“Jeanne du Barry” director Maïwenn is speaking out against The Independent after her interview with the publication, which posted online earlier this month, was headlined with a quote in which the filmmaker said her crew was “scared” of star Johnny Depp.
“I have to be honest. It’s difficult to shoot with him… all the crew were scared because he has a different kind of humor and we didn’t know if he was going to be on time, or if he was going to be ok to say his lines,” Maïwenn said during The Independent interview. “I mean, even if he was there on set, on time, the crew were afraid of him.”
Maïwenn clarified the comment in a statement to PvNew, saying that she was referring to Depp’s “charisma” and “star status” when discussing why he was “scary.” Nothing about Depp’s behavior on set made anyone afraid of him, she clarified.
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“When I made a remark about Johnny being ‘scary,’ I was talking about his charisma, his notoriety, his star status, etc,” Maïwenn wrote. “[I] was shocked when I discovered that the newspaper had headlined that ‘The crew were afraid of [Johnny Depp]’ because written like that, and without its context and subtleties, it absolutely no longer means the same thing. The journalist did not want to grasp the subtlety of my words.”
“I would like to make things very clear: Johnny is ‘scary’ in the sense that his charisma and his status as “king” is impressive,” she continued. “I should have used the word ‘impressive’ if I had known [the writer] Charlotte O’Sullivan would use my words in such a malicious way.”
PvNew has reached out to The Independent and O’Sullivan for comment.
In The Independent’s original Maïwenn profile, the filmmaker was quoted as saying Depp “wouldn’t do what the script demanded” during the making of “Jeanne du Barry.” Depp stars in the film as French King Louis XVopposite Maïwenn as the title character, a working class woman who caught the king’s eye and scandalized Versailles when she moved into the French court. The movie world premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it earned tons of press for being Depp’s comeback vehicle.
Maïwenn told the publication that one day Depp “came [to set] with a new version of the script and I wasn’t happy with it. It didn’t work… So I shot it without making the changes he wanted… which he took as an insult.”
The director also said that “there was no time for rehearsals” before filming started because “for whatever reason, [Depp] wasn’t available.” She added: “He had a [dialect] coach, but he couldn’t work with her beforehand. So. OK. I discovered his accent wasn’t perfect. So a few times I decided to cut his lines. But that also happened with the French actors. It happens!”
In her new statement to PvNew, Maïwenn stressed that she has nothing but respect for Depp.
“I want to be very clear: Johnny Depp is a huge actor. One of the greatest,” she said. “He reminded me a lot of Brando – his genius and sufferings, his generosity and paradoxes. Even though we argued several times on set, he’s someone I totally respect and admire, and it’s important for me to correct my own narrative because I feel really betrayed by this interview with Charlotte O’Sullivan.”
The director added later: “Johnny Depp is a celebrity and a genius and yes, that sometimes can scare some people.”
“Jeanne du Barry” opened in French theaters last year to box office success. It’s now getting released around the world. Depp attended the film’s U.K. premiere earlier this month and expressed gratitude for being given the chance to play the French king.
“I feel very lucky to have been [offered the role] – strangely, oddly, perversely lucky,” Depp saod. “Because when Maïwenn and I first actually met and talked about the notion of me doing the film and playing Louis XV, the King of France — see that’s when instantly what happens in your brain is you instantly go back to Kentucky, where, like, everything is fried. So you realize that you’ve come from the bellybutton of nowhere and suddenly you end up playing the King of France.”
“It made no sense to me, I tried to talk her out of it,” he continued. “But she wasn’t hearing it and she had great courage to take me into her cast. Whatever we did, whatever we experienced I think and I hope you’ll find it was well worth the agony of this kid trying to make a film for that length of time.”
“Jeanne du Barry” opens in U.S. theaters on May 2. Read Maïwenn’s full statement below.
Usually, my interview questions start with, “Maiwenn, how did the genesis of the film come about?” For the first time in a year, I did an interview where the first question was, “Maiwenn, what is your favorite film with Johnny Depp?” I should have been wary from the start as it was crystal clear but I was blind and naïve. As the interview ended, I realized I hadn’t been asked a single question about the film and it was clear this reporter was looking to make a fuss, to find controversy.
When I made a remark about Johnny being “scary,” I was talking about his charisma, his notoriety, his star status, etc. and was shocked when I discovered that the newspaper had headlined that ‘The crew were afraid of [Johnny Depp]’ because written like that, and without its context and subtleties, it absolutely no longer means the same thing. The journalist did not want to grasp the subtlety of my words.
I would like to make things very clear: Johnny is “scary” in the sense that his charisma and his status as “king” is impressive. I should have used the word “impressive” if I had known Charlotte O’Sullivan would use my words in such a malicious way.
Something is obvious to me: Charlotte O’Sullivan doesn’t give a damn about films and cinema, and she only wants to start controversies. She obviously doesn’t like cinema. While we are in the middle of the #MeToo movement, here is a woman journalist who only spoke to me about the men in my film or in my life – through the prism of men. As if I only existed thanks to men. Not a single question about the making of my film, nor my inspirations or anything else. And then they complain that there aren’t enough female directors. She did not want to talk about me or my work itself.This is what I personally call fake feminism!
Again, I want to be very clear: Johnny Depp is a huge actor. One of the greatest. He reminded me a lot of Brando – his genius and sufferings, his generosity and paradoxes. Even though we argued several times on set, he’s someone I totally respect and admire, and it’s important for me to correct my own narrative because I feel really betrayed by this interview with Charlotte O’Sullivan.
