Johnny Came Lately

    “They’re so short!” someone said. “Didn’t you think they’d be huge? Man … I mean … I’m taller than those guys.”

    The filmmakers famously shot a bunch of Public Enemies in Columbus, Madison, Oshkosh, and Wisconsin Dells. But, for the most part, they tried to keep the filming “hush-hush.” And who can blame them? I know I wouldn’t want a thousand screaming fans nearby every second. But the secret never lasted long.

    In the case of the Dells, the local police got a few phone calls one morning that there were gunshots in the woods nearby. A few seconds later they gave my newspaper a call, and I was out the door and after a hot crime story. By the time I got there, much to my chagrin, I was assigned to knock on trailers at a campsite trying to find Michael Mann and Christian Bale, who were there shooting a forest chase scene involving guns.

    You can forgive my cynicism, now. Don’t get me wrong, it was an exciting time. Until then, Wisconsin was barely even a blip on the cinematic map. Even in the few shining moments that we did have, someone like Titanic’s Jack Dawson had to go and shame our state by stating he’s from Chippewa Falls, only to name drop Lake Wissota before it existed. Pssshhht. Idiot. At least Annie Hall knew to keep her mouth shut. The film incentives passed by Gov. Doyle made way for more than a dozen new projects in a state that previously yielded a small list like A Simple Plan, Major League, Mr. 3000, and Back to School. And, now, we had a major blockbuster.

    Public Enemies was to Wisconsin cinema what Bon Iver was for Eau Claire music. By that I mean it was an exciting change of pace, to see our little piece of home on the national map. But by fall, we realized that success was a double-edged sword, as we started to feel some backlash about hearing too much about Johnny and Justin. Despite the exhaustion, both are worth celebrating. In the long run it will only help our area and our sense of place.

    Now that it’s all over, and Doyle has been looking to cut the film incentives saying there’s not enough benefits, I just think of the summers to come. The eye of the storm may be past us, but the hordes of people will return. Believe me, Mr. Doyle. I was there. And everyone loves Johnny Depp.