Johnny Depp was the last of the cast of “Public Enemies,” the Michael Mann-directed film depicting the charismatic bank robber John Dillinger, to appear on the red carpet at the world premiere at Chicago’s AMC River East 21 Thursday evening. It was, quite literally, a “mob” scene, people lined up for blocks to see Depp (“Sweeney Todd,” “Edward Scissorshands”) Christian Bale (“The Dark Knight,” “Terminator: Salvation”), and other stars of the 1930’s gangster film. According to the Chicago Tribune, the enthusiastic crowd split into factions of screamers and “Johnny!” chanters.
“It’s nice to be able to come back here and say ‘Thank you,’ and this shindig is a way of doing it,” the 46-year-old star. Parts of the film were filmed in Chicago. The premiere of “Public Enemies” was held less than four miles from the Lincoln Park theatre outside of which John Dillinger was gunned down by federal agents in 1934.
While in Chicago, Depp visited Wrigley Field to enjoy a ballgame. “It was mostly for fun,” said Depp. “It was great to go and see the Cubs and experience that. That was classic Dillinger … He was a big Cubs fan.”
Indeed, John Dillinger was a baseball fan. He even played a little semi-professional baseball before becoming the FBI’s “Public Enemy No. 1.”
Johnny Depp told “Extra” that he would not be watching the premiere, however. He said that he didn’t care to watch himself in movies. Helping make the movie — “the experience, the process” — was good enough for him.
He also shared a connection with John Dillinger. He told “Extra’s” A. J. Calloway, “I was always sort of a big — I don’t know, oddly an admirer of John Dillinger since I was a little kid.” He mentioned that he had a grandfather who engaged in “extracurricular activities” in the 1930’s. And Depp even shared that his stepfather had spent time in Statesville Penitentiary where part of “Public Enemies” was filmed, which he found “interesting.
Johnny Depp’s affinity toward things John Dillinger may originate from his Owenboro, Kentucky, upbringing. John Dillinger and his legend, according to Eliott J. Gorn, writer of the biographic Dillinger’s Wild Ride, are quite alive and well in the Midwest, even today. As a child growing up not 100 miles from where John Dillinger was born and reared (Indianapolis, Indiana), Johnny Depp would have heard the almost reverent stories told about the daring Midwest outlaw who constantly outfoxed Jay Edgar Hoover’s G-men.
But will Johnny Depp be able to bring to the big screen the charisma of John Dillinger? Given has past acting credits, it is a safe bet that he will. Besides, a retelling of the year in which John Dillinger robbed banks across the Midwestern part of the United States, becoming a folk hero during the Depression while government agents attempted to bring him to justice, will no doubt resonate with the public once more, given the current economic climate. Christian Bale, who plays Dillinger’s nemesis, Melvin Purvis, “Whether it’s legend or not, Dillinger was a charismatic man. He was being cheered for back then and I’m sure it will happen again now with all the fat cat factors everyone is dealing with nowadays.”
“Public Enemies” debuts nationwide July 1.
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Sources:
Chicago Tribune
DeppImpact.com
Extratv.warnerbros.com
Dillinger’s Wild Ride, Elliott J. Gorn (Oxford University Press, 2009)
