Johnny Depp - Public Enemies Discussion Thread - Gangsta Johnny on the run

**Katinka** · 02-12-2008, 05:13 AM

Johnny Depp will portray John Dillinger in Michael Mann's Public Enemies.

Public Enemies was scripted by Mann himself, adapted from Bryan Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34." In addition to Dillinger, the non-fiction tome goes into the stories of gangsters Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, the Barker gang and Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. There's no indication, however, that the movie will be focusing on any story except Dillinger's. Maybe the others will show up in passing, while Dillinger features as the main concentration. With a star like Depp in the guy's shoes, it's hard to imagine him sharing the screen with anyone expected to be taken as significant as he.

Mann and Depp are set to begin shooting in Chicago in March.

NOTE:
This thread is just for talk about Johnny's upcoming film, Public Enemies.
So feel free to post any related news articles, possible spoilers, rumours or even any questions or opinions you have about Public Enemies.
PLEASE USE THE SPOILER TAG if you are about to write about something that might give an important part of the film away.

IloveJosh · 02-12-2008, 10:03 AM

Thanks so much for the new thread, Kathi! This movie is going to be fantastic! I love gangsta films, like the ones that Scorsese does. Michael Mann is a great option too

**Katinka** · 02-12-2008, 10:37 AM

Yeah, I thought it would be time for it... I liked Johnny in Donnie Brasco, so I think I will enjoy this one as well.

IloveJosh · 02-12-2008, 11:13 AM

I think Johnny was superb in Donnie Brasco. I can't believe he didn't get an Oscar nomination for that one. The same for all his other performances

natalie8you · 02-12-2008, 12:38 PM

This sounds like it's going to be a really exciting movie! I can't wait!!

**Katinka** · 02-12-2008, 02:59 PM

***NEWS***

Johnny Depp possibly coming to Wisconsin to film part of movie

BARABOO, Wis. (AP) - Don’t look now, but star actor Johnny Depp could be showing up in this small Wisconsin city if producers settle on a downtown bank to film a crime by Depression-era robber John Dillinger, played by Depp.

Gene Dalhoff, executive director of the Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce, said Universal Pictures contacted the group earlier this month, and a representative said Baraboo was among 20 communities in Wisconsin being scouted as potential filming locations for director Michael Mann’s "Public Enemies."

Merlin Zitzner, CEO of Baraboo National Bank, said he got a call from a representative of Mann, saying the bank is being considered for filming a robbery.

"Public Enemies" is envisioned as a screen adaptation of Bryan Burrough’s book "Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34." It describes the FBI’s transformation when confronted with crime sprees of Dillinger, Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Lester "Baby Face Nelson" Gillis.

Dillinger and his gang pulled off bank robberies across the Midwest and used a northwoods Wisconsin lodge as a hideout. Dillinger’s crime wave ended when he was slain by FBI agents in Chicago in July 1934.

According to Zitzner, filmmakers were drawn to his bank and Baraboo’s courthouse square because they retain a vintage look. The bank’s exterior hasn’t changed much since the 1930s.

"They like the decor," he said. "We and downtown Baraboo sort of sidestepped the ’70s motif."

But Zitzner said there’s nothing definite yet.

"They were in the thought stages of selecting props for their movie," he said. "As far as I know, it’s still in the talking stage."

SOURCE: Oshkosh Northwestern

***NEWS***

Kgose · 02-12-2008, 05:16 PM

I live near Oshkosh. So if they do film there I'll try to get some great pictures of Johnny and Christain Bale.

**Katinka** · 02-13-2008, 02:00 AM

You really should and tell him that we love him!!!

natalie8you · 02-13-2008, 06:23 AM

Oh wow! That's awesome that you live close to there! You definitely need to try and meet him!!

Kenjigirl · 02-16-2008, 06:55 PM

That's great, definetly try to get some pics! I'd try to extra or something.

Im SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited for this film. When I heard Johnny and Christian were doing a film together I nearly fell off my chair. This will be one kick butt film with two amazing actors! Christian Bale is my love. Next to Johnny of course.

This is just great!

**Katinka** · 02-19-2008, 03:17 AM

In 19 days they will start filming Public Enemies!

I found this manipulation:

and also:

Kenjigirl · 02-23-2008, 07:04 PM

This is so cool! I'm so excited for this film!!

Thanks for that article. And the manipulation is super awesome!

natalie8you · 02-25-2008, 06:47 PM

That's awesome! Thanks for the pictures and articles! I'm starting to get really excited for this movie too! I wish I lived in north western Indiana.

I just looked this up on imdb and I had no idea that Channing Tatum is in this too! He's pretty cool!

**Katinka** · 03-03-2008, 04:49 AM

you're welcome! They start filming in 5 days!!!

***NEWS***

Johnny Depp as Dillinger

CROWN POINT | Johnny Depp, aka John Dillinger in the Universal film "Public Enemies," is hitting Crown Point this spring reportedly to reprise the gangster's bold 1934 escape from Lake County Jail.

The scene will be shot on location at the Old Sheriff's House and Jail, 226 S. Main St., sources said. Universal declined to comment on specifics.

The front part of the Second Empire-style building housed the top cop in Dillinger's era. The back holds the cells from which the bank robber fled in broad daylight.

Dates for the Crown Point shoot are under wraps. But director Michael Mann has targeted the old Lake County Criminal Court, 220 S. Main St., as his headquarters during a three-day stay. Reborn the Hall of Justice Bar and Ballroom in the early 1990s, the jail's neighbor will host up to 200 actors, crew members and technicians.

