BOSTON (AP) – On the streets of South Boston, where the name Whitey Bulger once evoked fear, the locals have become accustomed to books and movies that try to capture the life of the notorious gangster.
With the release of a new biopic, “Black Mass,” set for Sept. 18, anticipation is building in South Boston, where James “Whitey” Bulger rose from a childhood in public housing to the leader of a multimillion dollar criminal enterprise of drugs, extortion and money-laundering that was responsible for numerous murders.
“I want to go see it,” said Karen Gleason, 65, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood often called Southie, where Bulger’s Irish-American Winter Hill Gang held power.
“I think the original South Boston people will go see it, but I don’t know about anyone else. There’s a lot of diversity here now,” Gleason said, referring to changing demographics that have turned the once working-class neighborhood into an up-and-coming hip area for young professionals.
“Black Mass,” starring Johnny Depp as Bulger, is the latest of more than a dozen books and movies to tell his story, including the 2006 film “The Departed,” in which Jack Nicholson’s character was loosely based on Bulger.