Long-gesting drama to begin filming in May…
Guy Pearce (‘The Rover,’ ‘Iron Man 3’) has reportedly entered into talks to join the cast of ‘Black Mass,’ Scott Cooper’s upcoming biopic of Boston kingpin-turned-fugitive Whitey Bulger that has Johnny Depp attached to star.
Based on the bestselling 2001 book by Dick Lehr and Gerald O’Neill, ‘Black Mass’ tells the true story of Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf. However, after the FBI closed in on their targets, they double crossed Bulger and ultimately prosecuted him, along with his partner in crime and the original FBI agent working with him.
Variety hears that Pearce is being lined up to play one of Bulger’s brothers. Pearce’s fellow Aussie and ‘Animal Kingdom’ co-star Joel Edgerton is also on board, playing John Connolly, an FBI agent who also happened to be a childhood friend of Bulger’s.
Cooper is aiming to get cameras rolling in May, with Cross Creek Pictures financing the drama alongside Warner Bros.