"Hollywood's coming to Crown Point," said Philip Struebig, co-owner of the Hall of Justice. "It's going to be a heck of a thing for Crown Point. It will put us back on the map."

He is banking on hosting a reception for three-time Oscar nominee Depp, 44, during the shoot. "We're ready to rock 'n' roll," he said.

Work crews arrived Monday to prep the red-brick jail for its close-up. By Thursday, a dozen tradesmen were measuring timber on sawhorses for a new drop ceiling and walls. The chug of a portable generator and buzz of a circular saw all but drowned out jokes about tommy guns.

"I wish we could say (the restoration) will be complete, but it'll be mostly the entry and upstairs," Universal location scout George Constas said Thursday.

The Depression-era cells -- one which housed Dillinger -- are rating kid-glove treatment. The restoration team will make them "look pretty, but not too pretty" for the period drama. "It'll just look like a jail," said Constas, standing in the gutted foyer. "Concrete and bars."

Indiana native Dillinger escaped the heavily guarded jail March 3, 1934, by brandishing a gun. Some say it was real gun smuggled into him; some say it was hand-carved.

He then embarrassed local authorities by driving off in Sheriff Lillian Holley's new V-8 Ford. The nonprofit Sheriff's House Foundation oversees the registered landmark today.

Philip and Cynthia Jo Struebig, who purchased the courthouse in 1990, said they met with Mann before Christmas to discuss local Dillinger sites that might be incorporated into the film. The "Miami Vice" producer toured the old courthouse, admiring the "Victory of Law Through Justice" mural before which Dillinger was arraigned, then inspected the jail.

Mann also borrowed a book and vintage photos of Public Enemy No. 1 from the Struebigs' collection of gangster memorabilia that adorns the Speakeasy Restaurant and Great Escape lounge within the Hall of Justice Bar. When they bought the old courthouse, "it was deteriorated. It was raining in the ballroom. We restored it as a labor of love. Never did I expect something like this would happen," Philip Struebig said.

Based on the book by Bryan Burrough, the crime drama will bow in 2009. The cast includes Christian Bale as G-man Melvin Purvis, who ambushed Dillinger outside Chicago's Biograph Theatre a few months after he fled the "escape-proof" Lake County Jail. Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, who collected best actress honors for her role as Edith Piaf in "La Mome," has been tapped as Billie Frechette, the gangster's lover and companion. "Public Enemies" will be filmed from March through June in Chicago, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Extra, extra!
Casting agent Joan Philo has issued an all-points bulletin for male reporters and photographers to play paid extras in scenes slated for Hammond, Gary and Crown Point. Also, an open casting call for men, women and children will be Saturday at Lane Tech High School in Chicago. See the Chicago Scene column in the ontheGo section for details.

SOURCE: nwi.com - The Northwest Indiana and Illinois Times Newspaper

***NEWS***

**Katinka** · 03-10-2008, 08:07 AM

***NEWS***

Depp, Mann visit Dillinger farm

Movie star Johnny Depp told John Dillinger's nephew, Jeff Scalf of Mooresville, that he would try to be sensitive to the bank robber's true persona. And that he would portray Dillinger as he really was.

Depp and Hollywood producer Michael Mann paid a quiet visit to Mooresville on Friday to do some filming on the inside and outside of the farm house where Dillinger lived on Old 267. They also wanted to get a feel for his home town. Scalf said they spent about four hours here and traveled in two black SUVs, filming from the inside of the vehicles.

Accompanying Scalf and the film duo was an attorney for Dillinger's family, Amy Wright of the Sommer Barnard law firm in Indianapolis. Wright said she was there simply to look after everyone's interests during the Mooresville visit and to take some pictures.

Depp will star as the famous outlaw in Mann's "Public Enemies," the working title of the movie based on Bryan Burrough's book. Two other characters have been chosen - Christian Bales has signed on to play FBI agent Melvin Purvis, and Marion Cotillard is set to portray Dillinger's girlfriend, Billie Frechette. Cotillard won an Academy Award this year as Best Actress in her role in the movie, "La Vie En Rose."

"As my grandmother used to say, 'Don't romanticize John, but don't villanize him, either.' He was who he was. John was different than some of the other criminals of his era," Scalf said. "He wasn't mean-spirited or the first to pull out a gun. I hope this movie will show all sides of John."

Scalf said both Mann and Depp were quite knowledgeable about Dillinger's history and surrounding events. They went into John's former bedroom, studied family relics, letters, a reproduction of the outlaw's wooden gun. They also looked at pictures the public had never seen before.

"Johnny actually held the wooden gun. They've really done their homework," Scalf said. "They were both very down-to-earth, polite and respectful of the subject matter."

Scalf said they had even visited Washington, D.C. to study FBI files.

"Michael Mann is known for his attention to detail and authentic elements," Scalf said. "He really does his research and homework to make the scenes accurate - down to the furniture, vehicles and clothing."

Mann produced "Ali," starring Will Smith and is also known for the Miami Vice series and movie, according to Scalf.

Mann's production company, Forward Pass, Inc., is teaming up with Universal Studios and Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal's Tribeca Productions.

Filming is set to begin this spring, but Scalf said Mann and Depp did not talk about whether they would return to Mooresville for the movie. He said he had understood from other articles on the movie that much of the shooting would be done in Chicago and some in Crown Point.

SOURCE: Reporter-Times.com | Monday March 10, 2008 | Morgan County's Award Winning News Site

***NEWS***