Public Enemies Wraps up Filming in Chicago

From Roscoe to Lockport it's has been a busy week for Johnny Depp and the Crew of Public Enemies. Johnny Depp managed to get out for some meet and greets as he usually does. The sad news is that filming apparently finished off today in the Chicago area with a wrap up party set for Saturday night, although its doubtful that Johnny will attend as he rarely ever does.

Elliot Goldenthal Scores Public Enemies

It's Official Award winning composer ELLIOT GOLDENTHAL recently signed to score director Michael Mann's upcoming PUBLIC ENEMIES. This film about the notorious figure of the 1930's, John Dillinger, features a top-drawer cast including: JOHNNIE DEPP and CHRISTIAN BALE. Public Enemies is slated for a 2009 release and may very well end up being one of the years best dramas...and it will be good to hear Goldthenal again. See Official Press Release

Public Enemies Filming at Santa Anita Racetrack, Arcadia California

Apparently Johnny will be filming some scenes for Public Enemies on Monday at the Santa Anita Race Track in Arcadia, California which was opened in 1934 to become the largest tourist attraction in the San Gabriel Valley in Los angelas. A life-sized bronze statue honoring the famous Seabiscuit stands in the paddock at Santa Anita Race Track.

Other Films that shot scenes at the Race Track include: The 1937 Marx Brothers comedy, "A Day At The Races," 1936's "Charlie Chan at the Race Track", 1936's "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford", 1938's "Hollywood Handicap" and the 1937 & 1954 versions of "A Star Is Born", plus more recent films like 1995"s "Nixon," and 2005's story of "Seabiscuit".

Sweeny Todd Wins Two Saturn Awards

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street took home two Saturn awards on Tuesday, June 24th. The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Films honored Tim Burton's musical thriller with the awards for Best Horror Film and Best Costumes, recognizing Colleen Atwood's work on the film.

Public Enemies Filming at Auditorium Theatre?

According to news reports Public Enemies are supposed to be filming at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, However as we have seen from past experiances this cannot be confirmed. The theatre dates back to the 18th Century and could seat over 4,000 visitors. The Auditorium it self was designed by architects Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, this historical landmark was constructed in 1889.

On a sad note there was a drive by shooting a block away from the Public Enemies set according to the Chicago Tribune. This occured about an hour before Johnny arrived on set, 5 gang members have been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Johnny Nominated For Teen Choice Award

For all the teens out there Johnny Depp has been nominated for best Villian for his role in Sweeny Todd. To cast your vote you must be a bona fide teen between the ages of 13 and 19 as of June 2008. Click on the blog title to vote. Watch the show Aug 4th 8/7 C time.

Public Enemies Filming In Lockport Today

Apparently Public Enemies are filming in Lockport. According to News Reports they will be filming outside Mamma Onesti’s Italian Restaurant on South State Street. Filming will take place late afternoon today.

Johnny Gives Hat To Young Fan

Johnny Gives Fan Fedora Hat, the Twelve-year-old had just one request in April when he met movie star Johnny Depp, who was in the area filming parts for the upcoming John Dillinger movie “Public Enemies.” Taylor wanted Depp’s hat.

Public Enemies To Film Prison Scenes

According to News Reports Public Enemies will start filming prison scenes at Joilet and Crest Hill next week. The Illinois Department of Corrections has been working with the movie production staff for filming and is expected to use both the closed Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet and Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill.

Source: www.suburbanchicagonews.com

Vanity Fair Bryan Burrough: Happy Endings

Vanity Fair, Bryan Burrough: Happy Endings
by Bryan Burrough June 9, 2008, 11:29 AM

By 2:30 a.m. my duties as an extra were long over. Over by the Biograph’s famous alley, Michael Mann was walking the actors through the climactic shot of the week, the killing of Johnny Depp’s John Dillinger. We had exchanged pleasantries earlier in the evening, but Mann was a very busy director that night, and it was growing late. I began to yawn, thinking about maybe packing it in.

