Maïwenn defends casting Johnny Depp in ‘Jeanne du Barry’
Director Maïwenn has defended her controversial decision to cast Johnny Depp in Jeanne du Barry, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival.
Speaking to The Times, she revealed: “I offered him the part before the trials began. And once they began I didn’t follow them. I said to myself, ‘I wasn’t there. I cannot judge him or I cannot judge her.’ And even as I say this I know it feels like I’m setting a fire for myself, but I needed to preserve my professional desire for him as a director.”
Maïwenn added: “And that may sound shocking to some, but it was really important for me not to act as a prosecutor of some kind. And today, unfortunately, with social media, everybody has become a prosecutor for every single event that happens in the world.”
Earlier this week, Depp spoke about Hollywood’s “boycott” of him at a press conference in Cannes. The actor stated: “Did I feel boycotted by Hollywood? You’d have to not have a pulse to feel like, ‘No. none of this is happening. It’s a weird joke.’ When you’re asked to resign from a film you’re doing because of something that is merely a function of vowels and consonants floating in the air, yes you feel boycotted.”
He added: “I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood because I don’t think about Hollywood. It’s a strange, funny time where everybody would love to be able to be themselves, but they can’t. They must fall in line with the person in front of them. If you want to live that life, I wish you the best.”
Watch the trailer for Jeanne du Barry below.
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