This year’s Cannes Film Festival started with a scandal, when Johnny Depp walked the red carpet for the opening night selection ‘Jeanne du Barry’ even though he remains persona non grata in the U.S.
As reported by Anne Thompson earlier this week:
Clearly, Maïwenn cast Depp as a supporting character. But the ponytailed star showed up in time for the Cannes red carpet, she signed autographs for eager fans, spoke French to interviewers and posed for an eager phalanx of photographers. The reviews thus far are solid if not great. (Our critic described it as “perfectly functional”, with Depp as a minor note who “gives the French production an extra touch of luster”.) … In America, Depp inspires different feelings. At Tuesday’s pageant judging press conference, judging panel Brie Larson may also have spoken for Hollywood when she was asked about Depp in “Jeanne du Barry.” “We’ll see if I see it,” she said. “And I don’t know how I would feel if I did.”
While Depp continued to grab the spotlight the next day thanks to a puzzling appearance at a press conference, the festival itself continued to roll. Several competing titles were screened in the first 48 hours, including Catherine Corsini’s French drama “Homecoming” and Japanese Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest broken family saga, “Monster”. Meanwhile, buzz has already begun about potential Palme d’Or favorites for several yet-to-be-screened films, from Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” to Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall.”
In this week’s episode of Screen Talk, Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson talk about many of these updates and what to expect in the days ahead.
Screen Talk listeners attending Cannes are invited to attend a special live episode of Screen Talk taped at the American Pavilion this Tuesday, May 23 at 2:30pm Note: A valid login credential is required to access this event. ‘American Pavilion. If you need help logging in, contact Kohn via Chirping.
Watch this week’s full episode above or listen to it below.
