MADISON, Wis. -- The biggest gathering of authentic "Public Enemies" vehicles since they were used in filming will be featured in a classic car show at Portage Theatres on July 5 to coincide with the movie's opening weekend.

SLIDESHOW: Photos Of Picture Cars On 'Public Enemies' Set

The Michael Mann film, which stars Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard, tells the story of the legendary Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger (Depp) and the FBI agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), who hunted him. The film opens nationwide on July 1.

The movie is highly anticipated in Wisconsin, where crews filmed in places like Columbus, Oshkosh, Madison and the Milwaukee area last summer. While many fans and curious spectators flocked to the Wisconsin film sets hoping to catch of glimpse of Depp, two residents found themselves closer to the action than they expected, working right alongside Hollywood stars.

But Carl Peronto, of Cottage Grove, and Marv Tomlinson, of Poynette, nearly missed the chance.

Tomlinson, a longtime antique car owner, heard about the Universal Studios casting call last winter and that the studio was looking for vintage cars to be in the film, but he didn't make the trip to Madison.

Luckily his friend Peronto did attend the casting call. Peronto was too tall to meet the requirements for an extra, but he knew Tomlinson had cars that would likely qualify.

He called Tomlinson and asked if he could get photos of two of his vintage cars -- a 1934 Ford Coupe and a 1930 Ford delivery truck -- to send to Universal for consideration.

"(Carl said), 'I really want to be involved in this movie, so if one of your cars qualify, can I be the driver?'" Tomlinson recalled.

"So I sent the pictures in, and (Universal) wanted both of my cars. So Carl drove one when it was on the set and drove the other one," Tomlinson said.

Universal wanted both cars in Columbus for filming.

"And we thought it was going to be the two days we were scheduled for Columbus -- and it turned out I was on the set 28 days for the filming," Peronto said.

"I started out in Columbus and only expected to be in Columbus. They asked me to go to Crown Point, Ind., and Chicago and I refused to go and I thought that'd kind of ended my movie career," Tomlinson said.

But Universal kept asking them back for shoots.

"Then when Oshkosh came up, they requested both my cars up in Oshkosh. So I took both my vehicles to Oshkosh. When I was at Oshkosh, they asked me to go to Manitowish Waters to Little Bohemia, and I had my '34 Ford Coupe in Little Bohemia for the seven days of filming up there."

Next, they headed to filming locations in Beaver Dam and Chicago.

"The last six weeks I had both my cars down in Chicago. And they kept them in a big warehouse down there, and I was on the set pretty much, if not every day every other day, from then until the end of filming in June," Tomlinson said.

He spent a total of 26 days on the shoot. In the end, Tomlinson said Universal's hospitality was just too enticing to turn down.

"It was way more involvement than I was expecting, and if they didn't treat us great I wouldn't have been on the set as much. But they treated you so good -- they made you feel so welcome and important to their filming that I would've had a hard time refusing," Tomlinson said. "It was great working for Universal studios -- they couldn't have treated me any better. They fed us like we were on a cruise ship. They were very kind, very considerate."

Peronto was similarly impressed by the studio's generosity.

"You were fed and your hotel and everything was taken care of by Universal -- they know how to throw a party and take care of people. I would definitely do it again if they asked me. Without a doubt I would do it again," Peronto said.

But despite the studio perks, there were strict rules on the set and Tomlinson and Peronto worked long hours.

"There were two days I was on the set for about 22 hours. It wasn't hard work -- my hardest job was trying to keep my eyes open at night," Tomlinson said.

Peronto said he had to adjust to the night shoots -- which made up about half of the shoots he was involved with.

"It's like working nights when you're used to working days. You sleep in the day and you're up all night. Most of the time you'd start when the sun was about to go down, 5 or 6 p.m., and that's when they'd set up for the night shoot. And as soon as the sun came up at 5 (a.m.), you were done. So it was all night long," he said. "But when you were thinking about what you were doing, it wasn't bad at all. I wouldn't complain about anything because they'd treat you like a star almost."

Tomlinson said there were strict rules on the set to make sure no one ruined any shots by wandering around the set.

They weren't allowed to have cell phones or cameras on the set. Picture car drivers had to be available all the time and remain by their vehicle.

