Christian Bale makes Public Enemies of Depp, Mann

Variety reports that Christian Bale is in talks to work with Michael Mann on his upcoming feature Public Enemies. For those unused to PR speak, "in talks" is quite a few steps up from "rumored to be in talks" and quite a few steps below "will be in." In a nutshell, it means Bale is negotiating with the studio for more money. Considering that he is Christian Bale and hasn't made a bad film in five years or so, he'll probably get it, too.

As we reported earlier, the film is an adaptation of Bryan Burrough’s book that tells of the mob's rise and fall in the 1930s-40s. Johnny Depp will be playing John Dillinger, while Bale will be Melvin Purvis, who led the FBI's hunt for Dillinger and captured more public enemies than any other agent in FBI history. This part should also allow Bale to use yet another new accent (for those keeping count at home, it'll be number seven).

If Mann's other films are any indicator, Public Enemies plot will be a little absurd, but the film will make up for it with stylish violence; the gangster genre was made for Mann. Shooting for the film is set to begin in March with a release sometime in 2009.

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