Matt Damon and Ben Affleck developing Whitey Bulger Mobster Biopic
For the first time since Good Will Hunting, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck will be reuniting to develop a film based on Whitey Bulger, New England’s most notorious gangster. "The story will cover Bulger’s youth to his incarceration on Alcatraz, through his rise to become a mob boss while secretly serving as an FBI informant for decades."
The film is set up over at Warner Bros. Studios where Affleck will direct and costar in the film along with Damon, who will take on the lead role of Bulger. Both will serve as producers on the project. Casey Affleck will also have a supporting role in the movie. On top of all that Boardwalk Empire creator and writer Terence Winter is taking a crack at the script.
Affleck is currently in production on his next film Argo, and was recently attached to direct the big screen adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. The guy has got quite a lot of things going on. There's no word yet on when this movie will go into production. But there's no doubt it will make for a great movie, especially with the talent they have developing it.
For those of you not familiar with Whity Bulger, here's a brief rundown:
Former organized crime figure from Boston, Massachusetts. Local folklore depicted Bulger as a Robin Hood-style social bandit dedicated to protecting the neighborhood and its residents.Bulger allegedly masterminded a protection rackettargeting drug kingpins and those running illegal gambling operations. Based upon the testimony of former associates, Federal prosecutors have indicted Bulger for nineteen murders.
Beginning in 1975, Bulger served as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.As a result, the Bureau largely ignored his organization in exchange for information about the inner workings of theItalian American Patriarca crime family.Beginning in 1997, the New England media exposed criminal actions by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials tied to Bulger. For the FBI especially, this has caused great embarrassment.
On December 23, 1994, after being tipped off by his former FBI handler about a pending indictment under the RICO Act, Bulger fled Boston and went into hiding. For sixteen years, he remained at large. For twelve of those years, Bulger was prominently listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
On June 22, 2011, Bulger was arrested outside an apartment in Santa Monica, California. Arrested with him was his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig. Bulger was 81 years old at the time of his arrest. Soon after, Bulger and Greig were extradited to Massachusetts and brought under heavy guard to the waterfront federal courthouse. This necessitated the closing of part of Boston Harbor. Greig was arraigned in the Federal District Court of the First Circuit in Boston on charges of harboring a fugitive and is currently seeking release on bail. Bulger has not sought bail and remains in custody at the Plymouth County House of Correction in Plymouth, Massachusetts.