Pirates of Cheddar?

Johnny Depp movie is coming to Wisconsin
By SCOTT BAUER
Published: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 9:41 AM CST

Associated Press WriterMADISON (AP) — It may have been the worst kept secret in Wisconsin film making history.But now it’s official: Johnny Depp is coming to Wisconsin. Gov. Jim Doyle’s office confirmed Tuesday that Depp will be in the state to star as bank robber John Dillinger in ‘‘Public Enemies.’’

The news that Depp was coming has been around for months as filmmakers scouted locations, held casting calls for extras and sought vintage automobiles.But official word of the film coming to Wisconsin had to wait until after NBC Universal signed an agreement with the state on tax credits last Wednesday.

The film will co-star Christian Bale and be directed and produced by University of Wisconsin graduate Michael Mann. Bale will play FBI Special Agent Melvin Purvis, who led the manhunt for Dillinger in the 1930s.Filming is expected to start in Wisconsin next month, but the governor’s office said there is no official timeline yet.

Parts will be shot in the Chicago area as well. Mann said in a statement that Wisconsin was an attractive filming location because many communities have high quality historic buildings. Mann and others associated with the film have scouted locations in Baraboo and Columbus and looked at 1930s-era cars from collectors in the Madison area.

Dillinger used a northwoods Wisconsin lodge as a hideout during his crime spree, which ended when FBI agents shot him to death outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago in July 1934.

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I have also heard that casting calls have taken place for extras that will be used in scenes here in Milwaukee. They will be filming inside at the famous Oriental Theatre (on my best picks section) and outside at the quaint Downer Ave Theatre.