Director Michael Mann is assembling a strong cast for a movie that I’m beginning to salivate over. Public Enemies, as Josh noted back in January and Katey told us in December, is a Depression-era gangster picture starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis.

What they didn’t tell you, because it hadn’t happened yet, is that David Wenham is going to be playing a Dillinger gang member. HR says that Wenham, who is best known as daddy-pleasing Faramir in the two later Lord of the Rings movies, will be the famous Pete Pierpont. Actually, I’ve never heard of Pete Pierpont, but I’m sure he was a bad ass with anger management issues. English actor Stephen Graham has also joined the cast as Baby Face Nelson. I have heard of him, and he is definitely a bad ass with anger management issues.

The ever growing cast for Public Enemies already includes Channing Tatum as Pretty Boy Floyd (bad ass, anger management issues) and Giovani Ribisi will play outlaw Alvin Karpis (check.) Oscar nominee Marion Cotillard will play Dillinger’s girlfriend Billie. Her asses badness is yet to be determined. This is shaping up like an updated version of Brian DePalma’s Untouchables without Kevin Costner’s boy scoutism or stolen scenes from Russian films.