People News

Mark Wahlberg and Boston mobster 'Whitey' Bulger may collaborate

By April MacIntyre Jan 15, 2012, 14:25 GMT

Mark Wahlberg - a Boston mobster\'s tale perhaps to screen © Janet Mayer / PR Photos

Producer and actor Mark Wahlberg (Boardwalk Empire, Entourage) is reportedly considering a meeting with infamous Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, but not without some controversy.

Wahlberg shared the news on Boston's WAAF-FM radio Friday, and he speculated Bulger wants to give him rights to his story. He confirmed that Bulger reached out to him.

"He wants me to come down and visit him. Maybe he'll give me the exclusive rights to tell his story, `cause he knows, you know, we can do it better than anybody else," Wahlberg said.

A son of Southie (South Boston) himself, Wahlberg grew up in the tough Irish section of Boston that was Bulger's home when he ran a local gang as he was working as an FBI informant.

Bulger, 82, faces charges for 19 murders,and was on the run for years until he was spotted in Santa Monica, California last year.

Wahlberg said his "heart goes out" to loved ones of Bulger's victims, but the story has tremendous potential.

"If there's a story to be told there, 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," he said.

The AP reports that a Massachusetts legislator, Sen. Stephen Brewer, has proposed a bill that allows only Bulger's victims to profit from his story.

Bulger is still awaiting trial.