Johnny Depp Dropped Out of the Whitey Bulger Movie Black Mass

Said Depp to the film's producers: "Only $10 Million? Yeahhh, uhhh, no."

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Johnny Depp has dropped out of Black Mass, a biopic about notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger, whom Depp was slated to play.

The reason? Why, the classic salary dispute, of course.

After Cannes, where Black Mass failed to make a strong showing, the producers decided to trim the budget for the film down to a modest $60 million. Then they asked Johnny Depp to play the role of Bulger for half of what was previously quoted.

After dividing $20 million by 2 and realizing the producers wanted Depp to work for only $10 million, the leading actor said, “Uh, thanks, but no thanks.”

Really, the folks at Cross Creek and Exclusive Media should have known better. This is Jack Sparrow we’re talking about. This is Sweeney Todd. This is…Tonto. Hah! $10 million. Don’t. Be. Ridiculous.

The parting of the ways is just as well. While Depp played quite the John Dillinger in Public Enemies, his roles involving heavy makeup are still the fans’ favorites. (Who’s ready for Pirates of the Caribbean 5?! Oh yeah, that’s happening.)

Other than his salary standards, Depp’s departure from Black Mass tells us two very important things:

1. We probably won’t be seeing him in Southie anytime soon; and
2. There’s only room for one Whitey Bulger actor in this town anyway, and that’s Matt Damon.