We finally know a little more about Maïwenn’s new film, Jeanne du Barry. The director spoke about it for the first time in the columns of the JDD and announces a film which could displease the purists.
This is one of the films that should arouse the most curiosity in 2023: Jeanne du Barry, new film by Maïwenn, with Johnny Depp, in French in the text!
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The director and screenwriter’s first interview on the subject confirms that the film should inspire a lot of comments. Maïwenn says it bluntly, in Le JDD: “The purists may criticize me, I am preparing for it, but I completely assume the angle I have chosen.”
And to add:A good film is above all a work that respects the obsession of its director and who dares to add lyricism, poetry and even humor“.
Le Journal du Dimanche wanted to know if this film could be compared to a work like Marie-Antoinette by Sofia Coppola. “Our only point in common is to have wanted to take liberties, but my staging is neither pop nor rock. I wanted to tell a story about a magnificent loser who is on her way to ruin.“
On this occasion, two unpublished photos were unveiled, the first of which with Maïwenn in the costume of Jeanne du Barry. In addition to directing, she has indeed slipped into the character’s corset: “No one can imagine what torture this is [d’être serrée dans le corset de la Du Barry] !“, she launches, with her outspokenness.
I knew that this adventure would be a very big test
About Johnny Depp, who, it is confirmed, will speak French in the film (“my film isn’t very talkative and therefore didn’t have a whole lot of texts to say“), the director talks about her chameleon side: “He really likes to transform, he’s a real chameleon: he’s always very keen on looking for his character“.
There is no question in this article of rumors about the alleged disagreement between Depp and Maïwenn, but the filmmaker indicates that the film was a “very big test“.”I knew that this adventure would be a very big test. I hold on because Jeanne is more important than anything“, she said in the columns of the JDD.
For the record, this film will mark the return of Johnny Depp to the cinema. After an ultra-publicized lawsuit (and a film already shot on the subject) opposing him to his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, the actor returned to the cinema sets last summer for this film shot partly in the Palace of Versailles.
The feature film is currently being edited, and has no specific release date. The film certainly poses as a contender for the Cannes or Venice Festival.
Johnny Depp embodies Louis XV and Maïwenn the last favorite of the king. Alongside them, Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Richard, Melvil Poupaud, Noémie Lvovsky, Pascal Greggory and India Hair. This is Johnny Depp’s first shoot in three years and his dismissal from Fantastic Beasts.
Jeanne du Barry presents itself as an ambitious drama, freely inspired by the life of the one who is known as the last mistress of Louis XV at Versailles, after Madame de Pompadour.
Jeanne, daughter of the people eager for culture and pleasures, uses her charms and her intelligence to climb the ladder of society one by one. She becomes the favorite of King Louis XV, who is unaware of her status as a courtesan but finds with her the taste for life.
The two fall madly in love. Against all propriety, Jeanne moved to Versailles. And his arrival scandalizes the court…
Released in 2023 at the cinema.