Bros. set the film for a September 18, 2015 worldwide release. It was selected to be shown in the Fuori Concorso section of the Venice Film Festival. It was also shown at the Telluride Film Festival the next day, and in the Special Presentation section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

Marketing

On April 23, 2015, the first trailer for the film was released, followed by a second trailer on May 22. A third trailer was released on July 30.

Home media

Black Mass was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 16, 2016.

Reception

Box office

Black Mass grossed $62.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $37.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $99.8 million, against a production budget of $53 million.

In its opening weekend, the film was projected to earn around $26 million from 3,188 theaters. It grossed $8.8 million on its first day, including $1.4 million from its early Thursday showings. It ended up debuting to $22.6 million, finishing second at the box office behind fellow newcomer Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials ($30.3 million). It dropped 51% in its second weekend, making $11 million and finishing 5th.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 73% based on 290 reviews and an average rating of 6.7/10. The site s critical consensus reads, Black Mass spins a gripping yarn out of its fact-based story – and leaves audiences with one of Johnny Depp s most compelling performances in years. On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 68 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of B on an A+ to F scale.

Depp s portrayal of Bulger received critical acclaim with many calling it a return to form. Critics from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and TheWrap called it one of his best performances to date. The Hollywood Reporter s Todd McCarthy, in addition to praising the film, called Depp s performance fully convincing and frightening , saying it is very welcome at this point in his career and one of his best.

Similarly, Indie Wire s Eric Kohn praised the cast and highlighted Depp s performance and Cooper s directorial efforts to depict the haunting legacy of Bulger s criminal deeds, and the lingering sense that no justice can erase their impact. Admiring Black Mass as an elegantly understated crime drama , Variety s Scott Foundas positively compared Depp s performance in the film to his earlier roles with Tim Burton.

TheWrap s Alonso Duralde praised Depp s performance, but was less positive towards the film s pacing and short onscreen appearances of some supporting characters. BBC Culture s Nicolas Barber found some of the subplots to be unnecessary (specifically mentioning Benedict Cumberbatch as Billy Bulger), and argued that the film is never bad, but, given the gob-smacking true story, it s disappointing that it s not great . In a negative review, CraveOnline s Fred Topel labeled Black Mass as a black mess . He criticized the screenwriting and argued that the film borrows too heavily from Goodfellas, writing: ...it s clear that the filmmakers wanted to turn this into Goodfellas and tried to shoehorn this story into a similar kind of seductive, funny, shocking gangster tale. ...Several scenes seem to want to be like the how am I funny? scene in Goodfellas, but it s blatant .

Response by the subjects

Whitey Bulger himself disapproved of the film and refused to see it; his associate Kevin Weeks, while admitting the killings took place, otherwise called the movie pure fiction , comprehensively disputing most of the film s depiction of events. Most crucially he also disavowed the characterisations of the key figures:

The only resemblance to Whitey s character was the hairline. The mannerisms — the way that Whitey talked to us — he never swore at us. In all the years I was with that man, he never swore at me once. We never yelled at each other. The language is all wrong and Whitey never would ve berated Stevie, either. Stevie was a psychopath. Stevie would ve killed him. Stevie wasn t all sympathetic, mourning, and sorrowful like he is in the movie. Stevie enjoyed murder.

Weeks also disagrees completely with his portrayal in the film, for instance, the suggestion the loss of his son had any impact on his behavior, or that Bulger ever once discussed business at home or with his brother.

Accolades

Award	Category	Recipient	Result
Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards	Best Actor	Johnny Depp	Nominated
Santa Barbara International Film Festival	Maltin Modern Master Award	Johnny Depp	Won
Satellite Awards	Best Film	Black Mass	Nominated
	Best Actor – Motion Picture	Johnny Depp	Nominated
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Jez Butterworth, Mark Mallouk	Nominated
Saturn Awards	Best Thriller Film	Black Mass	Nominated
	Best Make-Up	Joel Harlow, Kenny Niederbaumer	Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role	Johnny Depp	Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	Best Actor	Johnny Depp	Nominated
Palm Springs International Film Festival	Desert Palm Achievement Award (actor)	Johnny Depp	Won
Critics Choice Movie Award	Best Actor	Johnny Depp	Nominated
	Best Makeup		Nominated

Lindsay Kimble of People believed Depp deserved an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Bulger and was surprised when his name was left off the list of nominees.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack, written and composed by Tom Holkenborg, was released on September 11, 2015, at WaterTower Music.

