I admit it…I played hooky on Monday. But, it was my birthday, so I had a good excuse.
A friend and I drove to my hometown of Oshkosh, WI to watch some of the filming of Public Enemies, the movie about John Dillinger and his gang, directed by Michael Man. I really wanted to check out what cool things had been done to the dowtown area for the set and watch the filming. Oh, and while I was there, maybe just get a glimpse of Johnny or Christian. You know, no biggee if I didn’t, but it would be a bonus if I did. Yeah, right. What turnip truck did you fall off?
Johnny Depp, people!
My friend, Meg and I met up with my mom and we headed to Main St. Now, I must interject here that when I first proposed the idea of going to Oshkosh (instead of shopping and lunch in Milwaukee) Meg thought I was crazy, but agreed since it was my birthday (and I had promised shopping at the Outlet Mall there.) She teased me saying that I only wanted to go to see Johnny. I protested saying that wasn’t it cool that the town I grew up in was chosen as one of the spots, and that I was very interested in seeing what was involved in the making of a movie. Really, I was! At any rate, my mom and friend truly believed that they were indulging me since it was “my day.” We walked about Main St. (looking for a sign of anyone acting) but I only saw the construction workers. Even though the downtown looked amazing, I did feel a little pang of worry that we were there at the wrong time. No fear, we soon found our way to the bank robbery shooting. No pun intended. We could hear the shots being fired and saw a cop being choked by a thug. Woohoo, this was the place! But, where were all the people, the crowds that we expected to be fighting to get a view? We were all surprised, but happy that we could see and hear. Watched that scene for awhile, speculated that Christian Bale was in it and then decided to go to lunch at the Water Street Grill (aka Open Arms Hotel for the movie set.) After lunch, we headed back and soon found that we were going to get to see some more action. We got a front row viewing of a getaway car scene. I was so excited about seeing that, that I didn’t even realize that Johnny Depp was one of the actors on he car! Until he got off the car and everyone started yelling, “We love you, Johnny! Welome to Oshkosh, Johnny!” Johnny waved a few times and I found myself waving back. I may have even yelled his name? And, I know my mom was one of the people that yelled the welcome. Later, I asked my friend, “so did you yell out to Johnny?” She giddily admitted that she had. It really was hard not to get swept up in the excitement. Long story, short. We never did make it to the Outlet Mall!
Check out some videos from the local newspaper in Oshkosh at www.thenorthwestern.com
Filed under: Amy's View | Tagged: Christian Bale, John Dillinger, Johnny Depp, Michael Mann, Oshkosh, Public Enemies
