Photo: Stéphanie Branchu
Johnny Deppfans will soon have a chance to see his first movie in three years.
On Wednesday, Vertical announced it has acquired North American distribution rights toJeanne Du Barry, the French-language movie that opened the 2023Cannes Film Festivaland made for 59-year-old Depp’s first film since his controversial defamation trial with ex-wifeAmber Heard.
The film received an initial release in France that coincided with its world premiere at the festival on May 17 and made $2.56 million in its first week at the French box office — a decade-best for a movie that opened the international film festival, according to a press release.
“Making Jeanne his last official mistress, scandal erupts as no one at Court will accept a girl from the streets into their rarified world,” the synopsis reads.
Courtesy of Vertical
At a press conference for the film during the international film festival, the actor said he “thought it was very brave of [director Maïwenn] tochoose some hillbilly from Kentucky” to take on the royal role, which required him to learn all of his lines in French.
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“It’s like running through the raindrops, but my question to Maïwenn when we first met was, ‘Maybe you want to try a French guy as King Louis XV?’ " Depp continued. “She thought about it for a second. She said, ‘I thought about that too. No, I want you to do it.’ "
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“So yeah, I was instantly up for it, wanted to do it. Just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t, I don’t know, stepping out of my box and into someone else’s,” Depp continued of the role. “Getting into other people’s things, culture, thoughts, weirdness. But I’m glad she persisted and I’m glad I persisted.”
Maïwenn cowrote the movie with screenwriters Teddy Lussi-Modeste and Nicolas Livecchi. Aside from her and Depp, the film also stars French actors Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Richard, Melvil Poupaud, and Pascal Greggory.
Jeanne du Barrydoes not yet have a North American release date.
source: people.com
