Coming off the high-profile defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny Depp’s Jeanne du Barry, which debuted at Cannes last year, was seen as his big acting comeback. While Depp stressed he was grateful for the opportunity, critics were left less than thrilled about the French drama, as despite commending the film’s direction, it was deemed serviceable at best.
With the film finally set to debut in the US next month, director Maïwenn recalled her experience filming with a returning Depp, alleging the actor wasn’t the most professional to work with.
Maïwenn Alleged the Crew Was Scared of Johnny Depp on Set
Although Johnny Depp stressed he was “endlessly grateful” for the director’s decision to take a chance with him, Maïwenn claimed filming with the actor was a difficult process. While they had a good bond at the start of the shoot, by the end, their relationship was left sour, with the director, who starred as the titular character, stressing “There’s been no normal relationship since the shoot”.
She further claimed that everyone on set was scared of Depp’s antics, stating he has a different kind of humor, and they had no idea if he’d show up on time or not.
The director told The Independent:
“I have to be honest. It’s difficult to shoot with him… all the crew were scared because he has a different kind of humour 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…”
Even if he did appear on the set on time, the My King director alleged the crew were still afraid of the Pirates of the Caribbean star.
Johnny Depp Allegedly Felt Insulted After Maïwenn Denied His Changes in Script
Apart from claiming that Depp was unprofessional to work with, Maïwenn also recounted creative differences between them on set. She claimed the Edward Scissorhands star would come up with new changes in the script without consulting her, but the director refused to give in to his demands, leading to the actor feeling insulted.
She said:
“Johnny came 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 Polisse star also touched on cutting down Depp’s lines in the film, clarifying it wasn’t out of spite but to tackle his bad French accent, reasoning that he wasn’t available for rehearsals. With both of them being left at the opposite end of the pole by the end of the film, it’s safe to assume that another collaboration between the two is out of the equation.
Jeanne du Barry will premiere in the United States on May 2, 2024.
