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CANNES (Reuters) -Johnny Depp appeared again in full movie star mode on Tuesday, signing autographs and taking footage with followers earlier than the premiere of the Cannes Movie Competition’s opening movie “Jeanne du Barry,” which marks the actor’s first main position since his high-profile defamation trial.
Followers within the French Riviera metropolis had been seen hoisting indicators that learn “Congrats, Johnny” and “We’re sorry” with a coronary heart.
The competition delivered on its glamorous popularity with a parade of stars together with Mads Mikkelsen, a blue-haired Helen Mirren and John C. Reilly making their method throughout the purple carpet.
Michael Douglas, accompanied by his spouse, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and their daughter, didn’t cease to signal autographs as he made his method into the Grand Theatre Lumiere, the place the 78-year-old actor was given an honourary Palme d’Or.
“There are lots of of movie festivals all world wide, however there’s just one Cannes,” Douglas advised the gang. “And instantly, (it is) 76 years outdated – I am even older than the competition,” he quipped.
French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve, 79, who graces this 12 months’s competition poster, was additionally invited on stage to talk to visitors.
Depp performs King Louis XV in “Jeanne du Barry,” directed and starring French actor and director Maïwenn Le Besco, often known as Maïwenn, because the French courtesan Madame du Barry who climbed the social ladder at Versailles to turn into the king’s favorite.
Critics highlighted the plush look of the movie, which obtained funding from Saudi Arabia’s Purple Sea Movie Basis as a part of a complete estimated funds of $22.4 million – however stated it lacked a pulse.
“Even the casting – some would say stunt casting – of Johnny Depp because the king affords a couple of early thrills after which largely yawns,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter.
The French-language movie, which doesn’t but have a launch date for North America, marks the beginning of a comeback for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor, who has made few movie or TV appearances since his trial concluded in June 2022.
Depp was handed a near-total victory by a U.S. jury in his defamation battle with former spouse and actor Amber Heard, with jurors awarding him greater than $10 million in damages.
Lower than two years earlier than, Depp misplaced a libel swimsuit in Britain in opposition to the Solar tabloid, which known as him a “spouse beater.” Shortly after, Depp was dropped from the “Incredible Beasts” film franchise, a “Harry Potter” spinoff.
Competition director Thierry Fremaux stated on Monday that he was unaware of Depp’s picture within the U.S. and since he was not banned from performing, there was no motive to not embrace the movie.
An open letter signed by greater than 100 actors revealed on Tuesday in French newspaper Liberation criticized Cannes for “rolling out the purple carpet to the women and men who assault.” It stated that despatched a message that there have been no penalties for such actions, although it didn’t give any particular names.
(Reporting by Miranda Murray; modifying by Jonathan Oatis)