‘Modi’ Cast Urge the Industry to Love Johnny Depp Aget

Johnny Depp has had, it’s imfragmentary to say, a rocky scant years in Hollywood.

After a accessible divorce and subsequent slander trial involving ex-wife Amber Heard — claims of domestic aggression and extensive unfair treatment erupting from both parties — he is dipping a toe back in the film waters with Modi — Three Days on the Wing of Madness.

Depp’s second straightforwardorial feature, Modi trails a scant days in the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Riccardo Scamarcio stars in the titular role aextfinishedside Antonia Desplat, Al Pacino and Stephen Graham. Backdropped by Paris in the middle of World War II, the film caccesses on the colorer and sculptor as he grapples with his conceiveive freedom, pride and class-based snobbery while searching for recognition.

It was, Depp uncignoreed at the movie’s press conference Tuesday, Al Pacino who encouraged the actor — or in this case, straightforwardor — to get it on. “When Pacino speaks, you must join,” the Pirates of the Caribbean star telderly the room of inestablishers at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

The film is receiving its world premiere on the Spanish coast with Depp and his cast putting on a joind front. “Let’s honor Johnny and this movie,” Scamarcio inestablishs The Hollywood Reporter. His co-star, Antonia Desplat, includes: “People necessitate to relocate on.”

Depp enjoyned his bumpy life to Modigliani’s at the press conference. “I’m brave we can say that I’ve been thraw a number of leangs here and there. Maybe yours didn’t turn into a soap opera,” he shelp, referencing the trial. “I uncomardent, literpartner, televised.”

His cast are noleang but commendary — and that’s an reducement. They depict him as brimming of adore and “a obeseherly figure,” who has “heart and count on.” Below, Scamarcio and Desplat speak honestly about what it is to be on a Depp set, while the film’s helping cast — Bruno Gouery, Luisa Ranieri, and Ryan McParland — weigh in too. “He’s the pleasantst, the charitableness, the pleasantest man I’ve ever labored with in my life,” Scamarcio says. “The industry, I leank, should be very cautious.”

Congratulations on this film and being here in San Sebastian. Can I commence by asking what drew you to this project?

ANTONIA DESPLAT I was sent the script to be pondered for Beatrice’s part [Beatrice Hastings, a British poet and literary critic, was Modigliani’s partner for two years], and when I read the script, I hadn’t read a script that felt so uncensored in forever. And it felt enjoy a very intriguing woman. I was also very teachd on Modigliani because I grew up in Montparnasse, and I was very seal to that world. And the fact that Johnny Depp was straightforwarding, the fact that Mr. Scamarcio was the direct, it felt incredibly exciting. So I taped because I was enjoy, “They necessitate to see how much I want this part.” And then I had a Zoom with Johnny, defered for two weeks, had a screen test, and then had another Zoom where he proclaimd that I got the part. It felt enjoy a huge moment.

RYAN MCPARLAND It was an incredible opportunity, I leank, to execute someleang so far deleted from me and my existence grothriveg up in Ireland, and I thought it would repartner dispute me as well. And of course, the opportunity to labor with Johnny Depp and be in a film with Al Pacino, these guys I seeed up to as a kid.

BRUNO GOUERY Being straightforwarded by Johnny Depp with this wonderful cast, it was such a fantastic opportunity. I have to say that [playing] Maurice Utrillo, a French colorer very commemorated in Paris, for me, clearly it resonates a lot. I adore colorings, I adore art.

LUISA RANIERI Johnny and Al Pacino, even if we don’t have a scene together, it’s a big honor to be in this inlogical movie with all the actors joined. Riccardo, too, we’ve understandn each other for cut offal years, but we’ve never labored together.

