james bulger Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's no secret that Martin Scorsese likes his gangster flicks -- and judging from box office numbers, best-of lists and Academy Awards shoveled out, something tells me moviegoers like them just as much. Ever since The Departed won Oscars, folks questioned whether Scorsese and his crew would ever attempt either a prequel or a sequel (especially since the film it's based on, Infernal Affairs, was part of a trilogy). While that's looking less and less likely, word out of Boston is Marty might want to return to the city to once again adapt the true-life story of a dangerous mobster for the big screen.

According to the Boston Herald, Scorsese secretly met with Winter Hill Gang hitman John Martorano while in town shooting Shutter Island, then had Departed producer Graham King acquire the hitman's life rights. That last part we already knew about, as it was reported in Variety earlier in the month, but we did not know that this all came about from a secret meeting with Scorsese. The Boston Herald says that most likely Departed screenwriter William Monahan will write the script, which will tell Martorano's story -- one that includes murdering 20 people before flipping for the feds after learning other members of his gang -- like James Bulger, who some say Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed was based on -- were government informants.

This, of course, wouldn't be the first time Scorsese took on the life story of a famous mob snitch -- not only was The Departed all about sniffing out "the rat," but the film Goodfellas told the real-life story of gangster Henry Hill, who eventually flipped on his guys and entered the witness protection program. No official word on whether Marty is involved with Martorano's story -- or if this would replace any Departed follow-up -- but I don't think any of us would be surprised.

I thought The Departed was fiction, but apparently it is actually "revisionist history." At least, that is the opinion of a man who won't go to see the Oscar-winning film. There are a number of people who are like him, too, who are avoiding the picture because of its "glorified" depiction of real-life Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger. These people are the families of Bulger's victims and they each have their accusations. One man says the filmmakers are cashing in on the story while another claims the film displays "hero worship" for Bulger. One even claims the film protects the still-at-large criminal. Never mind the fact that The Departed is a remake of a Hong Kong film or the complete absence of any claim that the film is based on a true story, Bulger's or anyone else's, and these people have a point. But really, they have no reason to be angry at Warner Bros. because they feel exploited by the film.

It is certainly evident that Jack Nicholson's character, Frank Costello, is loosely based on Bulger, but according to Martin Scorsese, the basis is only enough to make the film's gangster seem true. It doesn't help his case, however, to include a documentary about Bulger on the special edition DVD in the first place. Following two historically based films that were criticized enough for their revisions, Scorsese could have distanced himself as much as possible from making any link to true stories, but he didn't because he shouldn't have to. He makes movies, not textbooks. If Warner Bros. makes him apologize for any of this, we should all complain even louder. Maybe the studio would even apologize to us for being so apologetic.