Michael Mann has revealed that he is not a stickler for historical accuracy when making his movies.
The filmmaker returns to the big screen this week with the release of Public Enemies which stars Johnny Depp as John Dillinger.
Despite being praised by Bryan Burrough, the author of the book, Mann said in a press conference in London that he was happy change events if it suited the film: "I don't feel a slavish adherence to actuality. It's only when it's magical, or when it means something do you go there.
"The magic of being able to shoot in the real Little Bohemia in Manitowish, Wisconsin was superb. For Johnny Depp to be in the same bed John Dillinger really was in, for him to be shocked awake by gunfire and see the ceiling that Dillinger saw was phenomenal."
The film chronicles the criminal life of Dillinger as he robbed the banks that he believed were responsible for the Depression of the thirties, becoming a public hero.
But director Mann also admitted that to make everything fit in the film he was not afraid to change around the timings of events as well as alter characters.
Public Enemies is out now.
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