Public Enemy #1

John Dillinger hits the big screen this spring, and he is being represented by none other than Johnny Depp. Michael Mann has casted Depp as his leading gangster, with Christian Bale co-starring as Officer Melvin Purvis. Dillinger, a notorious bank robber of the 1920s and 30s, inspired many criminal minds alike during that time, and was one of the hardest criminals of his time to catch. Even when he was caught he was able to escape.

The film though is based Bryan Burrough's non-fiction book, Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34. He originally pitched the idea as a miniseries to HBO and was made an executive producer, along with Robert De Niro's Tribeca Films. Burrough was also asked to write the screenplay. However, he felt more comfortable writing it as a non-fiction book and spent two years working on it while the interest in the miniseries disappeared. Eventually HBO gave up on the miniseries and the rights were re-sold to production companies representing Michael Mann and Leonardo DiCaprio who was interested in playing John Dillinger. Burrough's met with all involved but then heard nothing for almost three years. DiCaprio eventually left the project to appear in a Martin Scorsese film.

In 2007 Michael Mann showed interest in the project once again, and eventually got Depp and Bale to sign on to the project. He also brought friend and writer Ronan Bennett into the picture to help write the screenplay. Burrough has read the film's screenplay and said, "it’s not 100 percent historically accurate. But it’s by far the closest thing to fact Hollywood has attempted, and for that I am both excited and quietly relieved".

The film debuts in North America on July 2nd, and looks nothing short of entertaining. Check it out...