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Brie Larson had few words about the decision to open this year’s Cannes Film Festival with “Jeanne du Barry,” a historical drama starring Johnny Depp. It’s the embattled actor’s first leading role in three years, following his highly publicized legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard.
She mostly dodged the question when asked if she would attend the world premiere, which is not required of her as a juror because she does not play in competition. “You ask I Which?” she replied during a jury press conference Tuesday. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand the association or why me specifically.”
When pressed, Larson added, “You’ll see, I think, if I were to see him. And I don’t know how I would feel about it if I did.”
Depp’s initial fallout from Hollywood, including his firing from the “Harry Potter” spin-off series Fantastic Beasts, began as he lost a 2020 British defamation case related to allegations of abuse. But he hasn’t been completely kicked out of the entertainment industry, picking up career achievements and accolades from various international film festivals and holding down a lucrative brand ambassador deal with luxury fashion house Dior. Recently, a US jury found that Heard defamed Depp and awarded him $10 million in damages.
Larson has been an outspoken advocate for #MeToo and sexual assault victims and sat on the advisory board of Time’s Up, an advocacy group founded at the height of the #MeToo movement. When Casey Affleck, who was sued by two women for harassment, presented her with the Best Actor Oscar in 2017, she didn’t clap as the rest of the audience gave the “Manchester by the Sea” star a standing ovation.
“To live a life as a woman means to live a life of defense,” she said in 2017 in the aftermath of the fall of Harvey Weinstein. “As always, I stand with the brave survivors of sexual assault and harassment. It’s not your fault. I believe you are.”
Earlier in the festival, leader Thierry Frémaux sided with the inclusion of “Jean du Barry”, referring to the decision to screen the film as a matter of freedom of expression.
“I don’t know about Johnny Depp’s image in the United States,” he said during a separate news conference on Monday. “To tell you the truth, in my life I have only one rule: it is freedom of thought, freedom of expression and action within a legal framework.”
Numerous inquiries during the press Tuesday were directed at Larson, who won an Academy Award for “Room” and star of the billion-dollar Disney and Marvel blockbuster “Captain Marvel.” Should superhero scenes and small-scale art films co-exist at the same festival?
“I just know my point. I’ve never organized a film festival before,” she said. “I take the same level of preparation and care for everything, whatever the budget. The movie is a movie. It’s my first time here. I am sure [the movies] It will have a large scale, and that is what makes this festival so special.”
Other topics touched upon at the press conference included the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike and the jury’s selection process for this year’s Palme d’Or winner, the top prize at Cannes.
Dano, who is married to actress Zoe Kazan, says he is in solidarity with writers, who are fighting for better wages and working conditions in the age of streaming. “My wife is currently picketing with my 6-month-old son strapped to her breast, and I’ll be right there with them at the picket line when I get home.”
It’s a “definitely pro” strike, added two-time Palme d’Or winner Robin Ostlund, who serves as chair of the jury. He also revealed the guidelines he enforces as the financier of this year’s festival.
“One rule, we won’t [publicly] Talk about movies,” Ostlund said. This will be the first year in history that publishers won’t have rumors to tell each other. We’ll keep our mouths completely shut.” The second added, “We’ve decided we’re going to watch three movies in a row and discuss it.”
A journalist who asked about the selection process for the Palme d’Or replied, “It’s every day. You know that right?”
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