In 2023, Johnny Depp will walk the red carpet at the next edition of the Cannes Film Festival, on the occasion of the film Jeanne-du-Barry that he stars Likewise, the famous actor will make an appearance at the prestigious French event with the intention of seeking financing for his next film as a director (a biopic about the Italian painter Amadeo Modigliani). So, without a doubt, they will be important dates for the career of the Oscar nominee, although obviously they will not be without controversy, starting with the fact that Cannes welcomed this actor previously noted as an alleged aggressor of women.
However, in the eyes of the organizers of Cannes 2023, it does not matter how stained the image of Johnny Depp continues to be. This Monday, the director of the festival, Thierry Fremaux, declared at a press conference that Depp matters to him as an actor and not as the figure so mediated in 2022 as a result of the defamation trial he held against his ex-wife Amber Heard; legal dispute that culminated in a favorable verdict for the actor.
“I am the last person who can talk about all this. If there’s one person in this world who found no interest in that highly publicized trial, it’s me.. I don’t know what it’s about,” stressed Frémaux (via Variety). «I care about Johnny Depp as an actor«.
And I add:
«I don’t know what the image of Johnny Depp is like in the US To tell the truth, in my life, I only have one rule, which is the freedom to think, and the freedom of expression and to act within a legal framework. If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a movie, or the movie had been banned, we wouldn’t be here talking about it.”
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Jeanne-du-Barry is a period film, set in the 18th century, directed and starred by the French filmmaker Maïwenn. She plays Jeanne Vaubernier, a woman of humble origins who, thanks to her intelligence and charm, manages to climb socially and become the favorite of King Louis XV, here personified by Johnny Depp. The film will have its world premiere in Cannes 2023, out of competition and being the opening screening of the event.
«We saw the Maïwenn film and it could have been in competition. She would have been the eighth director [que contiende por la Palma de Oro en esta edición]», also declared Frémaux this Monday. “This [polémica sobre Depp] it came up after the movie was announced in Cannes because everyone knew that Johnny had made a movie in France. I do not know why [la directora] it chose him, but it is a question that should be asked of Maiwenn ».
On the other hand, the veteran director of the festival also responded to the accusations of Adele Haenel (Portrait of a woman on fire) who in a recently published letter denounced the impunity enjoyed by various sexual offenders in the French film industry, and even insinuated that Cannes was a space devoid of conscience and focused on continuing to pay tribute to them.
«[Haenel] he didn’t think that when he came to Cannes, unless he suffered some crazy dissonanceFremaux noted. «People use Cannes to talk about certain topics and it’s normal because we give them a platform. But if you [miembros de la prensa] They thought it was a festival for rapists, they wouldn’t be here listening to me.. They wouldn’t be complaining that they can’t get tickets to the screenings.”
The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 16 to 27, 2023.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to lose myself too. Preferably in a movie theater.