Director Maïwenn wants everyone to know that she did not mean to call Johnny Depp ‘scary’ in a bad way.
One of her interviews had a headline that made it seem like Maïwenn said her film crew was afraid of Johnny Depp. But Maïwenn now told Variety that she was actually talking about how impressive Depp is:
“When I made a remark about Johnny being ‘scary,’ I was talking about his charisma, his notoriety, his star status, etc. [I] was shocked when I discovered that the newspaper had headlined that ‘The crew were afraid of [Johnny Depp]’ because written like that, and without its context and subtleties, it absolutely no longer means the same thing. The journalist did not want to grasp the subtlety of my words.”
She admits that the word ‘scary’ was not the best choice and ‘impressive’ would’ve been a better way:
“I would like to make things very clear: Johnny is ‘scary’ in the sense that his charisma and his status as ‘king’ is impressive. I should have used the word ‘impressive’ if I had known [the writer] Charlotte O’Sullivan would use my words in such a malicious way.”
Maïwenn thinks the newspaper twisted her words to make a more shocking story. She claims the journalist focused too much on trying to find drama instead of talking about ‘Jeanne du Barry’ or Maïwenn’s work as a director.
Johnny Depp Stars In Maïwenn’s Movie
Johnny Depp plays the French King Louis XV in Jeanne du Barry. Maïwenn plays a woman from a lower class who catches the king’s attention. The film did well in French theaters, and it will soon be available in the U.S.
Depp caused some issues during the making of the film. Maïwenn talked about this in The Independent interview:
“I have to be honest. It’s difficult to shoot with him… all the crew were scared because he has a different kind of humor and we didn’t know if he was going to be on time, or if he was going to be ok to say his lines. I mean, even if he was there on set, on time, the crew were afraid of him.”
This interview was what started it all. Maïwenn says her words weren’t meant to make Depp look bad.
‘Jeanne du Barry’ marks Depp’s return to major films. It will open in theaters across the U.S. on May 2.
