This year’s Cannes Film Festival started with scandal, as Johnny Depp walked the red carpet for opening night selection “Jeanne du Barry” even as he remains persona non grata in the U.S.
As Anne Thompson reported earlier this week:
Clearly, Maïwenn cast Depp in a supporting character role. But the pony-tailed star turned up on time for the Cannes red carpet, signed autographs for excited fans, spoke French to interviewers, and posed for an eager phalanx of photographers. Reviews so far are solid if unexceptional. (Our critic described it as “perfectly serviceable,” with Depp as a minor note who “affords the French production an additional bit of luster.”) … In America, Depp inspires different feelings. At Tuesday’s Competition Jury press conference, jury member Brie Larson may as well have been speaking for Hollywood when she was asked about Depp in “Jeanne du Barry.” “We’ll see if I see it,” she said. “And I don’t know how I’ll feel about it if I do.”
While Depp continued to hog the spotlight the next day thanks to a baffling press conference appearance, the festival itself kept rolling along. Several competition titles screened within the first 48 hours, including the French drama “Homecoming” from Catherine Corsini and the latest broken family saga from Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda, “Monster.” Meanwhile, buzz about the potential Palme d’Or frontrunners has already started for several films yet to screen, from Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” to Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall.”
In this week’s episode of Screen Talk, Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson talk through several of these updates and what to expect in the days ahead.
Screen Talk listeners attending Cannes are invited to attend a special live episode of Screen Talk recorded at the American Pavilion this Tuesday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m. Note: You must have an American Pavilion credential to access this event. If you need help with access, reach out to Kohn via Twitter.
Watch this week’s full episode above or listen to it below.
