JohnnyDepp-Zone.com

Filming on Michael Mann’s PUBLIC ENEMIES, starring Johnny Depp as 1930s bank robber John Dillinger, now shifts to the Art Deco Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois (pictured at left); the Paramount’s executive director Diana Martinez told the press that her theatre had been rented for a two-day period beginning Sunday, April 6th. Ms. Martinez expects the first day to consist of preparation for the shoot, with Johnny Depp arriving to film an interior scene on Monday, April 7th. For those hoping to catch a glimpse of Johnny, be warned that such glimpses could be limited to watching him alight from a car and disappear inside the theater; no road closures have been requested, according to Ms. Martinez, which means there will be no exterior filming.

Ms. Martinez theorizes that it was the Paramount’s “historic look [. . .] and the accuracy for the period” that attracted Michael Mann to her theater. “They even fired up the old 35 mm film projector to see what it looks like; they were impressed with how it looks,” she told a reporter from the Batavia (Illinois) Republican. “They just came here for a location,” added Ms. Martinez. “The bonus is that Dillinger actually lived here in Aurora. [A Paramount staffer’s] grandpa used to cut his grass.”

The Zone thanks emma for the report–you can follow developments in Aurora on the News & Views forum; reports from Zoners going to observe the filming will be posted on the Porch. –Part-Time Poet