IN THE PRESS: Read Entertainment Weekly's New Article on Channing Tatum's 'Public Enemies'

In November, we all got a chance to take a look at the first official photos for Channing Tatum's upcoming 1930's era historical drama 'Pubic Enemies' in Empire Magazine. The UK mag also included an interview with the film's director Michael Mann.

Today we get even more official 'Public Enemies' photos and an interview from Johnny Depp via Entertainment Weekly's website and their most recent issue that is currently on newsstands. The film is featured on the mags cover and in their article "First Look at 12 Big Movies Coming In 2009".

Below you can read the article from EW's website, and you can also check out the high quality scans of the 'Public Enemies' part of the article in the current issue of the magazine:

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Exclusive! First Look at 12 Big Movies Coming In 2009

From ''Harry Potter'' to ''Terminator Salvation,'' ''Wolverine'' to ''Watchmen,'' EW gives you an exclusive sneak peek at 21 pics from the most anticipated new releases of the next 12 months

PUBLIC ENEMIES
In theaters July 1, 2009

You could say being an outlaw runs in Johnny Depp's blood. After all, his grandfather ran moonshine on the back roads of Kentucky during Prohibition. So it shouldn't come as any surprise that the actor jumped at the chance to play John Dillinger in Public Enemies. ''Dillinger was one of those guys, like Charlie Chaplin and Evel Knievel, that I was fascinated with at a young age,'' says Depp. ''And because of my grandfather, the character was pretty easy for me to connect to. In a way, this movie was a salute to him.''

Based on a book by Bryan Burrough, Enemies is a cat-and-mouse thriller about the early days of the FBI, and one agent's pursuit of the Depression-era bank robber whose dizzy reign of stickups and near escapes ended in a hail of bullets outside of Chicago's Biograph Theater in 1934. Dillinger lived fast, died young, and left not only a handsome corpse but a legacy as one of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century.

Directed by Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider), and costarring Christian Bale as the dashing federal agent Melvin Purvis, Public Enemies might sound like a blood-soaked chapter of ancient history. But the film's themes couldn't be more timely: Dillinger was sticking up banks at a time when people weren't exactly rooting for the banks. As a result, he became something larger than life—a rock star with a tommy gun. ''Some people might disagree, but I think he was a real-life Robin Hood,'' says Depp, who just finished playing the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, due 2010. ''I mean, the guy wasn't completely altruistic, but he went out of his way not to kill anybody. He definitely gave a lot of that money away. I love the guy.''

Still hip-deep in the editing stage of the film, which he's readying for its July 2009 release, Mann remains in awe of his two leading men. ''Johnny has courage and immense power. It's all about the spontaneity of the moment for him. Christian works in a totally different way. He becomes the character so totally that he's that person 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The accent, everything.''

Mann shot on the actual locations where Dillinger and Purvis made headlines, because, he says, ''when your hand touches the same doorknob Dillinger's did, it starts to talk to you.'' The director even managed to get his hands on a still-preserved suitcase left behind by Dillinger after one of his narrow getaways. ''All of the dress shirts were still folded perfectly,'' says Depp. ''It was a real insight into the guy. Because everything was ready to go at a moment's notice. It was just economical and beautiful.''

Depp even got to wear the pair of pants that Dillinger had on when he was finally caught and riddled with bullets. ''It was amazing,'' he says. ''And—get this—we're the same size!'' Like we said, the man was born to play the part.

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Although the article says they only cover 12 of the biggest movies in 2009, they actually cover a total of 15. Here's the complete list with the main actors:

• Public Enemies (Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Giovanni Ribisi, Channing Tatum, Leelee Sobieski)


• Terminator: Salvation (Christian Bale)


• The Ugly Truth (Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler)


• Where the Wild Things Are (Director Spike Jonze, Forest Whitaker, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O'Hara)


• Watchmen (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Billy Crudup)


• The Taking of Pelham 123 (John Travolta, Denzel Washington, Luis Guzmán, James Gandolfini)


• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Helena Bonham Carter)


• Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (Joe Jonas, Nick Jonas, Kevin Jonas)


• Julie & Julia (Meryl Streep, Amy Adams)


• Up - Cartoon (Christopher Plummer, Edward Asner)


• Obsessed (Beyoncé Knowles,Idris Elba, Ali Larter, Jerry O'Connell)


• The Year One (Jack Black, Michael Cera, Olivia Wilde, Judd Apatow - Producer)


• Land of the Lost (Will Ferrell)


• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, Dominic Monaghan)


• Angels & Demons (Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer)

The January 9, 2009 issue of Entertainment Weekly hit newsstands on Friday, January 2, 2009, so make sure to get your copy.

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