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COLUMBUS, Wis. — Residents in Columbus are preparing for the arrival of Hollywood film crews to shoot scenes for the movie “Public Enemies” there.

The movie about John Dillinger stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.

The glamour of Hollywood is a far cry from the old-fashioned backdrop of downtown Columbus, but with the film’s time period set in the 1930s, Columbus is exactly what filmmakers were looking for, WISC-TV reported. Many traces of the past can still be found around Columbus. “There are always some changes, but the main structures downtown have remained pretty much the same,” said Eugene Beier, a Columbus resident who is excited about the film shooting there. “Everything’s been preserved.

It’s been like that for a long, long time,” said Kim Bates, owner of the West James Street Gallery downtown. In fact, Bates’ art gallery is inside the city’s old bank, which is set to become one of the “old” banks in the film. “There used to be some awnings on these lower windows and they took those down yesterday,” Bates said.

Columbus Mayor Nancy Osterhaus said the community offers the type of locations that film representatives were looking for. “It was fun when the very first people came into town. They went into the bank to check that out, and came out and said, ‘Oh my gosh, look at this beautiful downtown.’ And I thought, ‘Yeah it really is, isn’t it?’” Osterhaus said. “I think a lot of us take (the downtown) for granted. A lot of community members do because you do see it every day. It’s like watching a child; you see them every day and they look the same, then the relatives come and (say), ‘You got so tall,’” Bates said, adding that she just hopes to get a chance to meet Depp.

Osterhaus said that film crews met Wednesday with the city’s street crews. She said that a portion of Highway 73 and Highway 60/16 will be closed when filming begins, but the businesses along that portion of the downtown will be open. “And what else do we have to do in Columbus in March, for heaven’s sakes? It’s Wisconsin, this is going to be so much fun,” Osterhaus said. “I’ll never think of a movie the same again.” Universal Pictures said that shooting will begin sometime in March. The studio is expected to release specific shooting dates next Monday.