Cannes, France — At first, I had to wonder if I had run out of time.
Twenty minutes after the Cannes Film Festival press conference for “Jeanne du Barry” was scheduled to begin Wednesday, neither the film’s actress and director Maiwen nor its lead actor Johnny Depp actually showed up.
Did they want to avoid the question? Their personal scandal for Maiwen, who was accused of spitting on a journalist in February, and Depp, who recently won a defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard following allegations of physical and sexual abuse. Questions about the movie they were supposed to promote could overwhelm all the buzz. Both of them had been present the night before when “Jeanne du Barry” opened the festival, but the Cannes premiere is notoriously flattering and ends in a customary standing ovation. Meeting with the press would be an entirely different matter.
Depp, who hasn’t starred in a major Hollywood movie in five years, was already absent from the morning photocall for the French-language drama Jeanne du Barry, where he plays Louis XV to Maiwen’s titular courtesan. It was Maiwen who ended up alone with her appointment, and twenty-five minutes after the “Jeanne du Barry” press conference was due to begin, Maiwen entered the media room with the leading man, but where was he still? was not found either.
First, she spoke about Depp’s absence, revealing that she had originally offered several deceased French actors for the role. Eventually, she contacted Depp and she reasoned that his nationality outweighed her other concerns. “I wanted to feel strong about the actor,” she said, “especially because I’m going to hug and kiss him later.”
My questions were kept to a bare minimum and nothing related to an altercation with the French journalist Edwy Prenel. Edwi Prenel said Maiwen spat on Maiwen in a Parisian restaurant, which Maiwen more or less admitted. Because Maywen was investigating multiple sexual allegations. It was an abuse of director Luc Besson, whom Maiwen had a son with when he was 16 (Besson denied the accusations by nine women, and French authorities announced after an investigation that the director would not be prosecuted. Aside from that, Cannes is a reminder that almost every major figure in the French film industry has a sizeable “controversy” section on Wikipedia.)
But it was all just a warm-up for Depp, entering 42 minutes late to a flurry of rants from journalists before walking to the podium and kissing Maiwen on the top of his head.
Depp, who spoke mostly in a mumbling metaphor, initially spoke about needing French for the role, but was soon asked if he felt Hollywood had boycotted the appearance. He was banned from the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ series In 2020, the legal battle with Heard began to escalate.
“Of course, if you were asked to leave a movie you were in just because of a bunch of vowels and consonants floating in the air, well, you would feel boycotted,” Depp said. “Do I feel boycotted now? No, not at all. But I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood because I don’t think about it. I myself, Hollywood doesn’t need more.”
Depp, 59, continued: “It’s a very strange and funny time right now when everyone wants to be themselves and they can’t. If you want to send a , I wish you luck.
Depp’s film festival attendance was controversial, and he was cheered at the premiere of ‘Jeanne du Barry’.” open letter Liberation, signed by over 100 actors, criticized the festival for allowing him to attend. This letter Adele Hennelthe “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” star has announced she is retiring from French cinema, citing “general complacency with her sexual assailants”.
Recalling that some people think he shouldn’t have come to Cannes, Depp begins a metaphor about being banned from McDonald’s, then calls his detractors “I’m eating a Big Mac in a loop.” Thirty-nine people who are angry at what they see,” he imagined. who are they? why would they care? A few seeds or towers of mashed potatoes covered in the light of a computer screen, anonymous and apparently having a lot of free time. I don’t think you need to worry. ”
Attempts to bring the story back to “Jeanne du Barry” were mostly half-hearted. Depp continued to curse the media and critics, claiming: This is fantastically and terrifyingly written fiction. But when asked if he thought the film would revive his career, Depp was blunt.
“The word ‘comeback’ has always bothered me,” he said. “It didn’t go anywhere. Actually, I live about 45 minutes away by car. Perhaps people stopped calling, whatever fear they had at the time. But where?” I didn’t go either. I was sitting there the whole time.”
