‘Jeanne du Barry’ director Maiwenn on finding common language with actor Johnny Depp
Maiwenn, a well-known actress turned filmmaker, debuted her latest film, “Jeanne du Barry,” at the Haifa International Film Festival in Israel. The film, which is also being released in Israeli theaters, stars Johnny Depp as King Louis XV in his first French-speaking role, with Maiwenn playing the titular courtesan who earns favor with the monarch.
While the film, an entertaining period drama, dives into the intrigues of the French royal court, Maiwenn refused to reveal any off-screen secrets in a pre-premiere Zoom interview.
It was intriguing to speculate whether Depp, who is embroiled in a protracted legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard, saw connections between his portrayal of a king with limited privacy and his own experiences navigating the constant media spotlight.
“Our first meeting about the film was before the whole court case but of course, he was already very famous,” she said. “I didn’t ask if he felt close to the role of the king, and it wasn’t my place to ask. What was important to me in our first meeting was to see him close up, without all the artificial things, without a hat, without glasses or makeup, I wanted to see how his skin looked from up close, and what the dynamic and attraction was between us, if he was a nice and modest person, if we could find a common language.
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“And that’s what happened that first time. We may have talked a bit about his trial as time went on, but I didn’t want to insist on talking about it, because that was his personal life and I kept my distance. I didn’t talk about my personal life much, either, and I didn’t want him to know much about me, just as I didn’t want to know too much about his personal life. On the contrary, to preserve the dynamic and natural attraction between us, the desire, I felt we had to keep a certain distance between us and honor that, and not know everything about each other.”
Jeanne du Barry’ director Maiwenn on finding common language with actor Johnny Depp
