Growing up by the Jersey Shore, I always felt the story of Atlantic City would make a fascinating cinematic story. I guess I was right. DEPARTED buds Mark Wahlberg and Martin Scorsese are teaming for an HBO movie mini-series about the city and its rise and fall. With its boardwalks and fancy hotels Atlantic City was a huge family destination early in the 1900s. Tourism declined though as air travel became more prevalent and people were able to vacation in various other resorts. Poverty crept in followed soon thereafter by corruption. Then in the late 1970s, in an effort to revitalize the town, New Jersey approved legalized gambling in Atlantic City, the first city east of the Mississippi to do so. As you might suspect (if you’ve been to Atlantic City any time in the past, oh, thirty years), it didn’t completely work. While the strip is a popular destination for weekenders, venture too far off and you could be in serious trouble. The Wahlberg/Scorsese project will be based on the book “Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City” by author Nelson Johnson. Wahlberg has an existing deal with HBO that covers both “Entourage” and the upcoming “In Treatment.” Scorsese and Wahlberg are also mulling over a possible return to the DEPARTED world with a sequel.
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