Citizen Staff/Cory Schaefer
Downtown Columbus is closed to traffic execpt for foot traffic as it prepares for the shooting of the movie Public Enemies.
COLUMBUS — About 100 to 150 people involved with the making of "Public Enemies" will be in Columbus during filming.
David Fulton, the unit publicist for the movie who is based in Chicago, said that it's like a "small army" will be downtown.
Fulton said the filming process "is different from what people imagine." A days' worth of filming might not produce more than 30 seconds of footage for the film, although it could produce several minutes.
He also would not confirm specifically what will be filmed in Columbus, but said a bank robbery scene "has been discussed."
Onlookers will be expected to behave, and as long as they do, there shouldn't be problems with people watching, he said.
"There's always enthusiastic people ... overenthusiastic people, I should say," Fulton said.
The production has been happy with the cooperation of area businesses and residents, saying everyone has been "amenable" to the requests.
The significant changes made in Columbus aren't unusual when a major production goes on site.
"It's pretty standard for what a production has to do. Anytime you're dealing with a period film, you try to start out with good boundaries so you don't have to go too crazy being historically accurate," he said. "The key is to find basic structure you can work from."
Money certainly has been spent at local businesses getting the city ready, he said.
"Whenever you get the art department involved in trying to change a structure or building, they're going to be spending money," he said.
Will the changes and the cooperation mean Columbus could be the site of more filming in the future? Fulton said it's hard to say.
"The positive part is that it opens up people's eyes to the possibility," he said. Hotel popular with movie fans