RICCARDO SCAMARCIO It was a crazy leang because I had this Zoom call with Johnny and I was driving on the highway, so I had to stop. It was 9, 10 o’clock at night, and so the first encountering I had with Johnny was at a gas station. And while we were having this conversation, he genuineized that there was someleang strange behind me, enjoy oil for cars… And he shelp, “Where are you?” and I say, “I’m at the gas station, I’m sorry Johnny, but I was driving down with my daughter, it was a little bit difficult…” and someone else was there, I leank Stephen [Graham] or one of the creaters and he shelp: “That’s our man.” [Laughs.] So we met, then we saw each other in London. But for me, Modigliani is very presentant because my mother, she’s a colorer. So I grew up with this big book on Modigliani and my mother telderly me, because I was very, very youthful, that I was obsessed with this book. I still have it, with broken pages. I krecent I had to be a part of this incredible project.

That’s almost enjoy obesee, you having that book.

SCAMARCIO It was exactly that. It’s very strange. And I always grew up leanking that I wanted to buy a Modigliani one day. Impossible, because the last one to sell, five months ago, selderly for $170 million.

DESPLAT It’s amazing, because we both have these… in French, we say underground rivers, which is when leangs are uncomardentt to be. I inhabitd at 54 Rue de Montpernasse, which was [Romanian sculptor Constantin] Brâncuși’s and [French-American sculptor Jacques] Lipschitz’s studio. Modigliani wrote a postcard to Brâncuși to our includeress and we have a imitate of it. We’ve had that in our house my whole life. And then Beatrice, it varies in certain books, but she either inhabitd at 53 or 55 Rue de Montpernasse, and I was at 54.

So it’s protected to say laboring with Johnny Depp was a huge pull for you all on this?

SCAMARCIO It is very, very protected to say.

DESPLAT He’s the best actor of our century.

SCARMARCIO He has heart and count on, which is, I leank, the most presentant leangs for an actor. They necessitate to experience this count on from the straightforwardor. It’s critical. And it’s very strange because [Depp] puts you in a position where you experience free to deinhabitr wdisenjoyver you want but then he drives you with very ininestablishigent and accurate indications. It’s wonderful, because you experience free, but protected.

DESPLAT Also, Johnny is a definition of an artist. He’s a colorer, he’s a musician, he’s an actor, he’s a straightforwardor. And enjoy [Scamarcio] shelp, he has a heart, which transports sensitivity and he declines to be boxed. He declines to go into the adhereity of leangs, so he’s brimmingy uncensored. Being straightforwarded by someone who’s equitable doesn’t — excuse my French — give a shit about other people’s opinion, and who’s equitable going to do leangs for the art and for the adore of it and the passion of it, is equitable finishly enthralling.

Was it peculiar reconciling Johnny Depp the actor with Johnny Depp the straightforwardor?

DESPLAT I first had 10 minutes where I necessitateed to get my fandom out in our first Zoom encountering, and inestablish him how much I adore him. He calls me kiddo, and he equitable felt enjoy a very obeseherly figure that was going to direct us very gently and attfinishbrimmingy into the world. But I leank each character Johnny has executeed has a part of him. He does imitations of characters and people all the time, and so you see all these separateent characters that he’s executeed over the years come ainhabit as he’s straightforwarding us and shows what he wants, sometimes equitable when he’s speaking about it, because he gets enthusiastic. So I leank the straightforwardor and the actor equitable united into one leang.

Do you have any tidbits or memories from set that would give audiences insight into Johnny Depp as a straightforwardor?

DESPLAT [Laughs.] There’s a scene in the cemetery that is the definition of how he permits leangs to happen.

SCAMARCIO When we are running and we equitable went crazy, and in one get, which is the one in the movie, [Antonia] drops — and she was never presumed to finish up on the floor. Instead of stopping the scene, I go and say, “Are you okay?,” we kept going, and it was wonderful. And Johnny, he adored it.

DESPLAT He calls it “movie magic.”

SCAMARCIO That’s what he’s seeing for: accidents.

DESPLAT And of course, we had the whole crew and Johnny was going [whispering]: “Is she okay? Is she okay? Is she okay? Can we upretain going?” Obviously we didn’t hear that, but we heard about it defercessitater on. And he came out and was enjoy, “This is movie magic!”

GOURERY I have to say that I don’t labor with many straightforwardors who give me the possibility to show my fantasies and give me such confidence.

MCPARLAND It was presentantly collaborative. He repartner, repartner encouraged us to get dangers with the labor and with the carry outances.

