CROWN POINT | The lighting rigs, street barricades and makeup mirrors gave away the truth Sunday: a piece of downtown Crown Point now is a movie set.
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Security guard Tim Turner, of Gary, was allowed inside the old Lake County Jail and sheriff's house, the historic building slated to host a jailbreak scene in the John Dillinger biopic "Public Enemies." Turner snapped cell phone pictures of second-floor jail cells outfitted with prop pictures and signs.
"It looks real good," Turner said.
Camera-toting locals milled around the closed one-block section of Main Street on Sunday. They surveyed the idle power and lighting equipment and peeked inside the refurbished Hall of Justice building, which appeared outfitted for an influx of crew members and extras. Florescent pink signs marked the set, restrooms and the holding area for extras.
Six light-up makeup mirrors sat in front of six folding chairs in the ballroom. Hall of Justice owners couldn't share details Sunday about filming plans, but the ballroom's role was clear. A black curtain was marked with the hot pink signs separating male and female extras.
"Public Enemies" star Johnny Depp was not around the set Sunday. But he was not forgotten by the set's visitors.
Rainer Swafford, of Munster, plans to come back to the set during shooting. A camera around his neck, he said Sunday he wants to see the movie filmed. His teenage daughter, Brandi Swafford, hunts famous quarry.
"I want to see Johnny Depp," she said.
Like so many unlucky souls, Troy Wilkey, of Griffith, will miss the film shoot because of work. Wilkey will survive. He was an extra in shooting for OIiver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" in Hammond in the 1990s. The Hammond scene didn't make the film, but Wilkey said he appears on footage included in the DVD extras. He said the Crown Point shoot will be fun for others to watch. He is glad director Michael Mann chose to film the Lake County chapter in Dillinger's story.
"It's a great story. It's a great history," Wilkey said.
