Warner Bros. Pictures’ highly anticipated drama Black Mass, directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) will world premiere in out-of-competition at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. The film stars Johnny Depp as notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, along with an acclaimed ensemble cast including Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, and Kevin Bacon.
Black Mass will screen on Friday September 4th 2015 in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema atVenice Lido. The 72nd Venice International Film Festival will take place at the Lido from September 2-12, 2015; it is directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by la Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta.
In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) persuades Irish mobster Jimmy Bulger (Depp) to collaborate with the FBI in order to eliminate their common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade law enforcement while consolidating his power and becoming one of the most ruthless and dangerous gangsters in Boston history.
Black Mass is produced by John Lesher, Brian Oliver, Scott Cooper, Patrick McCormick, and Tyler Thompson, with Brett Ratner, James Packer, Peter Mallouk, Ray Mallouk, Christopher Woodrow, Brett Granstaff, Gary Granstaff, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross serving as executive producers.Warner Bros. Pictures presents Black Mass in association with Cross Creek Pictures & RatPac-Dune Entertainment; the screenplay is by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth (Get on Up, Edge of Tomorrow) based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill. Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute Black Mass worldwide beginning September 18th. Its Italian release is scheduled for October 1, 2015.