UPDATED Friday, May 1, 2008 --- 3:25pm

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Furniture is being removed from a state Capitol hearing room in preparation for filming of the Johnny Depp movie "Public Enemies."

The state has given the filmmakers a permit to shoot in and around the second-floor hearing room, in a ground floor hallway, inside a staircase and outside the Capitol near State Street.

Film producers also got the OK to create a "smoke-filled" room inside the Capitol.

The permit says filming will take place inside on Friday and outside next Thursday.

The permit does not say whether Johnny Depp, Christian Bale or any of the other stars in the movie about gangster John Dillinger will be in the Capitol scenes.

Filming has taken place across Wisconsin since March.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Updated Tuesday, March 18, 2008 --- 8:15am

Months of speculation and gossip have come to a close. The movie "Public Enemies" starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale has begun filming in Columbus.

Thousands of people converged Monday on Columbus, some waiting since four o'clock in the morning, all for a chance to get a glimpse of one man.

"This is the most exciting thing I have ever done in my entire life," explains Columbus' Ashley Kreckow.

"I saw Johnny Depp. He came around the corner rolled down the window, everyone was freaking out, he waved," added Samara Howland.

Monday was the day that thousands have been waiting for.

"This is awesome for the city of Columbus," stated Ronda Watts. "There has never ever been anything this big here. And what this is going to do for our community, it's just awesome."

Universal Studios' "Public Enemies" is the first movie to take advantage of the new film incentives that took effect in Wisconsin on the first of the year. Johnny Depp stars as the infamous gangster John Dillinger while Michael Mann, a UW graduate, directs. Monday the first scenes of the movie were shot.

"It's very exciting," added Watts.

It is estimated that Universal is spending $350,000 a day during filming. Much of that goes right to Columbus.

Stated Columbus Mayor Nancy Osterhaus, "They have been buying the stuff here in our city that they need. And all the props. So it has been really fun."

In addition, they hired 12 policemen, 15 firemen, and about 20 private security guards, all from local agencies.

Elizabeth Herzog lives one block away from downtown Columbus, she shot pictures, early in the morning, before the crowds arrived. And, once they did she helped them out the best she could.

Said Herzog, "I let people use the bathroom and gave them hot cocoa and cookies and let them warm up a little bit."

For the small city of Columbus this is a once in a lifetime experience, and they are living it to the fullest.

"I just think it is a kick. What luck," added Mayor Osterhaus. "The first movie. The first day. This is as exciting as it gets."

Universal and Johnny Depp will be back Tuesday to continue shooting. There is also talk that they will return in a month to shoot more footage.
One of those shoots we hear will be inside the Poser Mansion which is on Prairie Street near downtown Columbus.

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Story Posted Monday, March 17, 2008 --- 8:00am

Rubber cobblestone covers parts of two downtown Columbus streets. Buildings now sport old-fashioned awnings and facades.

It's all to take this city back to the 1930s for filming "Public Enemies," a movie starring Johnny Depp as bank robber John Dillinger, along with Christian Bale and recent Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard.

Crews are expected in Columbus Monday to shoot the first scenes of the movie -- of Crown Point, Indiana and Green Castle, Indiana.

Kate Lueders, liaison to Columbus Mayor Nancy Osterhaus, says the props have transformed the downtown. She calls "magical."

The movie is the first to be filmed in Wisconsin since tax incentives for filmmakers took effect in January.

Some movies that have been filmed in Wisconsin, in part or entirely:

--"The Truant Soul," a silent film starring Henry B. Walthall and Mary Charleson, the first film shot in Wisconsin, 1916.

--"Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man," starring Paul Newman and Ricardo Montalban, 1962.

--"The Blues Brothers," starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, 1980.

--"Back to School," starring Rodney Dangerfield, shot on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, 1986.

--"A Simple Plan," starring Bill Paxton, Bridget Fonda and Billy Bob Thornton, 1998.

--"Major League," starring Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger, shot in Milwaukee County Stadium, 1989 (the stadium has since been torn down).

--"I Love Trouble," starring Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts, 1994.

--"Mr. 3000," starring Bernie Mac, used Miller Park as a backdrop, 2003.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

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Posted Friday, March 14, 2008 --- 8:40pm

"Earlier this week these barricades were put in place," says Columbus Police Department Lieutenant, Dennis Weiner. "Actually they were put in place Monday to restrict movement to the downtown area."

Road closed signs can be seen throughout the downtown area in the city of Columbus as scenes from the upcoming movie, "Public Enemies," will begin shooting this Monday.

"The roads have been closed since Wednesday," says Columbus mayor, Nancy Osterhaus. "They've been closed in the four corner area and everyday I think we are going to be moving the barricades out a little bit farther."

