Johnny Depp 's involvement with '' Black Mass '' dates back to February 2013 , when he was attached to star in the film , while Barry Levinson was still slated to direct and principal photography was scheduled to begin in May 2013 . Depp briefly exited the project shortly after its sale at the 66th annual Cannes Film Festival , because of a salary dispute with Cross Creek Pictures . He later rejoined at around the same time Scott Cooper was attached to replace Levinson as director , and his signing for the film was made official in February 2014 . Jesse Plemons and Juno Temple joined the cast to play as Kevin Weeks ( a cohort of Bulger ) and Deborah Hussey , one of Bulger 's victims , respectively , around April 2014 . Plemons reportedly prepared for his role by hiring a dialect coach and studying video of the actual Kevin Weeks
66th annual Cannes Film Festival
2013 Cannes Film Festival
Black Mass (film)