Track listing

2015 Watertower Music (61:26)

Condition

New

Amazon ASIN

B015JR14FI

UPC / EAN

883929457816

Year

2015

ReleaseDate

2015-09-18

RuntimeMins

123

RuntimeStr

2h 3min

Awards

Awards, 6 wins & 24 nominations

Directors

Scott Cooper

Writers

Mark Mallouk, Jez Butterworth, Dick Lehr

Stars

Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson

Produced by

Michael Bassick, Scott Cooper, Brett Granstaff, Gary Granstaff, Phil Hunt, Adam Kassan, John Lesher, Peter Mallouk, Ray Mallouk, Patrick McCormick, Richard Mirisch, Steven Mnuchin, Brian Oliver, James Packer, Brett Ratner, Chuck Rock, Compton Ross, Tyler Thompson, Christopher Woodrow

Music by

Junkie XL

Cinematography by

Masanobu Takayanagi

Film Editing by

David Rosenbloom

Casting By

Francine Maisler

Production Design by

Stefania Cella

Art Direction by

Jeremy Woodward

Set Decoration by

Tracey A. Doyle

Costume Design by

Kasia Walicka-Maimone

Makeup Department

Ben Bornstein, Steve Buscaino, Gloria Pasqua Casny, Joel Harlow, Lucia Mace, Ken Niederbaumer, Nichole Pleau, Joanna Raskin, Khanh Trance, Rita Troy, Marleen Alter, Steve Buscaino, Sasha Camacho, Ryan Convery, Cindy Harlow, Raul Hernandez, Navya La Shay, Gil Liberto, Juliet Loveland, Brenda McNally, Jessica Nelson, Shayna Passaretti, Cristina Patterson, Khanh Trance, Jennifer Traub, L. Sher Williams, Rebecca Woodfork

Production Management

Patrick McCormick, Steven Wayne, Bill Draper

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

Timothy Blockburger, Xanthus Valan, Michele Shelley Ziegler, Scooter Perrotta

Art Department

Tobias Aldrich, Bobby Anderson, Steve Brennan, Jason Coffey, Sarah Contant, Tom Diorio, Noah Dubreuil, Bryan Felty, Joe Gagnepain, Wilson Gallego, David Gulick, Joseph Kearney, Lance Littlefield, Kendra Long, Jason Mayoh, Travis Moonschein, Adam Roffman, Robert Schleinig, Christina Todesco, Zachary Zablocki, Gary Alioto, Christopher Analoro, Beth Anderson, Graves Bates, Adam Bellao, Nick Bellofatto, Paula Bird, Mickey Carter, Doug Cluff, Kim Codner, Stefan Couture, Debbie Cutler, Michael Dias, Riley Fearon, Bob Flannery, Jaima Fogg, Caroline Foley, Stephen Gavin, Brian Hakala, Jared Hartley, Paul Jaasko, Christopher Johnson, Ryan Johnson, Jason Joubert, Wayne Kimball, Jenelle Kinney, Michael Krause, Jennifer LaFace, Kim Leoleis, Geoffrey Mandel, Aram Maranian III, Karl J. Martin, Adam McClain, Brian McKenzie, Ryan McPeake, Mark Menard, Lauren Mooney, Janine Moore, Xavier Munoz, Isaac Nadreau, David T. Parsons, Raymond Petrello, Scott Petrino, Michael Potter, John Pungitore, Benjamin Regan, Gina Rhodes, K.C. Roballo, Christopher Sawtelle, Jeffrey Schneider, Zachary Sears, Richard Sepulveda, Gloria Shih, William Sullivan, Dan Sweetman, Christine Tobin, Cammeron Truesdale, Wilfredo Usuga

Sound Department

Ryan Baker, Ron Bartlett, Curt Cash, Mark Coffey, Ezra Dweck, Jack Heeren, Chris Jenkins, Goro Koyama, Andy Malcolm, Mark A. Mangini, Piero Mura, Chris Navarro, Thomas J. O Connell, Tony Pilkington, Darren Polish, Joel Reidy, Ann Scibelli, Unsun Song, Brian Tarlecki, Don White, Tom Williams, Byron Wilson, Greg Crawford, Robert Edwards, Sandra Fox, Vic Kaspar, Michael Miller, Stephen Muir, Ryan Young

Special Effects by

Judson Bell, Josh McCarron, Christopher Walsh, Gregory J. Corcoran, Jeremy Dominick, Chris Luciano, Diana Roche, John Ruggieri

