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The 2023Cannes Film FestivalleftJohnny Deppfull of emotions.
The opening night of the international film festival on Tuesday marked the premiere of the actor’s French-language film,Jeanne Du Barry, in which he stars as Louis XV, the King of France from September 1715 until his death in 1774, opposite director Maïwenn.
While the film does not have a U.S. release date yet, its premiere at the festival comes nearly one year after the verdict in Depp’scontroversial defamation trialwith ex-wifeAmber Heardover a 2018 op-ed she wrote about coming forward with domestic abuse allegations.
Whilesupporters of Heard spoke out on social mediaabout the film’s inclusion at the festival, Cannes Film Festival’s chief Thierry Fremaux addressed having Depp’s movie open the festivalwhile speaking to reporters Monday.
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“I don’t know about the image of Johnny Depp in the U.S. To tell you the truth, in my life, I only have one rule, it’s the freedom of thinking and the freedom of speech and acting within a legal framework,” said Fremaux.
“If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film or the film was banned, we wouldn’t be here talking about it. So we saw Maïwenn’s film, and it could have been in competition. She would have been the eighth female director,” continued Fremaux. “This [controversy] came up once the film was announced at Cannes because everybody knew Johnny had made a film in France … I don’t know why she chose him, but it’s a question you should ask Maïwenn.”
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“As for the rest, I’m the last person to be able to discuss all this,” he added. “If there’s one person in this world who didn’t find the least interest in this very publicized trial, it’s me. I don’t know what it’s about. I also care about Johnny Depp as an actor.”
source: people.com
