Source: AMC News

This week the Los Angeles Film Festival announced its lineup of films including the premiere of Michael Mann’s gangster thriller Public Enemies — the real-life Depression-era tale of legendary bank robber John Dillinger — starring Johnny Depp.

In the midst of The Great Depression, Dillinger’s bank heists made him a mythical hero in the eyes of Americans who blamed the nation’s banks for sinking the country into economic turmoil (hmmm…sound familiar?). During a recent Entertainment Weekly interview Depp said of Dillinger, “Some people might disagree, but I think he was a real-life Robin Hood.” Well, he’s got the robbing part correct.

Dillinger’s crimes and subsequent jailbreaks made him the No. 1 target of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI and its top agent Melvin Purvis, played by Christian Bale in the film. Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard portrays Dillinger’s girlfriend, Billie Frechette, with Stephen Dorff, Giovanni Ribisi and Billy Crudup rounding out the cast. The film was written and directed by Michael Mann, best known for thrillers like 1995′s Heat, 1999′s The Insider and 2004′s Collateral.

This should be an action-packed shoot-em-up blockbuster (check out the trailer) and also an intriguing one from a storytelling perspective because Depp and Bale share only one scene together. I’m sure their eventual on-screen meeting will be totally worth the wait.

With Public Enemies anchoring LAFF’s slate of 200 feature films, shorts and music videos from over 30 countries, it will help achieve festival director Rebecca Yeldham’s goal of providing festival-goers with “…a sneak peek at the great movies of the summer.”

Opening and closing night films are yet to be announced by the LAFF which runs from June 18-28 and is produced by Film Independent.