Columbus Wisconsin Downtown | Public Enemies Movie
Columbus Wisconsin has been better known, in the past, for its Redbud Trees and the Columbus Carriage Classic but now the city of Columbus is getting a makeover in preparation for the movie "Public Enemies." While the city has many historic buildings, they have to be tweaked just a little bit to get them to look as the director pictures them. There is one large facade that is being built in front of the Law Offices of Strohschein and Green. It looks like this will just be a fence to hide the building in back of it. Just a few doors down, there is another facade of what looks like a movie theater ticket office. The streets will be "cobble stoned" with huge rolls of rubber cobblestone when they are needed. The street is going to be closed during the filming. Filming in Columbus will begin on March 17th for the Public Enemies scene depicting the Greencastle, Ind., bank robbery. Johnny Depp will be portraying John Dillinger and driving the getaway car.
David Wenham of Lord Of The Rings and Stephen Graham have joined the cast of Universal's "Public Enemies." The movie is an adaptation of Brian Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43." The movie centers on the government's attempt to catch John Dillinger and his gang. Depp is playing Dillinger to Christian Bale's FBI agent Melvin Purvis. It was Purvis who uttered, "Stick 'em up, Johnny" when he confronted Dillinger outside Chicago's Biograph Theatre in 1934, moments before the gangster was shot dead by FBI agents. Wenham is playing Pete Pierpont, a member of Dillinger's crew who has a violent hostility to all authority. British actor Graham will portray Baby Face Nelson. The cast also includes Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi and Stephen Dorff. Christian Bale will also play John Connor in the fourth "Terminator movie, "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins," which will follow "Public Enemies." Bale will also appear in this summer's Batman movie, "The Dark Knight." Portraying "Billie" Frechette will be Marion Cotillard, the recent winner of the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. The film is being produced and directed by University of Wisconsin alumnus Michael Mann.
Street cleaners were out shoveling and sweeping away any traces of snow. This is a tough job given Wisconsin's record setting snowfall this year. The movie crew will be bringing in fake snow. Apparently they will not be using the Farmers & Merchants Union Bank in the filming. This has to be the most historically unique building in town but it probably didn't fit in some way. Other buildings that were being used had their signs removed and had bright yellow banners with their store names on them so people would know that they were still open.
Auditions for non-speaking roles in the film were held this past Friday at the Italian Conference Center in the Third Ward in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Casting directors were looking for "people with great faces." Men no taller than 6'1" and women no taller than 5'8'' and no larger than size 12. Men had to wear a dark suit, overcoat and dress shoes. Women had to wear a dark dress or skirt and sweater, overcoat and medium heel. Women were advised to set hair in curlers the night before and come to the audition with their hair brushed out. NBC Universal is planning to spend $20 million of the movie's $150 million budget within the state of Wisconsin. Parts of the movie are also being filmed in Chicago. Shooting will continue at various locations into June 2008. Other locations in Wisconsin that are reportedly set to shoot include Manitowish Waters, Richland Center and others.
Having this major movie filmed in Wisconsin is a result of the "The Film Wisconsin Incentives Bill" was passed in May 2006 and went into effect on January 1st. The Bill gives special incentives to the entertainment industry so that they will do their movie shoots here instead of at more established locations where it costs more money. This would bring money and jobs to the locations in Wisconsin. It is a good thing that these film companies are not actually based in Wisconsin or Govenor Doyle would be happy to tax and regulate them to death instead of rewarding them with incentives.
Some buildings had the window glass removed and replaced with non-reflective glass for the filming.