Right now crews are prepping the area before filming beings. And despite the many detours and alternate routes, residents are excited to see a big Hollywood movie shot so close to home.

"It's fun to see what they're doing with the buildings and how they're making it look," says one resident. "For those of us who know the town, we know our way around. We know where to park, we know where to walk."

During filming the mayor has closed East and West James as well as North and South Ludington Streets. Highways 16/60 and 73 will also be closed to through traffic. There will be no parking anywhere on these streets through Thursday. Shooting is expected to take only two days with an extra day allowed for cleanup. City officials hope that by Thursday all streets will be back open and are excited for what this film will mean for the city.

"I just think this is fabulous for our town," says Osterhaus. "I'm looking forward to the long-term effect. This is wonderful, people are really knowing who Columbus is. It's putting us on the map."

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UPDATED: Thursday, March 13, 2008 -- 6:30pm

The Lafayette County courthouse will be the scene of a crime on Wednesday.

"Public Enemies" will be filming inside the historic Courthouse in Darlington.

The building will be closed and the block around the courthouse will be shut down beginning at 5:30 in the morning.

While most employees will report to work -- offices won't be open to the public.

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Updated Monday, March 10, 2008 -- 12:30pm

Movie crew remakes Columbus

COLUMBUS, Wis. (AP) -- Set contractors are busy remodeling downtown Columbus for the movie "Public Enemies," which is expected to start shooting soon.

They're making alterations to some stores to fit the movie about bank robber John Dillinger, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.

Director and University of Wisconsin grad Michael Mann says Columbus has just the right history for the movie location.

There are more than 240 homes and businesses on the National Historic Registry -- in fact the entire downtown is a historic district.

NBC Universal plans to spend $20 million of the movie's $150 million budget in Wisconsin.

Columbus Mayor Nancy Osterhous says the local lumberyard, restaurants, hotels and other businesses are the beneficiaries of that spending.

Osterhous says Columbus has plenty of snow cover, but she says the movie makers will add some artificial snow to shoot the winter scenes.

AP

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Updated Thursday, March 6, 2008 -- 6:00pm

Johnny Depp will be in Columbus to start filming "Public Enemies" on March 17th. But, before any of that happens a lot of work needs to be done.

"They came here to look at the Farmers and Merchants Bank," said Kim Bates who's with Columbus Main Street. "And they turned around and looked down the street and said, 'what a find.'"

After months of speculation Hollywood is finally in Columbus.

Said the Columbus Main Street President Todd Frey, "We've known that we have had a special place here for a long time. And it is fun to finally get recognized for what we have here."

In less than two weeks Universal Pictures will being filming the movie "Public Enemies", which stars Johnny Depp as the infamous gangster John Dillinger. But before filming can begin the city needs a makeover.

"Right now they are dressing the outside of the buildings to look like 1933," added Bates. "They are making some into drug stores, news stands, tobacco shops."

As of now, at least two major scenes will be filmed in Columbus. One store will be turned into a bank and be robbed by Johnny Depp or John Dillinger. He will then run out of the bank and escape down the street.
The other is a vacant building that will be turned into a drug store where the gangsters will do their shopping."

The Evanston Awning Company out of Illinois for years has been involved in bringing movies to life.

"Untouchables, Payback with Mel Gibson, My Best Friend's Wedding, The Babe," stated Aaron Hunzinger.

Making buildings look 75-years-older can be challenging, but Evanston Awning has the local Hollywood market cornered.

Added Hunzinger, "Me and my bother are fifth generation. So, the company was started way back in the 1890's. So we were making these awning in the 1930s."

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for a town like us and we can not take this for granted in any way, shape or form," concluded Frey.

The producers have hinted that they may return later in the year to do more filming.

The city has set up a website where they post pictures and keep people updated on the movie's production. For a link to that you can go to our the homepage and click on newslinks.

And by the way, the city plans to keep many of the changes.

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Updated Friday, February 29, 2008 ---11:55am

Northwest Indiana's Lake County Jail preps for Johnny Depp visit

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) -- Johnny Depp will be in Crown Point, Indiana, this spring to recreate gangster John Dillinger's infamous 1934 escape from Lake County Jail for his upcoming film "Public Enemies."

Depp will play Dillinger, and the scene will be shot at the Old Sheriff's House and Jail. No specific dates have been released, but filming will take place from March through June in Chicago, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Dillinger escaped the heavily guarded northwestern Indiana jail March 3rd, 1934, while he awaited trial on charges that he killed Officer William Patrick O'Malley during an East Chicago bank robbery.

He then drove away in Sheriff Lillian Holley's new Ford. A few months later, federal agents fatally shot him outside a Chicago theater.

AP

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Updated Tuesday, February 26, 2008 --- 2:00pm

It's confirmed: Johnny Depp is coming to Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- It may have been the worst kept secret in Wisconsin filmmaking 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 in "Public Enemies."

The news that Depp was coming has been around for months as the 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 Universal Pictures reached an agreement with the state on tax credits it will get.

Depp will play gangster John Dillinger in the film to co-star Christian Bale.

AP

CLICK HERE to Read --- Dillinger in Belleville in 1934?

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Updated Wednesday, January 9, 2008 -- 10:50am

State still trying to lure Johnny Depp film to Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Governor Doyle's administration said Wednesday the state is still negotiating to bring a new film starring Johnny Depp to Wisconsin.

Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton planned an announcement Wednesday morning that NBC Universal had committed to Wisconsin to film parts of the new movie "Public Enemies." But, the event was canceled at the last minute.

Doyle spokesman Matt Canter says the Department of Commerce is still working out final details of an incentive package for Universal.

If everything falls into place, it would be the first major production to come to Wisconsin since new tax incentives for the film industry took effect January 1st.

"Public Enemies" would start filming in March. It's directed by Michael Mann, a University of Wisconsin graduate.

Depp plays John Dillinger, the robber whose Midwest crime spree ended when FBI agents shot him to death in Chicago in July 1934.

Business leaders in Baraboo confirmed last month that a Mann representative had been in town.

Baraboo National Bank CEO Merlin Zitzner says filmmakers were drawn to the city because its courthouse square retains a vintage look, and his bank's exterior hasn't changed much since the 1930s.

AP

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Posted Thursday, December 27, 2007 -- 11:00am

Like all communities, Baraboo has adapted to the fast-paced world of today. But, unlike all communities, the past is still an everyday way of life here.

"I was sitting in my office one afternoon and I got this phone call from an individual I had never met before," says Merlin Zitzner.

He was talking to someone from Universal Pictures in California, "I said, why not."

The chairman and CEO of the Baraboo National Bank has agreed to something he hopes never plays out in real life -- a robbery.

"We have the prop right here. This is the authentic building," says Zitzner.

And, Hollywood has the actor. He did some creative cutting back in the day and more recently brought back the pirate-look. Now, Johnny Depp is set to take on the role of John Dillinger, the notorious bank robber from the 30s.

"I'm a fan of some of Johnny's work, yes." says Gene Dalhoff, executive director of the Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce.

He says Universal Pictures plans to begin filming "Public Enemies" in the spring. Some of the movie may use Baraboo as the backdrop.

"It's not a done deal," Dalhoff says. "We're on a short list of communities being considered."

Depp currently stars in the movie-musical "Sweeney Todd".

The actor is a household name to most, but not everyone in Baraboo is familiar with his work.

"I'm just not up-to-date on all the modern today things and whatever happens, happens and we'll be interested and excited," says long-time Baraboo resident Jeanne Fuhs.

Zitzner's long-distance call came in a couple of weeks ago.

"I haven't heard anything since," he says. "I don't know what's going to happen."

No one in Baraboo has been given a time line.

But, all the buzz is a boost for this historic downtown.

"If Hollywood is considering Baraboo, we must have something special here," says Dalhoff.

Robert De Niro is the executive producer of the movie, which is based on the book, "Public Enemies" by Bryan Burrough.

We contacted Universal Pictures for additional information, but have not received a reply.

This is not Baraboo's first brush with Hollywood.

Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte starred in a film with some scenes shot there in the mid-90s.

It was called "I Love Trouble". It's about two competing Chicago newspaper reporters who join forces to unravel the mystery behind a train derailment.

Baraboo's courthouse square was in the movie. Some scenes were also shot in Madison.

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BARABOO, Wis. (AP) -- Don't look now, but star actor Johnny Depp could be showing up in the small Wisconsin city of Baraboo if producers settle on a downtown bank to film a crime by Depression-era robber John Dillinger, played by Depp.

Gene Dalhoff of the Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce says Universal Pictures contacted the group earlier this month. A representative told him Baraboo is among 20 communities in Wisconsin being scouted as potential filming locations for director Michael Mann's "Public Enemies."

Baraboo National Bank CEO Merlin Zitzner says he got a call from a representative of Mann, saying the bank is being considered for filming a robbery. He says the bank and Baraboo's courthouse square have a vintage look that makes them appealing to the filmmakers.

"Public Enemies" is envisioned as a screen adaptation of Bryan Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34." It describes the FBI's transformation when confronted with crime sprees of Dillinger, Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Lester "Baby Face Nelson" Gillis.

Dillinger and his gang pulled off bank robberies across the Midwest and used a northwoods Wisconsin lodge as a hideout. Dillinger's crime wave ended when he was slain by FBI agents in Chicago in July 1934.

AP