Brie Larson was asked whether or not she will be watching the opening film of the 76th Cannes Film Festival starring Johnny Depp named Jeanne du Barry. At the opening press meet at the festival, the actor responded to a question asked by the press about Johnny's film, following his highly publicized legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard. (Also read: Cannes Film Festival chief on Johnny Depp controversy: ‘If he was banned, we wouldn't be talking about it')
Brie is serving as one of the jury members at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The festival opens with the premiere of Johnny Depp's film, Jeanne du Barry directed by Maïwenn, where he plays French king Louis XV. The film marks the first film of Johnny Depp after his high-profile trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard. Both parties accused each other of physical and verbal abuse.
Now, as per a report by Variety, jury member and actor Brie was asked at the press conference whether she would be attending the world premiere of the film. Technically, since the film is not playing in competition so she is not inclined to watch it. When asked about it at the press conference, Brie said, “You’re asking me that? I’m sorry, I don’t understand the correlation or why me specifically.” As the question was pressed, she concluded by saying, "You’ll see, I guess, if I will see it. And I don’t know how I’ll feel about it if I do.”
The inclusion of the historical drama as the opening film of the festival drew flak. This is not the first time that questions were raised directly regarding the film by the press. Just a day ago, Cannes Film Festival’s chief Thierry Fremaux responded to the controversy and said, “I don’t know about the image of Johnny Depp in the U.S. To tell you the truth, in my life, I only have one rule, it’s the freedom of thinking, and the freedom of speech and acting within a legal framework... If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film, or the film was banned we wouldn’t be here talking about it. So we saw Maiwenn’s film and it could have been in competition. She would have been the eighth female director. This [controversy] came up once the film was announced at Cannes because everybody knew Johnny had made a film in France…I don’t know why she chose him but it’s a question you should ask Maiwenn.”
{{/usCountry}}The inclusion of the historical drama as the opening film of the festival drew flak. This is not the first time that questions were raised directly regarding the film by the press. Just a day ago, Cannes Film Festival’s chief Thierry Fremaux responded to the controversy and said, “I don’t know about the image of Johnny Depp in the U.S. To tell you the truth, in my life, I only have one rule, it’s the freedom of thinking, and the freedom of speech and acting within a legal framework... If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film, or the film was banned we wouldn’t be here talking about it. So we saw Maiwenn’s film and it could have been in competition. She would have been the eighth female director. This [controversy] came up once the film was announced at Cannes because everybody knew Johnny had made a film in France…I don’t know why she chose him but it’s a question you should ask Maiwenn.”
{{/usCountry}}The Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 16 to 27. Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund is serving as the President of the Jury this year.