BY PHILIP POTEMPA
ppotempa@nwitimes.com
219.852.4327 | Saturday, June 28, 2008
It’s official.
The final scenes for director Michael Mann’s film “Public Enemies” starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger are now in the can and the film is entirely shot and finished.
As film insiders have said all along, this $80-million flick by Universal Studios was one of the largest productions to hit the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana in recent years.
And since this movie, about the Feds trying to take down notorious American gangsters Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s, required a slew of extras, it’s understandable how the buzz surrounding the project continued to find even greater interest as the filming progressed since the first day of shooting March 17 up in Madison, Wis., before the cast and crew made their way to Crown Point to shoot for the full week following Easter Sunday.
There’s also no arguing that it was an aggressive project, to say the least, considering it was only scheduled for 69 shooting days, according to Depp’s contract. Universal Pictures is set to open the film in theaters in July 2009.
The final hurrah for the film before everyone, including Depp, packs up and heads out of town, was Friday night’s wrap party, thrown by Mann.
The party was held from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the tres chic Bon V restaurant, at 1100 Randolph St. in the Windy City’s West Loop. The name of the restaurant, which hints at the French’s way of saying “the good life,” pretty much captures the surrounding atmosphere of this 7,500-square-foot spacious playground, outfitted with ultra elegant chandeliers and owned by Casey Urlacher, brother of Chicago Bear Brian Urlacher.
Much of the chatter had to do with the final days of filming this week, including the very long marathon shoot from Wednesday, at a section of Wells Street near Lincoln Avenue, which was transformed into 1930s New Orleans.
No Depp for that particular scene, but it did include actors Billy Crudup as FBI head honcho J. Edgar Hoover and Giovanni Ribisi as Alvin “Creepy” Karpis.
Filming began early in the day and lasted well past 10 p.m.
The Times own Deputy Executive Editor Don Asher as well as our automotive columnist Jim Jackson, business writer Keith Benham and features correspondent Robert Earnshaw all shot scenes in the film during that busy Wednesday.
Even though the scenes I shot were filmed months earlier, I was fortunate to join Asher and his wife Donna at Friday night’s cast party, with my assigning editor Crista Zivanovic as my own guest to help me keep tabs on the faces and happenings around me. I’ll share more details in Tuesday’s column.
Unfortunately, not everyone made the invite list for last night’s celebration.
A memo sent out June 18 to departments from the production office explained the invite list dilemma:
To all Department Heads:
The Public Enemies Wrap Party is quickly approaching and the Production Office needs to make final arrangements on the guest list.
Unfortunately since this is a very large show, the Production Office cannot invite everyone on the crew. As a result, we would like to extend an invitation to deserving crew members, which have been working on this show for more than 40 days. Please see the attached pages of crewmembers we have listed in your department to invite.
Please return your department guest list to the Production office by Friday, June 20. lf the Production Office does not have your guest list by the end of the day on Friday, we will only invite department heads and their seconds.
Any questions or concerns, please contact the Production office.
Please remember that all guests are subject to approval by Michael Mann
I guess that’s show biz. …
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.
