Mark Wahlberg to Meet Mob Boss for Movie Rights?
Mark Wahlberg wants a sit-down with reputed mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, an alleged murderer who terrorized Wahlberg's hometown of Boston.
Wahlberg has requested a jailhouse meeting with the mob boss and convicted murderer in an attempt to get rights to Bulger's story. The actor and director told a Boston radio station that Bulger had reached out to him and speculated he would give Wahlerg rights to his story.
"He wants me to come down and visit him. Maybe he'll give me the exclusive rights to tell his story because he knows, you know, we can do it better than anybody else," Wahlberg said.
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Bulger, 82, ran a gang in south Boston, where Wahlberg grew up, from the 1970s to the 1990s, according to Fox News. He also worked as an FBI informant until 1995, when he fled after being tipped off about an indictment by an FBI handler.
Bulger is accused of taking part in 19 murders and was caught last year in California after 16 years on the run.
One of the victim's relatives, Patricia Donahue hopes that Wahlberg's local roots won't allow him to distort the true story. Her husband Michael Donahue was allegedly killed by Bulger.
Donahue said that there's nothing she can do to stop someone from making a movie, but hopes he isn't portrayed as a hero but as the murderer he is.
"The government can't get the truth out of him, nobody seems to be able to get the truth out of him, so why is he gonna pour his heart out to Markie Wahlberg?" Donahue said. "He has a pretty good idea of who's who in this whole episode."
Stephen Davis is another relative to one of Bulger's victims and said that his family was ruined by Bulger and he should not be glamorized.
"I have a lot of respect for Mark (Wahlberg). I would hope that he would reach out to us, too," Davis said.
Davis’ sister, Deborah Davis was allegedly strangled by Bulger.
Wahlberg has replied by saying that he feels for the loved ones of Bulger's victims, but believes the story has tremendous potential.
"If there's a story to be told here, and, you know, we can do it in the way we want in the way that we best see fit, then, you know, then it’s certainly something that we would explore," Wahlberg said.
A Massachusetts legislator, Sen. Stephen Brewer, has proposed a bill that would allow only Bulger's victims to profit from his story.
