"Movies create a sense of place that stays in the minds and hearts of moviegoers long after the credits roll. "Welcoming the film industry to Wisconsin gives us an opportunity to showcase the rich diversity of our great state - its landscapes, its people, and its culture," Governor Doyle said. The company reached agreement today with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce on tax credits from the new Film Production Services Tax Credit Program. Governor Jim Doyle today announced that Universal Pictures has committed to shoot portions of its upcoming film Public Enemies, directed and produced by UW alumnus Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, in Wisconsin. As detailed in the press release issued on Tuesday: Governor Barbara Lawton applaud the deal, noting that this is the first major film production to land in Wisconsin following the enactment of a new creative industry incentives package at the beginning of the year. More casting calls in Wisconsin are expected as the production approaches.īoth Governor Jim Doyle and Lt. First up was a call for vintage autos held in Madison and several other cities in late January, followed by a call for extras that was conducted at Monona Terrace on February 16. More signs of the impending approach of Public Enemies have also included a series of casting calls held around the state over the last month. A significant portion of the production is also slated to be shot in Chicago, meanwhile. Mann points to the numerous historical buildings still in use around the state as a major motivation for shooting in Wisconsin. Other locales that have been scouted in Wisconsin include Baraboo, Viroqua, Darlington, Oshkosh, Milwaukee, and Madison, where offices at the Capitol may fill in for FBI headquarters. The most recent visits are being conducted this week in Columbus, a town to the northeast of Madison where director Mann is slated inspect several potential locations this week. Another location that has been declared is Richland Center to the west of Madison, where a bank owner has confirmed that the building has been enlisted as the setting for a robbery scene. Manitowish Waters in the far north of the state has been declared as one location for the production, an appropriate selection given that the Little Bohemia Lodge in the small resort town was the site of an actual and quite significant shootout between the Dillinger gang and the FBI. Scouts for Universal have scoured small towns around Wisconsin, generating more excitement with each visit. Tuesday's announcement by Doyle comes as no surprise, though, given the flurry of activity by the production throughout Wisconsin over the last couple of months. One major cast member who has yet to be announced is the actor portraying FBI head J. More recent additions include David Wenham as Pete Pierpont, John Ortiz as Frank Nitti, and Stephen Graham as Baby Face Nelson. She is playing Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, a young Wisconsin-born woman who was Dillinger's main squeeze during his final year in action.Ĭotillard's attachment to the production was announced in late January along with several others, including Channing Tatum as Pretty Boy Floyd, Giovanni Ribisi as Alvin Karpis, Stephen Dorff as Homer Van Meter, and Jason Clarke as John "Red" Hamilton. They will be joined by Marion Cotillard, the recent winner of the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. Christian Bale will be playing FBI agent Melvin Purvis, meanwhile, a starring role that will follow his high-profile Batman sequel The Dark Knight this summer. Leading the way as Dillinger is Johnny Depp, the massive box office draw who was recently nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for last year's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Public Enemies boasts an impressive cast, one that is growing in profile week by week. It is being produced and directed by Academy Award nominee and Michael Mann, meanwhile, a specialist in crime sagas who got his start in film as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the early Sixties. The production will be shot in multiple locations around Wisconsin, spending upwards of $20 million while receiving approximately $3.9 million in tax credits under the state's new film incentives program.īased on the book of the same name by Bryan Burrough, the movie will follow the exploits of John Dillinger, the original "Public Enemy Number One," as he and his gang are pursued by the FBI across the Upper Midwest from 1933-'34. After weeks of speculation, visits by Hollywood scouts and casting calls, Governor Jim Doyle officially announced a deal with Universal Pictures to bring the film Public Enemies to the Badger State this spring.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |