French actress and filmmaker Maiwenn backtracks on her claims that the Hollywood star is 'scary' and can be 'difficult' to work with, saying that she feels 'betrayed' by the interview.
- Apr 26, 2024
AceShowbiz - "Jeanne du Barry" director Maiwenn has walked back on her comments about Johnny Depp in a recent interview. After she described the actor as "scary" in the interview for The Independent, the filmmaker blasted "malicious" writer Charlotte O'Sullivan for the article.
In a statement to Variety issued on Thursday, April 25, Maiwenn clarified that she was referring to Depp's "charisma" and "star status" when discussing why he was "scary." She wrote, "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."
She acknowledged, "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. When I made a remark about Johnny being 'scary,' I was talking about his charisma, his notoriety, his star status, etc."
The French actress continued, "[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."
Blaming the writer for portraying Depp in a negative light, she added, "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 [the writer] Charlotte O'Sullivan would use my words in such a malicious way."
In an interview with The Independent which was published earlier this month, Maiwenn said of working with 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. I mean, even if he was there on set, on time, the crew were afraid of him."
While Maiwenn has backtracked on her comments, actor Bernard Montiel previously said that that Depp and Maiwenn were clashing on the set of the movie, mainly because of his tardiness. "I've heard some noise from the shoot, very serious stuff," the showbiz commentator said back in late 2022. "So, [Depp is] an excellent actor, when he comes on set, except sometimes at six in the morning the crew is ready, and nobody turns up. So of course, Maiwenn, who is the director, gets angry, and the next day she's the one who doesn't turn up. And you've got Johnny Depp, and she's not there."
While the project had wrapped production, Montiel stressed how tense the situation on the set was as saying, "It's finished, over this week, [but] it's going very, very badly. They don't get on at all; they're screaming at each other the whole time."
"Jeanne du Barry" was premiered at 2023 Cannes Film Festival and received a standing ovation. The film will be released in the U.S. on May 2.
