Johnny Depp is in the region. Yep, one of the world’s most famous actors is on holiday in Saudi Arabia at the moment, visiting historic AlUla–perhaps the most beautiful area in the entire country.
It appears that Depp is the guest of the Royal Commission of AlUla, as the Minister of Culture & Governor of the Royal Comission for AlUla, Bader bin Farhan Alsaud, posted a photo of the two together on his Instagram account, complete with a caption “good times”.
Mo Al Turki, who heads the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, commented “you are lit” in Arabic, with Swizz Beats chiming in with a few fire emojis.
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In fact, that may be the clue to why Depp has ventured to the Kingdom to begin with. The Red Sea Film Festival has announced that it is backing Depp’s next film through its film foundation, the French period drama “Jeanne” du Barry”, in which Depp stars as the 18th century French King Louis XV, which has already wrapped initial photography.
The film is directed by French Actress and filmmaker Maïwenn, who plays the role of Madame du Barry, with Pierre Richard, Benjamin Lavernhe, Noémie Lvovsky, Melvil Poupaud, India Hair and Pascal Greggory rounding out the cast,
This is the first time that Red Sea, which just celebrated its star-studded second edition last December, has forged a partnership with France for an international co-prroduction.
This “demonstrates the Festival’s ongoing mission to support distinctive filmmaking and champion visionary female talent both on and behind the camera from around the world,” said Red Sea in a statement.
“We are thrilled to be supporting Maïwenn’s upcoming feature “Jeanne du Barry,” said Al Turki. “This is a film that immediately interested us, it’s an incredibly unique and ambitious biographical feature and a testament to our commitment to supporting new talent and collaborating with world-class writers, directors and producers,” he added, further noting: “We hope this collaboration will strengthen the ties between Saudi and French cinema and the first of many international films that we can support that advocate for women filmmakers.”
Depp, we can guess, traveled to forge the deal and then went to AlUla to celebrate, or perhaps was invited after the deal was finalized.
In the photo posted by Alsaud, Depp can be seen wearing gold and red sunglasses as well as roughly 15 necklaces, as he is wont to do.
Esquire Middle east interviewed Depp last year to discuss his last film, Minamata, which was well received in its release across the world.
“I also know what it’s felt like to be misunderstood. It’s an area that I’ve explored myself. In terms of state of mind, it’s when you suddenly feel like you’re in the middle of the Colosseum in ancient Rome, and the place is packed, and everyone’s staring, waiting for you to meet the lion,” he told Esquire Middle East.
How Johnny Depp chooses his roles
“Back in the 80s, I wasn’t happy. I was working on a television series 21 Jump Street, and even though I have always loved the process of acting, there, it felt more like a daily grind. It was 15 to 16 pages a day of just a bunch of exposition and numbness. Luckily, those days have been exorcised,” he continued.
“I turned to John Waters to help me do the exorcism. It was invigorating to do Cry Baby with him, after having been accidentally turned into some kind of poster boy teen idol. The choice that I made with John was the perfect opportunity to make fun of what they tried to turn me into.
“Every casting role since has been like that in some way. With each choice that I’ve made, there’s a specific need in me to play those people. For me, it’s about the process of becoming prepared. It’s process of finding that person,” added Depp.
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