Development

Public Enemies is based on Bryan Burrough's 2004 non-fiction book, Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34. The idea was accepted by HBO and Burrough was made an executive producer, along with Robert De Niro's Tribeca Productions, and was asked to write the screenplay. He began simultaneously writing a non-fiction book, spending two years working on it while the interest in the miniseries disappeared.^[14]Burrough's book was set to be published in the summer of 2004 and he asked HBO to return the movie rights. They agreed and after the book was released, the rights were re-sold to production companies representing Michael Mann and Leonardo DiCaprio, the latter of whom was interested in playing John Dillinger. Burrough met with a representative and then heard nothing for three years.The actor eventually left the project to appear in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. After reading an excerpt from Burrough's book in Vanity Fair, he eventually worked to develop a film based on the book with producer Kevin Misher. Starting in 2006, Bennett worked for over 18 months on adapting Burrough's book,writing several drafts.Former NYPD Blue writer and Southland creator Ann Biderman rewrote the screenplay with Mann, who polished it before shooting began. Of the screenplay, Burrough has 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."

[edit]Filming

Michael Mann, the director, decided to shoot the movie in HD format instead of using the traditional 35 mm film.

Principal photography began in Columbus, Wisconsin on March 17, 2008 and continued in the Illinois cities of Chicago, Aurora, Jolietand Lockport; and the Wisconsin cities of Oshkosh, Beaver Dam, Milwaukee, Madison and several other places in Wisconsin; andToronto, Canada until the end of June 2008, including the Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, the actual location of a 1934 gun fight between Dillinger and the FBI. Some parts of the film were shot in Crown Point, Indiana, the town where Dillinger was imprisoned and subsequently escaped from jail. The actual 1932 Studebaker used by Dillinger during a robbery in Greencastle, Indianawas also used during filming in Columbus, borrowed from the nearby Historic Auto Attractions museum. In addition, the film was shot on actual historical sites, including the Little Bohemia Lodge, and the old Lake County jail in Crown Point, Indiana, where Dillinger staged his most famous escape where legend has it he fooled jail officers with a wooden gun and escaped in the sheriff's car. Scenes were shot at places that he frequented in Oshkosh. The courthouse in Darlington is the location for the courthouse scenes. In late March 2008 portions of the film were shot at Libertyville High School. Footage includes one of the school's science labs, an office, the school's front entrance, and the locker rooms.

In April 2008 the production filmed in Oshkosh.Filming occurred downtown and at Pioneer Airport, including scenes shot using a historic Ford Trimotor airliner owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association.Later that month, filming started at the Little Bohemia Lodge. In April and May 2008, film crews shot on the grounds of Ishnala, a historic restaurant in the Wisconsin Dells area.