For those who haven’t heard director/producer Michael Mann will start shooting Public Enemies in Chicago this March. Johnny Depp is playing Public Enemy #1 himself, John Dillinger. I like Johnny Depp and am interested in seeing his acting choices. This will be Hollywood’s first big take on Dillinger since 1973 with Warren Oates. I’m definitely looking forward to the film but have already resigned myself to the fact that in the 120 or so minutes allotted to the screenwriter (Mann) he can’t tell the full story. That’s why historians would make bad directors they would want to squeeze everything in and you’d end up with some Eric von Stroheimish six hour snoozefest for the average movie goer. High on content low on story.
The movie is based on Bryan Burrough’s book of the same name. If you haven’t read it and are the least bit interested in the public enemies of the early Thirties like Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie & Clyde etc. Then check out this book. If I had to guess, and since its my blog I will, I would think that in his preparation for his role Johnny Depp will probably read Dillinger the Untold Story by G. Russell Girardin and William Helmer. This has been one of my favorite gangster/outlaw books for about a dozen years or so. If you want to catch up on your Dillinger before the film comes out. I highly recommend this book.
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