Visual Effects by

Romulo Adriano Jr., David Bleich, Russell Bradley, Laura Brocato, Jeremy Brown, Julia Correnti, Alex Falcon, Rachel Fowler, Leighana Ginther, Alex Hatfield, Chris LeDoux, Tim LeDoux, Paul Linden, Robert Liscombe, Kevin Samar, Jason Sanford, Mark Stern, Erik Werlin, Jonny Winograd, Kyle Andal, Creighton Ashton, Joshua Bailor, Scott Balkcom, Tristan Brown, Max Cannella, Dan Cayer, Sean Devereaux, Robby Geis, Bryan Haines, Joshua Hey, Mark LeDoux, Stella Madeline Levy, Don Libby, Anu Liikkanen, Lara Lom, Kevin Melia, Olga Midlenko, Jeff Penick, Caleb Pennypacker, Adam Pere, Mario J. Pillet, John Polyson, Brian Quinlan, Daniel Rao, Chris B. Schnitzer, Steven Spady, David Sweeney, Khuong Tran, Sergio Villegas, Greg Wadsworth, Markus White, J. Thomas Wilson, Carmen Wong

Stunts

G.A. Aguilar, Bill Anagnos, Airon Armstrong, Jill Brown, Dicky Eklund Jr., Sean Eklund, Jim Ford, Christopher Jon Gombos, Don Hewitt, Dylan Hintz, Niahlah Hope, Jason Iannacone, Chuck Jeffreys, John Vincent Mason, Benjamin Jeran McGinn, Ian Mclaughlin, Zack Roberts, Hannah Scott, Laurie Singer, Todd Warren, Christopher Jon Gombos, Jason Iannacone, Todd Ryan Jones, Declan Mulvey

Camera and Electrical Department

James W. Apted, Woody Bell, Donald Burghardt, Tony Campenni, David Conelli, Derek Contrado, Scott D. Davis, Thomas Doran, Joseph E. Doyle, Dean Egan, Morris Flam, Claire Folger, Lee-Anthony Holloway, Robert Knowles, Jonathan Kobs, Talia Krohmal, Frank Montesanto, David B. Nowell, Michael Peterson, Josh Pressey, Zack Shultz, Timothy M. Sweeney, Masanobu Takayanagi, Brendan Tierney, Henry Tirl, Greg Wimer, Joseph Battista, Rick Beausoleil, Andrew Bell, Peter Bevan, Malachi Bibel, Rick Cardillo, Mark J. Casey, Robert Clark, Nathan Coscia, Tim Dunbar, Eric Engler, Peter Graf, Matt Hedges, Mike Henry, Jose Flecha Hernandez, Dan Hutchinson, Tom Killberg, Alyson MacInnis, Brandon J. Meadows, A. Kyo Moon, Georgia Pantazopoulos, Michael Peterson, Dave Provenzano, David M. Rogers, David C. Romano, Steve Sikora, Pierson Silver, Jeff Tanger, Darrell Temple, Henry Tirl, Travis Trudell

Animation Department

Gary Mau

Casting Department

Maxim Bennet, Melissa Kostenbauder, Carolyn Pickman, Matt Bouldry, Stefni Colle, Zach Copeland, Caitlin McKenna, Maura Smith

Costume and Wardrobe Department

Elizabeth Clifford, Beau Desmond, Susana Gilboe, Virginia Johnson, Maili Lafayette, Brittany Loar, Clinton E. O Dell, Dana Pacheco, Cesha Ventre, Taryn Walsh, Leigh Bell, Penelope Cariolo, Robin Chalfin, Kelsey Ettman, Liza Faulkner, Meg Gustafson, Amanda Hannan, Honah Lee Milne, Lara Quinlan, Jill Thibault, Jennifer Lynn Tremblay

Editorial Department

Matthew Friedman, Lindsay Giebel, Matthew W. Johnson, Philippe Majdalani, Nick Monton, Ewelina Nietupska, Daniel Paress, Tom Poole, Erik Rogers, Joe Rosenbloom, Claire Simpson, Jonny Winograd, Giovanni DiGiorgio, Ryan Duffy, Alex Durie, Kevin Krout, Ian Sullivan

Location Management

Gregory Chiodo, Ryan B Cook, Benjamin C. Dewey, Jeremy Fiske, Charles Harrington, Joe Piasecki, Alex Berard, Derek Cunningham, Jim Donnelly, David Ferdig, Jessica Logan, Hannah Macklin, Kai Quinlan, Benjamin Stoll, John Whoriskey Jr.

