Three years after “DNA”, filmmaker Maïwenn returns to Cannes with “Jeanne du Barry,” her first period film, this one with Johnny Depp as King Louis XV.
“Jeanne du Barry” will open the Cannes Film Festival on May 16th. The film is unlike any project she’s done before. Maïwenn had to stay close to the script this time around. She also experimented with shooting on film, which meant committing to fewer takes.
However, it seems directing a Hollywood star of Johnny Depp’s calibre was another unique challenge. If you remember, a few months ago, rumors were swirling about Maïwenn and Depp’s on-set tension.
Surprisingly, she does not deny the rumors, via French Premiere, when interview by Thierry Chèze:
"Johnny is a star, a king... and an American! I was told not to let him know that we were waiting for him to shoot a scene, I was not allowed to knock on the door of his dressing room. One day, I did it anyway. And there, he made me understand that I had committed an unacceptable intrusion and asked me how I would have felt if he came knocking on my dressing room door. I replied that everyone does it all the time. Because that's how a set works in France!"
This is news to me — a director can’t knock on an actor’s dressing room door? Maïwenn blames it on culture clashing:
"He was making an effort, even though I could see that it was still confusing to him. I understood that in the United States, the stars don't really get directed. They explain to the director how they are going to play the scene and the director follows the flow. But in France, the boss is the director. So for every take, I obviously shot his proposals, but I also asked him to interpret my own vision, so we could have a choice during editing. He was game for that."
Maïwenn goes on to add that another challenge she faced was the fact that Depp’s French wasn’t particularly stellar, but that she was able to take advantage of the situation, relying less on dialogue and more on her ability to convey emotions far beyond just words:
"His star status, he didn't steal it. For me, as someone who wants a less talky film, it's fascinating to see everything that Johnny conveys through his face, his gaze. Like a silent actor."
You might think Depp deserved to win in court against Amber Heard, but you are also allowed to believe that his on-set behavior definitely needs room for improvement.
Still no distributor for "Bucking Fastard," "Alpha Gang," "The Last Photograph," "Closing Night," and "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd." The issue seems to be quality more than a lack of willingness to buy.