Stars line up for 'Enemies' premiere

CHICAGO, Calif., June 19 (UPI) -- Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard turned out for the Chicago premiere of "Public Enemies," a film about infamous bank robber John Dillinger.

The Chicago Tribune said Thursday night's premiere took place at the AMC River East theater, not far from where authorities hunted down and shot to death the real-life "Public Enemy No. 1" in 1934.

Much of the Michael Mann-directed film, which features Depp as Dillinger, was set and shot in Chicago. Hundreds of fans reportedly lined up for hours to catch a glimpse of the movie's stars when "Enemies" premiered in the city.

"It's nice to be able to come back here and say 'Thank you,' and this shindig is a way of doing it," the Tribune quoted Depp as saying. Depp told The Chicago Sun-Times he personally identified with a lot of the gangster's traits ''except, of course, all the criminal stuff."

"First and foremost, he possessed a very strong loyalty, not only to his friends and family, but to his woman," Depp said. "He was a deeply loyal guy. Very rare for a man in his line of work.''

Asked why he thinks people are still intrigued by Dillinger's story, Depp offered: "He was a man of the people. The banks were the enemies, just as they are now. Funny similarity, huh? Plus the government was doing shiftier things than the bank robbers. Hmmm ... that sounds familiar too, doesn't it?''