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Local NewsHistorical Society Transformed Into Movie SetBy Katie DeLong
MILWAUKEE - Hollywood big wigs are in Milwaukee to shoot the gangster movie "Public Enemies."
The Milwaukee County Historical Society downtown is being transformed into a movie set.
Every stroke of sandpaper gets the Milwaukee County Historical Society one step closer to a blockbuster Hollywood movie set.
Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp, is already filming in central Wisconsin, but when film scouts came to Milwaukee looking for a place to film a bank robbery scene, they booked the Historical Society right away because it actually was a bank until the 1960s.
“I think he was really wowed by the nature of the building and the grandeur of the structure,” Milwaukee County Historical Society’s Bob Teske said.
Details of the film are being kept very, very quiet, but the Historical Society thinks a vault will be used in a scene where Johnny Depp's character takes the bank manager and holds him captive inside.
Set crews from Hollywood have spent weeks re-creating the original look of the bank.
“Part of what's involved in designing the set for the film is restoring the original teller lines that were part of the bank,” Teske said.
Crews are also restoring the bank columns and counters.
The film is giving the Historical Society more than just publicity from superstar Johnny Depp, and money. The renovations are actually part of the society's five year plan, and now they're being done for free.
“It's really a huge plus for the society,” Teske said.
The Historical Society hasn't been told when exactly crews will be filming there, but it's expected to happen in April.
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