If early screenings of the forthcoming Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass are any indication, moviegoers who have waited tirelessly for Johnny Depp to return to the glory days of his untouchable run of classics in the 90s might finally be rewarded for their patience. The film screened for various members of the press as an out-of-competition entry at the Venice Film Festival on Friday, with Deadline reporting that the film's unveiling was met with two separate rounds of strong applause. Elsewhere, the film is already being hailed as a "major comeback" for Depp.
However, Depp's fellow Black Mass star Sienna Miller is receiving a very different kind of publicity ahead of the film's release later this month. Miller, who portrayed Bulger's girlfriend Catherine Greig, has been cut from the film entirely in its final edit. Speaking with the Boston Globe, Black Mass director Scott Cooper praised Miller's performance but expressed his desire to offer a concise story. "It came down to narrative choices," says Cooper, adding that Bulger's fugitive years with Greig were simply "less dramatic."
Of course, Miller's seemingly sudden absence from a potential blockbuster will leave her career relatively unscathed. The actress is slated for three more films in 2015 alone, including a film that finally gives Bradley Cooper the opportunity to play a drug-battling chef:
