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Jeanne du Barry features Johnny Depp as Louis Xv in a scandalous period drama set in 18th century France. The film has received mixed reviews, with critics praising Depp's performance and the lavish costumes and visuals. Despite initial critical reception, Jeanne du Barry has been a success at the box office in France, hinting at Depp's comeback.

A new trailer for Johnny Depp’s comeback film, Jeanne du Barry, is now live. Directed by Maïwenn, Jeanne du Barry is a period piece that takes place in France in the 18th century and depicts the affair between the titular character and King Louis Xv. Depp plays Louis Xv and Maïwenn plays the titular role, and the rest of the cast consists of stars like Pascal Greggory, Pierre Richard, Benjamin Lavernhe, India Hair, and Pauline Pollmann as Marie Antoinette. The period movie is expected to be released in the U.S. on...

Johnny Depp is back on the big screen with “Jeanne du Barry.”

Helmed by co-writer/director/producer/star Maïwenn, the 18th-century-set drama follows the ill-fated romance between King Louis Xv (Depp) and Jeanne Vaubernier (Maïwenn), a working-class woman determined to climb the social ladder. Jeanne’s lover, the Comte du Barry (Melvil Poupaud), presents her to King Louis Xv (Depp) through the influential Duke of Richelieu (Pierre Richard). The meeting turns into an affair, and Jeanne becomes the King’s last official mistress. Scandal erupts as no one at Court will accept a girl from the streets into their rarified world.

Benjamin Lavernhe and Pascal Greggory also star, with Pauline Pollmann portraying Marie-Antoinette in the feature that opened the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

“Jeanne du Barry” was also written by Teddy Lussi-Modeste and Nicolas Livecchi. The film is produced by Pascal Caucheteux and Grégoire Sorlat.

The feature was acquired by Vertical...

They instructed her no one must turn their back to the king, but she did so anyway. They warned that she was not to look Louis Xv directly in the eyes, lest others take it as “an invitation,” but she ignored Versailles’ advisers on this point as well, defiantly meeting the king’s gaze.

Jeanne Bécu was not the type of woman to do as she was told. In this respect, divisive French actor-director Maïwenn can relate, casting herself as the courtesan-turned-comtess in “Jeanne du Barry,” a sensitive and surprisingly low-key portrait of the French monarch’s last mistress. That Maïwenn saw fit to engage tabloid-embattled Johnny Depp as “her king” is just one of the many hurdles she set for herself — but then, no one embarks on such a project with the intention of pleasing her critics.

Kicking off the Cannes Film Festival just two weeks after Charles III’s coronation across the Channel,...

Kirsten Niehuus, CEO at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, which funds films and TV series production in the Berlin region, and Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films, which promotes and supports the release of German films abroad, welcomed a wide array of guests to their garden party at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

Three Medienboard-funded films are in this year’s Competition: Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters,” Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner’s “Club Zero,” and U.S. helmer Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City.”

Niehuus told Variety: “Those are three very different productions, but it shows the spectrum [of films] that Medienboard supports.” Tunisian films, like “Four Daughters,” need international co-production funding to get made, she said, and “we believe in world cinema, so were very happy [to back it].” Hausner is “one of the most impressive female filmmakers [in the world], and I think there should be more female filmmakers on the Croisette and every other ‘A’ festival,...

The fever surrounding this year’s Cannes Film Festival finally broke on Tuesday evening as the 76th edition kicked off in the South of France by hosting Johnny Depp and his opening-night film from Maïwenn, Jeanne du Barry.

There’s wild anticipation every year ahead of the official rolling out the red carpet in front of the Palais des Festivals, but this year’s hype hit another level given the swirls surrounding both the actor and the filmmaker, who also stars as the favored mistress of 18th century monarch Louis Xv, played by Depp. The film, Depp and #Cannes2023 all were trending topics on Twitter by early Tuesday afternoon as debates continued to rage — online and off — over the film’s inclusion in the lineup.

Depp arrived at precisely 7 p.m. with slicked-back hair, ponytail and sunglasses in a Dior by Kim Jones tuxedo, flanked security detail while he signed...