While most of the region still was sound asleep, about 75 area residents gathered under a bright moon in 20-degree temperatures early Monday in hopes of doing a little star gazing.
Movie star gazing, that is.
As the day grew, so did the number of fans waiting behind barricades in Crown Point in front of the Old Lake County Courthouse and jail.
Actor Johnny Depp is playing John Dillinger in "Public Enemies," which is filming this week at the site of the notorious bank robber's most legendary jailbreak.
The fans got their wish just before 11 a.m., when a black Ford Expedition pulled up in front of the old sheriff's house on Main Street and out popped Depp.
The crowd, numbering in the hundreds -- some of whom had been waiting for nearly 12 hours -- erupted into loud cheers as Depp dashed into the old sheriff's house.
Nicole Vega, 15, of Crown Point, and her sister Megan, 22, arrived downtown about 4 a.m.
"It's the most fascinating thing in Crown Point since Dillinger broke out of jail and (Rudolph) Valentino got married at the courthouse," Nicole Vega said. "I just hope I get to see Johnny Depp. Even if I don't, this is still the most exciting thing to happen on my spring break."
While word in and around the set was that filming would be taking place solely indoors, those who braved the chilly early morning temperatures weren't about to budge.
Katy Krekel, 20, traveled Sunday from Louisville, Ky., with her 13-year-old sister, Anna, to watch some of the filming. The sisters arrived in Crown Point at 7 p.m. and slept in their car.
"It's Johnny Depp," Krekel said. "I've been a fan since I was 5."
The pair traveled to Wisconsin last week to watch some of the filming there and got to see Depp shooting a chase scene.
"We saw him drive by in an old car, and then they were pulling the car on like a big flat-bed and they were filming that," she said.
Anissa Gray, of Crown Point, brought her 11-year-old daughter, Marissa Kozlowkski, downtown about 5:30 a.m.
"I have an 8-month-old, so I figured if I didn't get her up for this, the baby would get me up anyway," Gray said. "I've been in Chicago and New York when they were filming movies, and I wanted her to see what it is like."
Some fans were less interested in the acting or the filmmaking process, like the girls with signs adorned with glitter paint pressed against the snow fence reading, "Johnny, hug me please! You're beautiful!" and "I love Johnny."
Still, Crown Point police said there were no problems overnight into Monday morning. Several officers joked that they were thankful for the overtime pay they were getting working in and around the set, paid for by the movie production company.
"It's good for the city," Crown Point police Cpl. Larry Gonzalez said. "We had people starting to line up around 12:30, but they've all been fine."
Gonzalez said he got to take a tour of Dillinger's old jail cell in the sheriff's house.
"They've got it all remodeled and really looking nice," he said. "The time and effort they took in cleaning it up is going to benefit the city for years to come.
"We should be thankful for this project."
*the times*
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