Some nice little tidbits about filming in here, too:
http://media.www.marquettetribune.org/medi...e-3261562.shtmlTax credits bring Johnny Depp film to state
Period piece 'Public Enemies' to spend $20 million in Wisconsin
By Christopher Placek
"Public Enemies" starring Johnny Depp to begin filming in Wisconsin this month
Major motion picture came here as a result of state's new filmmaker incentive program, Film Wisconsin says
Milwaukee County Historical Society building and town of Columbus, Wis. to feature prominently in film
Casting calls held for hopeful extras
FBI agents will be in pursuit of a notorious gangster amidst bank robberies and car chases - all taking place on the streets of Milwaukee and in other Wisconsin locations starting this month.
At least that's what will be happening in a movie, when filmmakers begin production next week of "Public Enemies," a major motion picture starring Johnny Depp in the lead role as 1930s criminal John Dillinger.
Universal Studios has been scouting potential shooting locations in the state since last year, attracted by new incentives for filmmakers that went into effect Jan. 1, said Melissa Musante, associate director of Film Wisconsin, a nonprofit group that encourages film industry production in the state. Already, the inside of the Milwaukee County Historical Society building is being transformed to look like a bank that Dillinger might have robbed in his day.
In fact, the current home of the society museum at 910 N. Old World Third St. was originally a bank. The building was built in 1913 as the Second Ward Service Bank and became First Wisconsin Bank in 1928. Filmmakers became aware of the building's charm - complete with marble flooring and pillars, and seven original bank vaults - per recommendation from the city of Milwaukee, said Bob Teske, director of the society.
For the past two weeks, workers have been reconstructing the museum's interior to what it looked like before the historical society took over in the 1960s. Filmmakers told Teske shooting at the bank will take place sometime in late March or early April and is expected to happen in one day. The faux marble wallpapering around the temporary wooden teller counters will come down after production.
It's a wonderful opportunity to temporarily return it to what it looked like when it was a bank," Teske said.
One of the building's vaults will be front and center in the movie - Depp's character will reportedly take the bank manager into the vault to steal money. Currently used by the society to house archives, the vault may be open to museum visitors after movie production is complete.
"We hope to allow people to see the vault that Johnny Depp robbed," Teske said.
The exterior of the bank may be shot in Columbus, Wis., a town of 5,000 about 30 miles northeast of Madison. Mayor Nancy Osterhaus was told Columbus' old First National Bank will be used in the film. In another scene, Dillinger's friend Rat Hamilton will be shot outside a drug store. There's also going to be a chase scene in Columbus, Osterhaus said.
"Shooting and chasing and one gangster dies in our town - that's sorta cool. We like that stuff," Osterhaus said jokingly.
Universal has been scouting locations in Columbus since early January. The shoot is expected there March 17 and 18 - the first shooting location of "Public Enemies" in the state, Osterhaus said.
Casting calls were held in Milwaukee and Oshkosh over the weekend, looking for extras for the movie. On Friday, lines extended blocks from the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., for the Milwaukee casting call.
Waukesha resident Jonelle Zudonyi, 33, one of the extra hopefuls, said she'd be happy if she was in the same room with the film's megastar, famous for his role in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series and nominated for an Oscar this year in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
"I would love to see Johnny Depp. I love him," Zudonyi said.Seeing and interacting with a big star on the set of a movie are two different things, Musante said. Movie shoots of pictures like "Public Enemies" take all day and extras might only see Depp or co-stars Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard minimally.
Musante said film crews sometimes work up to 16 hours a day. Zudonyi said she was told there would be a lot of waiting, but there would be some fiscal compensation.
"Public Enemies" is projected to receive about $3.9 million in tax credits from the state and will spend $20 million here, according to a press release from Gov. Jim Doyle's office. Musante said there are "a number of pictures" currently scouting out locations to film in Wisconsin as a result of the state's incentive package.
In addition to Wisconsin, "Public Enemies" is expected to shoot in Chicago and Indiana. The movie will be released in 2009.
-Donna