Then, out of the milling crowd, Mann’s co-producer, Kevin Misher, materialized. Clad casually in jeans and a loose sweater, Kevin guided me over to Mann’s little headquarters on the adjacent sidewalk, four massive monitors tracking each of his four cameras. The moment we arrived, they began to shoot the scene. An assistant director yelled “Cars cars cars!” And from both ends of the street, the antique Hudsons and Chryslers began cruising past the theatre. “Extras extras extras!” he yelled, and one by one, the extras stepped into motion. “And…Action!” Mann barked, and then it began.

It was just like that hot night in July 1934. There, outside the theatre, stood Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, lighting a cigar to let the surrounding agents know Dillinger was coming out. In twos and threes, the extras filing began out of the theatre. Then, flanked by actresses playing the brothel owner Ana Sage and Dillinger’s girl for the night, Polly Hamilton, came Johnny Depp. He wore the same clothes Dillinger had worn, light pants, a straw boater, a clean white shirt. He emerged from the theatre, turned to his left, then meandered with the crowd maybe thirty feet down the sidewalk, where the FBI, in the person of the actor Steven Lang, portraying Agent Charles Winstead, was waiting.

They must’ve shot the scene ten times. All ended the same, with pistols raised, several loud “pop-pop-pops,” and Depp stumbling toward the alley. Over and over they shot it, as I stood just steps away, watching intently. I could tell Mann was pleased. At just about five, as the first rays of dawn appeared over Lake Michigan, an assistant yelled “That’s a wrap!” And suddenly everyone was all smiles. Plastic cups of beer appeared in Mann’s hand and those of his dozen or so cameramen and assistants.

Kevin Misher guided me to the alley’s entrance, cutting off Johnny Depp as he began to walk toward his trailer. We were introduced. I smiled and said some nice things. He smiled and in a gentle voice said some nice things. For the life of me, I can’t remember what they were. Then he clasped his hands together in front of his chest and, like some Depression-era Buddhist monk, quickly bowed and disappeared down the alley into the shadows. A few minutes later Kevin walked me over to where Christian Bale was standing in the middle of the street, chatting with others.

“Well,” Bale said as he were introduced, “I think you were a little tough on Melvin in that book of yours.” I noticed he remained in character, still speaking in Purvis’s light southern accent. I playfully defended my research, and after a moment he smiled. “Oh, I’m just busting you a little,” he said, then shook my hand.

At some point I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Michael Mann. “Don’t go anywhere,” he murmured. “I wanna show you something.” Kevin and I followed him and a crowd of assistants into one of the vacant sports bars the production had taken over. Inside, someone stood on one of the bar tables and fed a DVD into an overhead projector. There, as daylight spread across the set outside, Mann showed us the first edited scene of the movie. It had been shot the month before, in Wisconsin, the scene where Dillinger is returned to Chicago following his arrest in Arizona.

I shouldn’t say much about what I saw, but it was breathtaking, shot in gorgeous high-definition. There were smiles everywhere. Afterward Mann shook my hand and said, “Nice writing.” I walked outside into the dawn, then into a car for O’Hare, feeling as if I was a very lucky author to have my book in such capable hands.

Thanks to Bryan Burrough for giving us a glimpse...

"Public Enemies" Arrived in Milwaukee On Tuesday

Crews set up along N. Old World 3rd St. Crowds started to build up hoping to catch a glimse of Johnny who arrived on the scene just after 2 p.m then was later seen leaving in a black SUV. Filming of "Public Enemies" is expected to continue through Thursday,
according to a publicist for the film.

Johnny Depp Narrates Gonzo

Gonzo: The Life & Work of DR. Hunter S. Thompson, is due to be released on July 7th of this year. Narrated by Johnny Depp Gonzo is a Documentary that looks at the life of Hunter Thompson which includes a look at the story behind Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. For Release Dates see website @ http://www.huntersthompsonmovie.com/

Public Enemies In Milwaukee Tuesday

According to news reports, Johnny Depp will be in Milwaukee on Tuesday. Shooting will begin at Milwaukee County Historical Society and Prospect Avenue. completed in 1913 after two years of construction for the Second Ward Savings Bank on the corner of West Kilbourn Avenue and North Third Street. The Building still showcases a huge iron vault and marble staircases.

