A taste of Hollywood

If gangster John Dillinger had a friend like Andy Manion, he might not have been gunned down by federal agents that fateful day in 1934 outside the Biograph Theater.

Manion, and his wife Amy Manion, who live just outside Sugar Grove in the Prestbury subdivision, were extras in the movie "Public Enemies," which deals with federal agents trying to take down Dillinger and other notorious American gangsters during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

"Public Enemies," which stars Johnny Depp as Dillinger, will be released Wednesday and was filmed primarily in Aurora and Chicago.

Andy Manion, 45, was an extra in the scene at the Biograph Theater in Chicago.

As the scene was being set up, he joked to Depp, "I wouldn't go to the movies if I were you tonight."

Depp chuckled at the joke, Andy Manion said.

"He replied, 'I think you may be right about that,' '' Manion said.

This is the first time the couple has been in a movie. They originally auditioned for parts as dancers in the movie.

"My husband and I are big swing dancers," Amy Manion, 43, said. "I teach swing dancing at Aurora University."

She also is an information services librarian at Aurora University and Andy Manion is Aurora University provost.

"They did not use any swing dancers in the movie," Amy Manion said.

However, the couple still could participate in the movie.

But, the opportunity wasn't exactly glamorous.

In Amy Manion's case, there was a lot of waiting around.

"It was pretty grueling," she said. "It was my first movie and probably the last."

One scene that was filmed over a two-day period involved her sitting at a table next to Depp's table. The scene was filmed at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.

She also wasn't too fond of the food put in front of her to eat as part of the scene – frog legs.

"I pretended," she said. "I pushed them around on my plate a lot."

But being an extra also grants you privileges.

"We heard Diana Krall sing, "Bye Bye Blackbird," Andy Manion said. 

He marveled at the movie's authenticity.

"Everything was authentic, including the filter-less Lucky Strikes," he said.

The Paramount Theater in Aurora was also used in scenes in the movie because of its connection to that era. The theater opened in September 1931.

Unfortunately, the only mementos the couple were able to keep from the movie were water bottles passed out to everyone.

"They wouldn't let me keep the suit or the 1930s money," Andy Manion said. "That suit fit me better than any I owned."

The couple's 16-year-old son, Jack Manion, has been bragging to his friends about his parents being in the movie.

"All my friends know about it," he said. "It is kind of cool to tell my friends."

Amy Manion already has spotted her husband in the movie's trailer. And they are anxious to see the movie.

"We were thinking about going to a midnight show," she said.