The contract is signed, the deal is done. Johnny Depp will indeed star as John Dillinger, a guy considered to be one of the most dangerous gangsters of all time in a Universal project that will begin filming on March 10th. Michael Mann will direct from a script he has already wrote (if it hadn’t already been turned in, it wouldn’t get made) and it will mark the first partnership of two Hollywood A-listers.
The film is titled PUBLIC ENEMIES and it will focus on Dillinger and also other depression-era gangsters like Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd and their struggle against J. Edgar Hoover’s creation of the first federal police force.
More on Dillinger from WIKI…
He gained this reputation (and the nickname “Jackrabbit”) for his graceful movements during bank heists, such as leaping over the counter (a movement he supposedly copied from the movies) and narrow getaways from police. His exploits, along with those of other criminals of the 1930s Depression era, such as Bonnie and Clyde and Ma Barker, dominated the attentions of the American press and its readers during what is sometimes referred to as the public enemy era, between 1931 and 1935, a period which led to the further development of the modern and more sophisticated FBI.
Here’s an image of Dillinger alongside Depp. Kinda looks more like a character Daniel Day Lewis would play.
You probably already know a little about the demise of Dillinger. If you have seen HIGH FIDELITY (which of course you have), you will remember that John Cusack told us the story of how Dillinger was given up to the FBI by his girlfriend (who was Romanian) for the promise of American citizenship. She did so by attending the movie theatre with Dillinger and wearing a bright red dress, so she could easily be spotted amongst the crowd, giving Dillinger up to the authorities. He was shot three times, one in the heart.
This betrayal is supposedly is where the term ‘lady in red’ comes from.
Really exciting project right here and it should probably see Michael Mann change the directing style we have seen him utilise in his last two movies COLLATERAL and MIAMI VICE. I’m guessing this one will have more of a nostaligic 50’s era/gangster style, than the very modern and shaky cam technology he has been playing around with recently.
This surely is one of the more interesting projects that has come together because of the strike.
source – variety
2 Comments
My father, Agent Ray Suran, was in the alley and helped with the capture. He had to take Dillenger’s father to morgue to indentify John. My family is excited about the film being made. Cathaine Heaton
My father,Agent Ray Suran, helped in the capture of Dillenger. He as in the alley. Later he had to take John’s father to morgue to indentify the body. My family is excited about the forth coming movie. Catharine Heaton