Happy Birthday Johnny

Depp is UK's favourite actor

According to a UK Poll by the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA). CAA spokeswoman Anna Cremin said: "Johnny Depp has such a wide appeal and that few other actors have managed to be so versatile". He beat home-grown stars such as Daniel Craig, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Sean Connery and Orlando Bloom.

Bryan Burrough: This Reporter Gets to Play One Onscreen

More from Bryan burrough On set of Public Enemies

Bryan Burrough: This Reporter Gets to Play One Onscreenby Bryan Burrough June 5, 2008, 4:40 PM

You never know what to expect when you’re a writer visiting a movie set. The first time I did it, on the L.A. set of the HBO movie Barbarians at the Gate 15 years ago, the poor director, a sweet man whose name escapes me, didn’t even realize I was coming. Still, he couldn’t have been more welcoming. I spent most of a long day standing beside him as he filmed James Garner and his wife in a bathroom scene.

The folks on the Public Enemies set were, if anything, even more gracious. It was a night shoot, 6 p.m. till dawn. The moment I arrived, expecting to kill a few hours waiting in a vacant bar with all the other extras, a young man named Eric hustled up, greeted me, then took off his security badge and hung it around my brother-in-law’s neck. Scottie, a lifelong Chicagoan who had slipped onto the set before it closed for the night, positively beamed. “This is so cool,” he murmured.

And with that, I was whisked across the street into another dimly lit bar, which the propmaster had transformed into a warehouse of everything 1934. I was to play one of a half-dozen reporters who run up to Dillinger’s body after the shooting. They handed me a 1934 Reporter’s Notebook, a 1933 mechanical pencil, and told me to “find my mark.” Eric guided us across the street, to the foot of the actual alley where Dillinger was shot, and showed me where to stand. When someone yelled “Action,” I was to push up against a crowd of young actor/F.B.I. agents and pretend to take notes.

After three or four rehearsals, however, everything changed. Now I was to pull up to the scene in a 1934 Chrysler and, trailed by several other reporters, jump out and dash directly past Christian Bale, who was portraying Agent Melvin Purvis; he was walking away from Dillinger’s body as I ran toward it. We rehearsed this seven or eight times, running beneath a blazing flare one of the pyrotechnic experts was lighting as part of the scene. Everyone around me was dressed as I was, 1930s-style, and watching the crowd move in toward that fateful alley was genuinely eerie. As clichéd as it sounds, it was as if I was really there that hot night in 1934.

Then, out of the darkness, came the whump-whump of a helicopter. Trees bent; hats flew off. Above, Michael Mann was attempting to film the scene below. We were told not to look up, but I did anyway, peering through the Chrysler’s antique windshield. The helo was right there, just above the rooftops. We ran through the scene several more times, me trying to be cool as I ran past Christian Bale. “That’s it,” someone yelled after a bit, and I wandered off to grab a coupla hot dogs.

By then it was almost midnight. For the next two and a half hours I wandered the set, dashing back at one point to greet my mother- and father-in-law, also lifelong Chicagoans, held back at the barricades two blocks south. In the meantime, word had spread of my presense on the set, and at least a dozen people approached to ask me to sign books or pose for a picture. It was a warm night in the city, and I felt warmer still as all around hundreds of people were making my book come to life.

To be continued …

Bryan Burrough Vanity Fair: Watching Johnny Depp Die

More for Bryan Burrough talking about his experience on set

Bryan Burrough: Watching Johnny Depp Die by Bryan Burrough June 4, 2008, 2:25 PM

American writers, at least those of us who are fortunate enough to support ourselves in the field, are by and large a lucky lot. Just being able to get paid to do something you love is a wonderful thing. That said, a writer’s daily routine, unless you’re Dominick Dunne, isn’t exactly glamorous. Much of it amounts to drudgery, staring at a computer screen all day in a room by yourself, juggling nouns and verbs to make a demanding editor happy.

