Johnny Depp misses Cannes photo call, arrives late for press conference after being stuck in traffic

Actor Johnny Depp missed the photo call and arrived 40 minutes late to the press conference of his latest film Jeanne du Barry on Wednesday. The actor was reportedly stuck in traffic and delayed the conference by around 27 minutes before it began without him. The film Jeanne du Barry had opened the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. Directed by Maïwenn, it features the actor as King Louis XV and the filmmaker plays the title role. (Also read: Johnny Depp cries as comeback film receives standing ovation after premiere at Cannes Film Festival 2023. Watch)

According to a report in Variety, Johnny was stuck in traffic along the Croisette and missed the photo call with the rest of the Jeanne du Barry team. The press photographers were informed that the actor would return in the afternoon for pictures. The press conference, which was scheduled for noon, was delayed by 27 minutes as they waited for Johnny to arrive, before eventually starting. The actor was 40 minutes late.

Johnny addressed the seven-minute standing ovation from the night before where he was visibly overwhelmed by the audience’s reaction. He told the press at the event, “For a couple of seconds, it scared me because we were stuck in a loop. We were standing and the applause and reaction from the audience… the energy from their reaction seemed to go on and on. We are all sort of mommies and daddies of the film. Maïwenn, of course, this is her baby but I was very proud to the see the comeuppance of the result of good work. I haven’t seen the thing, but I know it’s good because they said so. I trust them.”

The reviews for the French film have been mixed. The Guardian called it “an entertaining spectacle” and added that a “preening Depp’s king overshadows [Maïwenn’s] story”. The Hollywood Reporter shared that “despite the daring life it’s based on and the daring casting of the semi-blacklisted Depp, this is a movie that winds up playing it too safe.” While the BBC called it, “a respectable, watchable, mild-mannered soap opera”.

The actor was last seen in the 2020 film Minamata in which he played US photographer Eugene Smith, who investigated the effects of mercury poisoning on the citizens of a Japanese town.