CANNES, France (AP) ā Just a year ago, the image of Johnny Depp smiling and waving atop the Palais steps at the Cannes Film Festival would have been unthinkable to most ā including to Depp, himself.
āWhen you hit the bottom, you hit the bottom, you hit the bottom, then you find the basement to the bottom,ā Depp told The Associated Press the day after āJeanne du Barry," in which he stars as King Louis XV,
This time last year, Depp was immersed in a libel trial he brought against Amber Heard, his ex-wife, based on a 2018 Washington Post op-ed piece in which she referred to herself as āa public figure representing domestic abuse.ā that a tabloid labeling Depp āa wife beaterā were āsubstantially true.ā Soon after the ruling in the U.K., , jettisoning him from both the āFantastic Beastsā and āPirates of the Caribbeanā franchises.
āWhen it all went down, confusion is a good word. Befuddled. Because it does almost reach the Bugs Bunny experience,ā Depp says now. āYou say to yourself: Is this my life? What happened?ā
Some greeted Deppās feting in Cannes with similar degrees of befuddlement.
on three counts and awarded him $15 million in damages. In a countersuit, Depp was found guilty of one charge of libel and Heard was awarded $2 million. Depp may have won in court, but public opinion remains divided on the actor who was once one of the most bankable stars in movies ā with and the #MeToo movement wondering if sexual assault victims would be more reticent to come forward if they might be sued for defamation.
Outside the premiere of āJeanne du Barryā in Cannes, fans grasped for autographs and signs read āViva Johnny!ā On social media, the reception was more fraught. Supporters of Heard rallied around the hashtag #CannesYouNot, arguing that Cannes ā ā shouldn't have invited Depp.
āIf you support Cannes, you support predators,ā , a journalist and friend of Heard. Heard herself hasn't commented on Depp's Cannes premiere.
Depp has seldom spoken in public since the trial, but he granted an interview with the AP on Wednesday after a day of interviews with mostly French media. (Depp remains very popular in France where he has sometimes lived and where the .) He was eager to cast his own battles in the light of Hollywood scandals of the past.
āNever boring but unpleasant, curious years. Escapades. Rumors. Accusations,ā Depp said. āI read far too much about Fatty Arbuckle but I didnāt see any (Buster) Keaton coming my way to save my ass.ā
āOne of the things that kept going in my head was Hunter,ā he continued, invoking longtime mentor Hunter S. Thompson. āI could hear his voice: āBuy the ticket, take the ride.āā
āI donāt think Marlon would have survived,ā Depp said, referencing Brando. āI donāt think he came close to going through something like this. Had he been alive to watch this happen, he would have gone sideways. He would have killed somebody.ā
One thing thatās been unclear was if Depp had any remorse for how the trial ā a bitter and often theatrical legal battle played out in front of cameras ā unfolded. Depp became a hero to some right-wing critics of so-called cancel culture. Asked if he had any misgivings about the supporters he attracted, Depp responded:
āI did notice that people actually opened their mouths about it. At that time, that was brave.ā
āNot for a moment will I regret anything unless Iāve done something horrible to someone, which I havenāt,ā Depp added. āIām not going to regret being taken down a strange road for that period of time because I learned so much more about myself.ā
āJeanne du Barry,ā directed by the French filmmaker and actor MaĆÆwenn, is Deppās first film in three years. MaĆÆwenn stars as Jeanne Vaubernier, a working-class woman who becomes Louis XVās mistress. Depp speaks French in the film, which doesnāt yet have U.S. distribution. MaĆÆwenn, too, is a controversial figure. She recently admitted to assaulting prominent French journalist Edwy Plenel at a cafĆ©, yanking his hair back and spitting in his face.
Itās not the only business Depp has in Cannes. He's seeking financing for āModi,ā a biopic of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani that he hopes to shoot this fall, with Al Pacino attached. Depp, who will perform next week at a London tribute for the late Jeff Beck, a close friend, also recently renewed his contract with Dior in a $20 million deal.
āI donāt know the image of Johnny Depp in the U.S.,ā Cannes director Thierry Fremaux said Monday. āIf Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film, or the film was banned, we wouldnāt be here talking about it.ā
And thereās been plenty of conversation generated by Deppās appearance in Cannes, even in reviews havenāt been good. Timeās Stephanie Zacharek called it āless a comeback than a tepid lurching into a very small spotlight.ā But the overall reception has been warm. Depp, who said he lives 45 minutes away, was taken aback by the thrall.
āI didnāt know what planet I was on,ā he said, smiling.
Speaking to reporters in the festival press conference, Depp mocked the idea that he has many critics, likening anyone who protested his presence in Cannes to āsome species, some tower of mashed potatoes, covered in the light of a computer screen, anonymous, with apparently a lot of spare time.ā
Sitting on a terrace overlooking the Cannesā Croisette later, Depp appeared relaxed and jovial, though his thoughts remained fixed on his legal battles with Heard.
āYouāre not powerless but youāve been postponed,ā he said of how he felt before the trial. āAt that point, I just thought: F--- it. Iāve been lucky. Iāve been around for a long time. Iāve made a lot of films. Thatās, I suppose, my legacy. Alright. I can live with that. I didnāt do anything wrong.ā But he said after years of swimming through āthat horrible molasses,ā he came out much stronger.
Depp said in the press conference that he has āno further need for Hollywood.ā In the interview, he said he remains intent on making more films but outside the studio system. At the same time, Depp rejected that he was ever really a movie star in the first place.
āThatās the last thing to call me,ā he said. āFor 20 years they never mentioned that until āPirates 1.ā Oh, heās a movie star now! We like him!ā
Many have portrayed Deppās Cannes return as an attempt to win back moviegoers after a thoroughly revealing trial. Depp says heās not trying to convince anyone of anything. To him, thereās no such thing as an unsullied movie star.
āYou mean peopleās obsession that everybody must be Doris Day? Even Doris Day wasnāt Doris Day. They have to know that,ā Depp said. āAnd Rock Hudson certainly wasnāt Rock Hudson. I can only try to offer that I feel like might be interesting or different.ā
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