But then, once in a great while, you have a moment that makes all the long days worth it. I had one such moment the other night when I was invited onto the Chicago set of a movie Hollywood is making out of my last book, “Public Enemies.” Like the book, it’s the story of a set of Depression-era criminals who do battle with J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI. It stars Johnny Depp as the bank robber John Dillinger, Christian Bale as his nemesis, Agent Melvin Purvis and is directed by Michael Mann, the man behind such memorable films as The Insider and Last of the Mohicans.

I know I’m going to sound a bit like a fanboy here, but there’s no denying it: When you’ve seen a good number of your Hollywood projects fall by the wayside over the years, you’re thrilled to see even a single one actually get made, much less to watch its creation at the hands of people the caliber of Depp, Bale and Mann. It’s a serious film with serious talent, one of the first I’ve seen that’s made a real effort at historical accuracy, and the studio behind it, Universal, apparently thinks it will be successful enough to warrant a planned opening on July 4 of next year.

Filming began back in March, in rural Wisconsin, and has been going full tilt in the Chicago area ever since. After some back and forth about scheduling, I was invited to watch and be an extra in the climactic scene, the death of Dillinger outside the Biograph Theater—in this case, the actual Biograph Theatre. Somehow Mann and his people had prevailed upon the city to hand over an entire stretch of North Lincoln Avenue for the filming, much as they had the site of Dillinger’s greatest gun battle, at the Little Bohemia lodge in northern Wisconsin, and the site of Dillinger’s greatest jailbreak, at the Crown Point jail in northern Indiana.

A young production assistant picked me up at my downtown hotel and ferried me to a nearby elementary school, where two giant white tents had been set up on a playground to clothe, groom and apply makeup to a hundred or so extras. An hour later I emerged in a creme-colored suit and tiny tie, with hair shorn high on the sides, ’30s style. The costume designer, Colleen Atwood, gave me an appraising look, plucked up a straw boater and stuck it on my head with a rakish tilt. I was good to go.

A van took two of us to the set. A half-dozen city blocks around the Biograph had been cordoned off for the shoot, which had been going on for a week by then. Plastic cable car tracks had been laid down the middle of the street. All the storefronts had been redone to make Lincoln look exactly as it did that hot night in July 1934 when Dillinger met his fate. Most stunning of all was the Biograph’s neon marquee, which advertised a Clark Gable gangster film, Manhattan Melodrama, exactly as it had in dozens of photos I had seen over the years. I must admit, it gave me chills.

(To be continued)

~Tim Burton To Direct Dark Shadows~

IESB has exclusively confirmed that Tim Burton is attached to direct along with John August who has been brought in to write the adaptation for Dark Shadows. Althought the rumors have been out for a while now there is still no word on whether Johnny will be playing the Dark Shadow however, as it is Johnny's production company that seems pretty much in the bag. The film is currently in development @ Infinitum-Nihil along with Warner Bros. The film is a feature based on the 60s daytime supernatural TV Show.

Public Enemies Moving to the Aragon Ballroom

Transformation begins on the Aragon Ballroom for filming of scenes for Public Enemies as crews move in transforming the entrance to look like early 1900 as seen in the picture. Looks like the crew be there through to the end of the week.

Uptown's Aragon Ballroom was built by brothers Andrew and William Karzas in 1926 in the heart of Chicago's Uptown district. The Aragon was built by brothers Andrew and William Karzas, who had made their early fortunes in nickelodeons and movie theaters alas dance schedules at the Aragon ended in 1964 today, it is used primarily for concerts.

Johnny Wins 2008 MTV Awards

Yes he did it.... Johnny has won the MTV Award for Best Comedic Performance for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Best Villian for Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. This is the only actor I know who always seems so suprised that he's won.

Johnny comes out to a standing ovation and responds saying "I'm not really sure how this happened because you can ask anybody—I'm not a very funny person,"

Johnny Response on his second win: "Two times in one night—that's nutty. Wow…I have to thank all of you who voted for me. That's really a great honor, thanks for sticking with me on this very obtuse and strange road …I'm not particularly eloquent at the moment, but thank you so much."