However, both said they had a great time during the whole shoot, which they called a "once-in-a-lifetime experience." They said they'd absolutely do it all again if they had the chance.

Tomlinson said as crews got to know them and trust them, they were given a lot more freedom on the set.

"In the beginning, we showed up the night before the filming, and they needed parts for Johnny Depp's car -- his '34 Ford -- and Marv's been in antique cars probably since the 70s, and he had the parts for Johnny Depp's car," Peronto recalled. "We went and picked up the parts for the car so they could have it running in the morning shoot, and they promised they'd put both the cars we were driving in one of the key scenes the next day or the day after. And they held up to their promise. They put us in the bank robbery scene that they filmed up in Columbus, and after that we had a really good working relationship with the picture car people from Universal."

In Beaver Dam, Tomlinson was surprised when the filmmakers asked if Depp could drive his car.

"Johnny Depp did drive my car in one scene that took place in Beaver Dam that was portraying a Tuscson, Ariz., scene. And usually a Universal employee doesn't drive any cars other than a Universal car. So I was very surprised when they asked me if Johnny Depp could drive my car," he said.

Peronto worked as a stand-in for Depp during a scene shot in Beaver Dam and also set up the car for Depp between takes.

Not surprisingly, Depp was very protected on the set and it wasn't easy to get near him.

"(Depp) didn't spend a whole lot of time on the set. Christian Bale was there a little more, and (was) more accessible I think. With Depp, they brought him in just when they needed him. Most of the time he'd jump in his SUV with his bodyguard and they'd whisk him away, so it was tough to get close to him."

Depp might have been elusive on the set, but when he was there, everyone noticed, Peronto said.

"It was just kind of an honor to be around (Depp), I think, for most people on the set. When he came on the set, all the people who were working there would get a big smile on their face and they knew it was special working with him," Peronto said.

Both Peronto and Tomlinson said that Depp's performance as Dillinger is remarkable. They also had high praise for Bale and Cotillard's performances.

Peronto said it was a pleasure to watch Depp and Bale interact in scenes as Dillinger and Purvis. He added that Depp's performance nailed Dillinger's persona.

"Dillinger was kind of outspoken, kind of the wise guy (and that comes across in Depp's performance)," Peronto said. "In one scene, (Dillinger) is kind of leaning on the shoulder of the warden when he's doing the interview with reporters, and that's a famous photograph so they re-enacted that photograph of that interview, and so Depp has his arm up leaning on the warden as he's talking and (as playing Dillinger) he had a little Indiana twang to his voice."

Other than briefly talking with Depp while setting up the car for him, Peronto said he shared a funny experience with Bale while they were in Little Bohemia.

The studio had food set out for actors and the crew, and Peronto said he and Bale were enjoying a cookout in the back during a night shoot when a fan snuck past security and onto the set.

"And she came between us and she wanted to take his picture, wanted his autograph. She looked like she was going to jump on him -- she was like an obsessed fan," Peronto recalled. "It was funny because she wasn't a little girl; she was a mature woman, but she was just so excited to be close to him."

"It was fun for me to be there and see (Bale's) reaction. She was so flustered, she started asking him kind of odd questions that he wouldn't expect, and he said, 'Out of all the questions you're going to ask, I can't believe you'd ask that.' She was just so overwhelmed I think. She started to make a fool of herself kind of, and then finally the publicist came over and took her away. (Bale) was really nice about it. He had a big smile on his face," Peronto recalled.

Universal invited both Tomlinson and Peronto to the Midwest premiere of the movie in Chicago on June 18. Both said the finished film lived up to their high expectations and said they thought audiences would love the film.

The Chicago premiere was great -- it's going to be a great movie. Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Marion Cotillard just played absolutely great parts in it," Tomlinson said.

Tomlinson and Peronto organized the "Public Enemies" classic car show set for July 5 at Portage Theatres. They said more than 30 classic cars used in the filming are expected to be on display.

Mark Love, owner of a traveling display featuring authentic newspaper articles, pictures and other John Dillinger memorabilia was planning to bring his display from Arizona to the Portage Theatres event, but the Dillinger display has been canceled for the Portage event.

The event runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 5 at Portage Theatres at 322 W. Wisconsin St. in Portage.