LOS ANGELES, Feb 4, (Agencies): The Super Bowl resembled a trip to the movie theater with several potential summer blockbusters airing new ads. Three film trailers aired through the first half and halftime and several others were broadcast during the lengthy pre-game show. While ad rates for the Super Bowl are notoriously expensive — $4 million for 30 seconds during Super Bowl 47 — they can generate buzz and potential ticket sales. Reactions to an ad for the sixth installment of the “Fast and Furious” franchise quickly started trending on Twitter, with series star Ludacris fielding viewers’ responses. “The cost per minute is enormous, but studios obviously feel they are going to get the biggest bang for their buck,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. Also airing in the first half were promos for “Star Trek Into Darkness” and the “Oz The Great and Powerful.” After lights went out in the Super Dome in the third quarter, an ad for the third “Iron Man” film aired.

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“This is where the studios take the opportunity to plant the seeds of excitement of potential moviegoers for their biggest movies of the year,” Dergarabedian said. He noted the studios aren’t just aiming at domestic viewers, but the vast international audience that the Super Bowl attracts. Film ads also played a prominent role in the ramp up to the game. Walt Disney Co. co-sponsored an hour of pre-game coverage and used it to promote “The Lone Ranger,” which stars Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp. In addition to a 90-second promo for the film, CBS aired a tie-in interspersing scenes from the film with footage of the 49ers and Ravens playing. “World War Z” also aired an ad right before the game’s kick-off.

“Identity Thief,” a comedy starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, was the rare film that will be in theaters before the summer movie season. Another February release, the Dwayne Johnson action film “The Snitch” aired an ad about 90 minutes before the game’s start. The vast Super Bowl audience makes it almost imperative for big releases to air ads during the game, Dergarabedian said, although several studios opted not to air any promos during the game. “If you don’t have a movie to crow about during the Super Bowl, then maybe your slate isn’t strong enough,” he said. The game wasn’t just focused on movies, with CBS airing numerous promos for their television shows and stars such as Amy Poehler and Oprah Winfrey filming ads for Best Buy and Jeep respectively. Music also played a prominent role in many ads, with an “M&M” singing Meatloaf’s “I’d do Anything for Love (But I Won’t do That)” and South Korean rapper Psy adapting his hit “Gangnam Style” into a commercial for the Wonderful Pistachios brand.

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NEW YORK: Johnny Depp will star as notorious gangster Whitey Bulger in “Black Mass,” an upcoming film that “Rain Man” director Barry Levinson will direct, Cross Creek Pictures and Exclusive Media announced on Saturday. Cross Creek and Exclusive Media are co-producing and co-financing the project, which Universal will release domestically as part of its deal with Cross Creek. The film’s title stems from the New York Times bestseller “Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob.” Written by Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerald O’Neill, the film chronicles a gangster who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for more than a decade and was also an FBI informant.

Bulger, who served as the basis for Jack Nicholson’s character in “The Departed,” was the brother of a state senator and one of the most famous criminals in Boston history. Mark Mallouk wrote a new adaptation of the books after Bulger was captured in Santa Monica in 2011 at the age of 81. Boston native Ben Affleck has his own project in the works with fellow Bostonian Matt Damon likely to play Bulger, but this film will enter production first. “I could not be more thrilled to have the biggest star in the world and Academy Award winning director Barry Levinson to finally bring this incredible story to the big screen,” Cross Creek president Brian Oliver said in a statement. “Black Mass expertly details the twists and turns of this highly complex story, painting a vivid portrait of Boston’s underbelly and its corrupt political machine, as well as exposing the worst scandal in FBI history.”

Oliver will produce the movie with Tyler Thompson, Nigel Sinclair, Tobin Armbrust, John Lesher and Christi Dembrowski. Exclusive’s Armbrust and Cross Creek’s Adam Kassan will oversee production. Exclusive’s Alex Walton will begin selling the movie at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
Exclusive and Cross Creek worked together on George Clooney’s “The Ides of March,” “The Woman in Black” and the upcoming “Rush,” Ron Howard’s movie about a Formula One driver. Depp, who will appear on screens this summer in “The Lone Ranger,” was supposed to star next in “Transcendence,” the directorial debut of Wally Pfister. Pfister has been Christopher Nolan’s cinematographer on films like “The Dark Knight” and “Inception.” That project is awaiting a rewrite, and this film is intended to begin production in May.