ACTION
CULTURE
Mass appeal: Johnny Depp as Whitey
COMING ATTRACTIONS The best new entertainment to binge on
FILM Bridge Of Spies In cinemas from November 27, Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller (his first film since 2012’s Lincoln) stars Tom Hanks as a lawyer tasked with negotiating the release of a suspected US spy captured in the Soviet Union. bridgeofspies.com
FILM
MEAN STREETS
Director Scott Cooper on turning Johnny Depp into a real-life mob boss in his epic new crime thriller, Black Mass
The Red Bulletin: Why did you cast Johnny Depp as Boston crime kingpin James “Whitey” Bulger? Scott Cooper: Johnny has always loved gangster movies, and I thought he’d be an excellent choice. Whitey is an extremely chilling and unlikeable character, but also very human. Johnny has a great range, so you can really buy him in many different roles. I think this is one of his finest dramatic performances. You shot the whole film in Boston – how important was that? Critical. I shot in every corner of the city. I wanted the audience to feel like they were in Boston in the ’70s and ’80s. The community embraced us – everybody had a story about Whitey – and we shot in the locations where these things happened, like the ‘Bulger burial ground’ under the bridge by the river, which was where he’d take the bodies. That added a level of tension and danger that infected the film in a very positive way. What was the biggest challenge when making the film? Many of the best American movies are crime thrillers – The Godfather, Goodfellas – so you have to make something that doesn’t feel derivative. Being based on real events is tricky, too. Audiences don’t come to movies for absolute fact, but you have to make the story as psychologically and emotionally accurate as possible. They want to see the humanity. Black Mass opens in the UK on November 27. blackmassthemovie.com
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GANGSTER TRIPPIN’ Black Mass isn’t Depp’s first true-crime role… Donnie Brasco (1997) As undercover FBI agent Joseph D Pistone, who got too close to the Mob. Blow (2001) As minor drug dealer turned major cocaine cartel player George Jung. Public Enemies (2009) As John Dillinger (below), one of America’s most notorious gangsters.
GAME Call Of Duty: Black Ops III The third instalment in the COD spinoff series takes place further in the future than ever before – 2065, when supersoldiers rule the battlefield and technology threatens to take over the Earth. Available on PS4, Xbox One and PC from November 6. callofduty.com
TV The Last Panthers This six-part series follows the aftermath of a diamond heist that heralds the return of a European crime syndicate. Minority Report’s Samantha Morton and acting legend John Hurt star in the TV thriller, which airs on Sky Atlantic in November. sky.com
THE RED BULLETIN