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UW alum films, discusses ‘Public Enemies’
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by Matthew Straub
Monday, May 5, 2008
Production for director Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” came with a veritable militia of crew to Madison for shooting over the weekend and into early this week. Accordingly, business inside the Capitol was not at all usual late Friday night. The elegant halls were overwhelmed not only by busy people but also by thick electrical cables running along the floors, soundboards, microphones, lighting equipment, various monitors, other miscellaneous behind-the-scenes movie gadgetry and a hot pink sign duct-taped to a wall reading: “HOT SET.” Nearby, producer Kevin Misher, who worked on “The Interpreter,” among other films, clicked through messages on his Blackberry in a North Face vest and Converse shoes.
In front of three monitors displaying video from rolling, high-definition cameras in the room next door sat the boss’ chair — a conspicuously empty canvas director’s chair with “MICHAEL MANN” printed in red block letters across its back. Mann, of course, was busy directing.
A University of Wisconsin alumnus, Mann later sat down for an in-person interview with The Badger Herald late Friday night during the “lunch break” of their nighttime shoot.
“The reason for coming to Wisconsin [to shoot] is my cousin, who was a prosecutor in La Crosse,” a soft-spoken Mann in an ordinary gray, long-sleeved shirt explained from behind rimless glasses.
“[My cousin] told me that southwestern Wisconsin has a lot of towns and county seats that are relatively unchanged from the turn of the century,” he said.
This was perfect for “Public Enemies,” which is set in the 1930s and concerns the real-life bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”) and the FBI agent who chases after him (Christian Bale, “3:10 to Yuma”).
“What caught my attention was doing something set in the 1930s,” Mann said about working on the film.
The film is based on Bryan Burrough’s book, “Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43.”
“It’s a different process when you adapt something,” Mann said, who has written several of his own films, including 2006’s “Miami Vice.”
“You have to make up the film story and disregard the source, the novel. In this case, it’s a nonfiction book so it’s not going to give you a dramatic story anyway.”
This inclination to create his own films actually began at UW. Though Mann graduated from the UW with a degree in English literature, he had taken a handful of film courses, including the university’s first-ever film course, which was on film history. But it was a single film that served as the larger impetus for Mann’s career.
“‘Dr. Strangelove’ came out in 1963 and it was at the Orpheum [Theatre] right on State Street. … I saw it and it was a real revelation,” Mann said, referring to the film’s ability to make a profound statement. But the inspiration came a bit later, during the second half of his junior year.
“I remember coming down — about 10 o’clock at night — from Bascom Hall in the middle of winter and it just occurred to me, ‘This is what you have to do. You want to make films,’” he said.
It is a goal long-since achieved. Apart from “Public Enemies,” Mann has also directed blockbusters such as “Collateral” and “Ali.” This four-time Academy Award nominee is a jack-of-all-trades, having directed nearly a dozen films and worked on many others as a writer or producer, frequently working in some combination of the three jobs.
His favorite? “Not the producing,” he responded quickly and curtly. There was little more Mann was willing to add. “Boring.” Then, after another pause, “Gets old fast. Not as much fun as getting out there to direct.”
Mann’s sincerity as a director came across clearly. Although he was frequently talking in different directions when distracted by his surroundings, Mann looked directly and intently at whomever he was speaking to when explaining himself or the psychology of his characters.
The primary character in the scene I witnessed was a young J. Edgar Hoover in a congressional hearing, played by Billy Crudup (“The Good Shepherd”). Crudup burst out of the room smiling when shooting ceased, seemingly relieved to be finished with the shoot and off to lunch.
It was only after this shoot, after briefly meeting Mr. Mann (i.e., shaking his hand) and after being whisked away in nondescript white vans to an offsite tent with an abundance of catered food that the busy director was able to finally sit and speak, and even that was over a meal of chicken and potatoes.
As directors are rarely accessible during a film’s production stages, the short interview was a unique opportunity and a special gesture from Mann to his alma mater. But despite his willingness to accommodate for an interview, Mann’s fervent commitment to his work shone through again as he, the cast and the crew were taken away in their shuttles after their half-hour break to resume shooting around 12:30 a.m.
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