Johnny Depp is working on his comeback from his legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard. As a first step, the Pirates of the Caribbean star moved to France. In the historical drama Jeanne du Barry, his first feature film since Minamata (2020), he plays the French king Louis XV. Jeanne du Barry recently celebrated its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But for months, the production has been overshadowed by rumors of quarrels between the Hollywood star and the director/lead actress.
Constantly argued: These are the rumors about the new Johnny Depp film
During filming, rumors surfaced about disputes between Johnny Depp and director and leading actress Maïwenn. Radio host Bernard Montiel reported on the in October 2022 “very serious” location on set. Accordingly, Depp would not have appeared on the set at the scheduled time several times, whereupon the allegedly angry Maïwenn would not have appeared either. Montiel’s conclusion at the time:
It’s crazy. You’re fed up. It’s going very badly. They fight all the time.
Why Not Productions
Johnny Depp and Maïwenn in Jeanne du Barry
As said, these are rumours. Maïwenn has denied these reports (via Closer), but also their statements indicate a difficult handling of the Hollywood star.
Culture shock: This is how Maïwenn describes working with Johnny Depp
In an interview with Premiere magazine, Maïwenn was surprisingly open about the culture shock she experienced on the set of Jeanne du Barry. She describes Depp as “a star, a king and an american” and explains:
It had been made clear to me that I wasn’t allowed to knock on his dressing room door to tell him we were going to shoot a scene. But one day I did it anyway. And that’s when he made it clear to me that I had made an undue disruption and wondered how I would react if he knocked on my dressing room door. I replied that everyone does that all the time. Because that’s how a set works in France!
But it didn’t stop there. According to her description, Depp wasn’t used to following a director’s orders. That’s why she had to make compromises:
In France, the director is the boss. So, of course, I followed his suggestions on every recording, but I also asked him to play my interpretation to have a choice when editing. And he really played along with it.
Even the actor’s French was problematic (for a French film), so the director relied on Johnny Depp’s facial expressions. And she praised her in the highest tones:
It’s fascinating to see how much Johnny expresses through his face, his look. Like a silent film actor. That’s what Jeanne du Barry is about
Maïwenn plays Jeanne Bécu, better known as Comtesse du Barry, who was born into humble circumstances and gained power and influence at court through an affair with the French King Louis XV. The film tells how the relationship gives the 33-year-old king a taste for life again, while the rest of the aristocratic world looks on in horror at the scandalous flirtation.
Jeane du Barry does not have a German start date yet.