Johnny Depp has marked a return in one of the most prestigious ways by landing a standing ovation during the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival, where his latest film Jeanne du Barry made its world premiere.
Following the Tuesday night screening, Johnny Depp was met with a seven-minute ovation from the Cannes crowd, leaving him visibly teary-eyed and honored. This is undoubtedly a high mark in the past few years of Johnny Depp, following his tabloid-friendly defamation lawsuit with ex-wife Amber Heard. The Cannes debut of Jeannue du Barry marked his first public appearance since the trial.
Depp himself address claims of a Hollywood boycott in the Cannes press conference, as reported by Deadline. “Did I feel a boycott by Hollywood? Well, you’d have to not have a pulse to feel at that point, ‘None of this is happening, it’s just a weird joke or I have been asleep for 35 years.’ Of course, when you’re asked to resign from a film you’re doing, because of something that is merely a bunch of kind of vowels and consonants floating in the air, you feel a boycott.”
Depp did acknowledge that the boycott seems to have ended but seems in no hurry to jump back into the Hollywood game:
“Do I feel a boycott now? No, not at all. I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood because I don’t think about Hollywood. I don’t have much further need for Hollywood myself.”
But clearly Johnny Depp is ready to be back in the spotlight, as not only does the Cannes praise show he is still a well-respected actor in the industry (but the French may be biased, as they love them some Depp), but he recently made headlines related to his future as both a filmmaker and a spokesman. Depp is set to direct his first film in more than 25 years with Modi, about Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani, in addition to recently re-upping his deal with fragrance giant Dior for around $20 million.
Johnny Depp wasn’t the only key player with some controversy going into Cannes, although he certainly has faced the brunt of it, with many accusing Cannes of supporting alleged abusers. In addition to Depp, director Maïwenn recently admitted to spitting in the face of a journalist back in February, with the filmmaker now facing a lawsuit of her own. The film’s finances have also been the target of questioning, with many expressing disapproval over Saudi Arabia-based Red Sea Film Festival Foundation’s partial backing.
Jeanne du Barry follows “the life of Jeanne Bécu who was born as the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished seamstress in 1743 and went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV to become his last official mistress.” The Cannes Film Festival will wrap up on May 27th.
Are you surprised by the praise heaped on Johnny Depp at this year’s Cannes Film Festival? How do you think Jeanne du Barry will fare in the U.S.? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!