Music Department

Emad Borjian, Jacob Braun, Andrew Bulbrook, Sandy Cameron, Ali Christenhusz, Meredith Crawford, Zach Dellinger, Samantha Duckworth, Steve Erdody, Nick Glennie-Smith, Michiel Groeneveld, Jessica Guideri, Dieter Hartmann, Elizabeth Hedman, Benjamin Jacobson, Junkie XL, Armen Ksajikian, Darrin McCann, Stephen Perone, Leslie Reed, Steve Richards, Ryan Robinson, Katrina Schiller, Jim Schultz, Rich Wheeler, Jonathan Beard, Celeste Chada, Kevin Connolly, Jordan Cox, Sam Estes, Tom Hardisty, Greg Hayes, Peter Rotter, Chas Smith, Jamie Thierman, Edward Trybek, Henri Wilkinson, David William Young

Script and Continuity Department

Tracy Scott

Transportation Department

Jon Campagna, James Divito, Davin Olson, Danny Redmond, Robby Wright, Billy Benner, Robert Cafarelli, Karl carlo Green, David Kenney

Additional Crew

Matthew Beltz, Ryan Blake, Steven Brooks, Bridgett Buss, Matt Campbell, J. Collins Jr., Rio Contrada, Kyle Cooper, Ana Criado-Zahonero, Kayla Cruz, Steven P. DeCoste Jr., Stephen Deuters, Rebecca DiFillippo, Jennifer Driscoll, Brendan Flaherty, Cameron Goodrich, Chad Goyette, Kirsten Grimes, Greg Highsmith, Arthur Hiou, Nathan Holmes, Tish Johnson, Carla Meyer, Christos Michaels, Parvaneh Mireille, Cameron K. Morton, Sean Murphy, Michael Neal, Maria Palazon, Mary Kate Pedro, Scooter Perrotta, Jamal Peters, Jacqui Popelka, Melissa Reeck, Hannah Roble, Christine Rudakewycz, Howard Samuelsohn, Robbie Savage Jr., Tony Scelsi, Anthony M. Scott, David Steinwachs, Spooky Stevens, Cami Stratton, Matt Tente, Hunter Treacy, Brittany Truett, Stephen Turro, Katie Valovcin, Ani Vanoyan, Sean Yopchick, Jordan Yospe, David William Young, Eric Altieri, Stephanie Atkinson, Maggie Baird, Victoria Bane, Kurt Bergeron, Marie Brazil, Jon Bruno, Unjoo Lee Byars, Adam Carbone, Sam Carmichael, Kayla Chin, Meghan Cirillo, Alex Cody, David Cowgill, Tommy Coye, Danielle Rose Darling, Lisa Davidson, Austin Demers, Patrick O Brien Demsey, Roger Dillingham Jr., Gleanna Doyle, Timothy DuBois, Frank Durant, Ryan Eatherton, Glenn D. Feig, Caroline Foley, Nadisha Foster, Eddie Frierson, Robert Rock Galotti, Andrew Gamuciello, Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez, Amber Grunte, Jake Head, Ashley Hughes, Kyle Izzo, Harry Johnson, Biz Kopp, Tony Kress, Brianna Lynch, Chris Malenfant, Alex Mandelberg, Sean Martin, Benjamin Jeran McGinn, Caitlin McKenna, Katharine McManus, Justin Moss, Abby Mulholland, Dana Nelson, Wes Palmer, Scott Parker, Michael Peavey, Nicholas Rexford, Deborah Ricketts, Al Rodrigo, Jimmy Rudolph, Michelle Ruff, Sarah Rummel, John Sansone, Jonathon Schermerhorn, Alexandra Sear, Gregory Seymore, Jake Shankle, Paul Anthony Speziale, Jillian Taylor, Ty Taylor, Alessia Tranfaglia, Angelo Vacco, Kerry Wollin, Benjamin Zalusky

Genres

Biography, Crime, Drama

Companies

Cross Creek Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Grisbi Productions, Le

Countries

USA, UK

Languages

English

ContentRating

R

ImDbRating

6.9

ImDb Rating Votes

181459

Metacritic Rating

68

Short Description

Black Mass is a 2015 American biographical crime drama film about American mobster Whitey Bulger. Directed by Scott Cooper and written by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, it is based on Dick Lehr and Gerard O Neill s 2001 book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob. The film features an ensemble cast led by Johnny Depp as Bulger, alongside Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Peter Sarsgaard, Dakota Johnson, and Corey Stoll.

Principal photography of the film began on May 19, 2014, in Boston and wrapped on August 1, 2014. The film had its world premiere at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival and was released by Warner Bros. worldwide on September 18, 2015. It received generally positive reviews and grossed $99 million on a $53 million budget.

Box Office Budget

$53,000,000 (estimated)

Box Office Opening Weekend USA

$22,635,037

Box Office Gross USA

$62,575,678

Box Office Cumulative Worldwide Gross

$99,775,678

Keywords

True crime,fbi agent,gangster,boston massachusetts,based on true story