'Jeanne du Barry' starring Johnny Depp to open the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes rolls out the red carpet for “Jeanne du Barry”, directed by Maïwenn, for its world premiere kicking-off of the Film Festival on May 16.
In what will no doubt provoke some considerable noise, Johnny Depp’s latest film — “Jeanne du Barry” — is set to open the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. In “Jeanne du Barry”, director Maïwenn plays as the title character alongside Depp, Benjamin Lavernhe, Melvil Poupaud, Pierre Richard, Pascal Greggory and India Hair. Recounting the life, rise and fall of King Louis XV‘s favourite mistress, the film will be released in French cinemas simultaneously with its Cannes screening.
The film follows Jeanne Vaubernier, a young working-class woman hungry for culture and pleasure, who uses her intelligence and allure to climb the rungs of the social ladder one by one. She becomes the favourite of King Louis XV (Johnny Depp) who, unaware of her status as a courtesan, regains through her his appetite for life. They fall madly in love. Against all propriety and etiquette, Jeanne moves to Versailles, where her arrival scandalises the court.
The decision to give Depp the Cannes opening night slot will likely raise a number of eyebrows, his red-carpet appearance on the Croisette coming less than a year after the end of his hugely contentious and very public legal dispute with Amber Heard. In what could well spark additional debate, the film also comes with a historic first, being the first Cannes opener to be funded by Saudi Arabia, having landed post production financing from the Red Sea Film Festival. The film is being produced by Why Not Production Company’s Pascal Caucheteux and Grégoire Sorlat, Depp’s production company IN.2, La Petite Reine and France Télévisions. The Red Sea Film Festival organisers serve as executive producers, with Goodfellas (formerly Wild Bunch International) handling world sales.