One last look at language this week: James Lipton and Johnny Depp, Inside the Actor's Studio, saying not much of anything at all. more ›

Though the Academy Awards pitched a shutout to the Coen brothers' remake of a genuine classic Western, True Grit, it amassed critical plaudits as quickly as any genre title in recent memory (to the tune of a 95% Tomatometer score) and has earned nearly $170 million for Paramount to date. Today, we have some confirmation that Qentin Tarantino is apparently now making a spaghetti Western. Though the Western seems to be enjoying some slightly rehabilitated cachet, it is never again going to be a vital node in the cinematic organism, even as some blood gets pumped into it every few years or so in a spasm of revisionism. With that in mind, why not turn to perhaps the greatest revisionist Western of them all, Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man? more ›

Once upon a time there was an outlaw named John Dillinger. While the country was in the depths of the Great Depression, he robbed a lot of banks. In fact he robbed so many that the FBI made him Public Enemy No. 1. One by one all his cronies were killed, and his moll Billie Frechette was captured and put in jail. On a hot summer evening Dillinger made the mistake of going to the air-conditioned Biograph Theater to see Manhattan Melodrama, starring Clark Gable and Myrna Loy. As he left the show he was gunned down in an alley and died. more ›

Last night's premiere of the highly anticipated Public Enemies brought out the films stars and its director. It seems like the stars, especially Depp, were all cordial to the amassed fans. According to one reader, Depp spent a good amount of time signing autographs for awaiting fans. The movie opens on Wednesday, July 1. more ›

With the countdown clock getting very near to the nationwide release of the Chicago-centric summer blockbuster "Public Enemies," the Chicago media landscape has been diligently tracking down Dillinger info en masse. Earlier this week, the morbid habit of collecting blood back in the 20's is given a modern day connection in Mark Brown's column on Tuesday. Charley Johnson of the City News Bureau recieved a square of bloodstained newsprint from a reporter who was on the scene at Dillinger's slaying. Charley pasted that piece of bloodied paper into his diary, and then passed the book onto his son, who grew up to be WLS news anchor Jim Johnson. more ›

Just yesterday we were lamenting the fact that Chicago was left off a list of places receiving an advance screening of the new Johnny Depp-starring John Dillinger movie Public Enemies, which was largely shot here last year. What we are getting is the movie's big premiere which will include appearances from the movie's big stars, including Depp and Christian Bale. The bad news? Only a select few can go. It's an invitation-only event happening next Thursday at the AMC River East theater. According to Crain's Shia Kapos, it's one of the few films to get a premiere here in Chicago before it even premieres in L.A. a few days later; the film opens nationwide on Wednesday July 1. more ›

One of the few summer blockbusters we're genuinely interested in seeing this year is Michael Mann's Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp as infamous gangster John Dillinger. The movie opens nationwide on July 1. more ›

Johnny Depp's gangster epic Public Enemies doesn't come out until this summer, but you can wet your whistle by watching Al Capone, with Rod Steiger in the title role. Just don't look for it at your local video store. Warner Bros. Archive has launched an experimental new program, opening its vaults and giving the public access to some rare movies that have never been released on DVD. For $19.95 you can order a title directly from the website; a DVD is manufactured on demand, put in a case with custom art and shipped to you within a week. Or you can buy it as a download for $14.95 and watch it right away. more ›

More readers than we can shake a stick at wrote in to tell us the official trailer for the Johnny Depp film Public Enemies, filmed partly here in Chicago, was released this week. The film, directed by Michael Mann, follows the rise and fall of John Dillinger (Depp) and we're anxious to see another big-time summer blockbuster featuring our beautiful city as the backdrop. Rest assured, this isn't the last post on this movie you'll be seeing here. more ›

Five public enemies have been nabbed and one charged with unlawful use of a weapon in association with a drive-by shooting that took place near the set of Johnny Depp’s “Public Enemies” movie. The incident occurred about 12:30 a.m. Friday in the 1600 Block of South Blue Island in the Pilsen Neighborhood. more ›

R. Kelly's defense team wants to call rock critic Jim DeRogatis as a witness. Save DeRo! [Trib] more ›

Johnny Depp–watch powers, activate! Looks like the block of Lincoln near the Biograph is being prepped for , the John Dillinger biopic.
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. So what does this ‘hood have that makes it so appealing? It’s by the lake, near the L, and is lined with fancy, iconic graystone buildings. more ›

Rachel got more shots of the shoot in Crown Point. The cast of the movie is pretty amazing: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi, and our under-the-radar fave Jason Clarke. But who's playing Anna Sage and Polly Hamilton?
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Want to be in a Johnny Depp movie? Hells to the yes you do. The new Dillinger biopic he's in is looking for extras in Aurora on April 5 and 6. more ›

Remember in Moulin Rouge when Ewan McGregor's character drinks some green liquid, the camera tilts to a canted angle, the crazy music starts playing, and you felt like maybe someone had slipped a hallucinogen into your popcorn? The green liquid, of course, was absinthe, and its purported psychoactive properties have been well extolled by the likes of Oscar Wilde, Outkast, and Johnny Depp. more ›

For those of you who are checking in today, we thought we'd also take some time to pay our respects to two giants who passed away on Christmas Day. It was one year ago that James Brown passed away. If you don't have a copy of "James Brown's Funky Christmas", buy it or download it now. It is a necessity of Christmas listening. We managed to find a clip of "Soulful Christmas" dubbed into some footage of the Godfather's legendary 1968 Boston concert for your listening and viewing pleasure. more ›

Truth is stranger than fiction, and if you read The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein, you know this cliché is right on. Ballad is the true story of Attila Ambrus, Hungarian hockey player, bank robber, pelt smuggler and political-activist-by-proxy. After smuggling himself out of Romania in 1988, Attila hooks up with the Hungarian hockey team. The team is a bunch of misfit players, and Attila is the King of the Misfits. more ›

Perhaps taking a cue from the Chicago city council's recent lust for meddling in everyone's personal affairs, someone in south suburban Frankfort isn't happy about a neighbor's treehouse. Bob and Tracy Matheu built a ginormous tree fort for their three kids and their friends, a real life Swiss Family Robinson affair complete with swings, ladders, storage space, and a watch tower. But one of their neighbors ratted them out to the town's planning commission because they didn't apply for a building permit. more ›

Remember how people used to get spooked when a Friday would fall on the 13th of the month? There’d be a few articles about superstitions or about some dead kid’s mother terrorizing some campers. But lately? Bupkus. We’re bored with Friday the 13th. We crave a greater excitement. And who knows just how to take advantage of that ennui? Satan, natch! Shout at the devil, bitches, because it’s 6/6/06! Truth be told, the 14-year old... more ›

Break out the cake and light the candles! About Face Theatre is turning 10 this year and is celebrating tonight at their annual fundraiser gala, the Wonka Ball. more ›

Today marks the halfway point of the Chicago International Film Festival. So now’s as good a time as any to catch up with what’s playing in the next week and how you can catch all the films you want to see. If you haven’t seen anything yet, consider this your wake-up call. First, start with the official site. Under Films and Events, you can search for films by category, date or even country. As you’re... more ›

Did you know that the Chicago International Film Festival is the oldest competitive film festival in North America? Chicagoist didn't, but it's in a press release, so it must be true. (Plus, we'll take any excuse we can get for hometown bragging rights.) Celebrating its 40th year (the celluloid anniversary?), the fest will screen over 100 features and 40 shorts from over 40 countries between October 7th and 21st. (That was definitely too many... more ›