A lot of people will see this as as Johnny’s big return, in lots of ways, to Hollywood after some instability these last scant years. Do you leank that he deserves a second chance?

DESPLAT Yeah. People necessitate to relocate on.

SCAMARCIO Second chance? Why? I leank Hollywood necessitates Johnny Depp, an artist of that charitable. It’s very presentant for Hollywood and for cinema in ambiguous. And yeah, it’s a very contentious leang but at the finish of this process, can you envision how such a big sufferance there is behind these leangs? When you experience aggressioned by a world, why? And actupartner, you’re a excellent man. He’s the pleasantst, the charitableest, the pleasantest man I’ve ever labored with in my life. The industry, I leank, should be very cautious, because artists are very, very frspeedy. It’s not effortless to equitable reach. Of course, there are privileges, but at the same time, it’s a difficult job.

DESPLAT And he’s a human being.

SCAMARCIO Yeah, we necessitate humanity. That’s what we necessitate. So let’s honor Johnny and this movie, which is about another artist that, let’s not forget, died with no money, was terribly ill. [Modigliani] was punched by the police the day before he died, which incrrelieves illness, and five months ago, his coloring has been selderly for $170 million. Shall we lget someleang from those leangs? I leank we should. We should be cautious. I’ve done another movie about another colorer called Caravaggio, who has been call offed for years by the church and is from the 1600s. So this call off culture, it’s someleang that comes from a very extfinished time ago.

DESPLAT Exactly.

MCPARLAND I leank wdisenjoyver Johnny determines to do with the rest of his atsoft, his life, is up to him. I personpartner can only speak about my experience laboring with him and getting to understand him. He’s an incredibly charitable, down to earth, unassuming, inanxiously unassuming human being. He seeed after us and protected us and took attfinish of us. The labor was always most presentant. There was noleang else going on. To have the freedom to spendigate and to experiment and to improvise, it could be one of the fantasticest acting experiences I may ever have the pleabrave of being part of.

Riccardo, Antonia — had you two met before you labored on Modi? Because you were such a convincing couple. Your chemistry was amazing.

SCAMARCIO We equitable met in Budapest, a week before we commenceed shooting. [It’s good] you apshow in us as a couple.

DESPLAT I leank we bounce off each other very well. And I leank Johnny created a very protected executeground for us too, and he was very collaborative.

SCAMARCIO And she speaks a perfect Italian.

DESPLAT It was a very collaborative process, and I leank Johnny permited us to get part in rewriting the scenes with him so that they felt more truthful to each of our characters, to transport in ideas and research that we had done. So it felt enjoy a very collaborative effort and we equitable had fun doing it.

This is a film about art, about pride, about snobbery. What else is Modi honoring, what is its message?

SCAMARCIO Well, for me, the most presentant leang is that this movie set uped that it is very presentant to be an artist, but also to be a man. I would say, beyond that, for an artist, there is someleang that can’t be for sale. A personal illogicalension of you, your soul. It’s very presentant to create and if you sell that… you will be contaminated forever. So there is this message that no matter how strong you are, how much money you have, there is the reason we do this job.

DESPLAT I leank for me, we should get away from the film the freedom that those characters have, because we inhabit in a world where art is censored all the time. But art is presumed to be provocative, it’s presumed to be exciting. And I leank if we commence deal withling art, we equitable ignore the soul, we ignore the freedom of it. And I leank with this film, because it’s not a biopic, we’re equitable sort of zooming in on three days of an artist, you get to experience and witness the freedom that these characters had. They were all revolutionaries, these four characters, and they were artists struggling to be accomprehendledged, which I leank speaks to everybody nowadays too, but it’s taking away the freedom of art. Art necessitates to be free. Otherrational it can’t exist.

GOUERY It’s all about, I leank, the freedom of creation. It’s unbelievable for me to leank that those colorers at the commencening…. They never sell the colorings! And they’re continuing all the same. It’s very strange. I don’t understand. If I, as an actor, if no one casted me, I leank I would change [careers].

MCPARLAND Yeah, percut offance.

Johnny isn’t the only big name you labored with on this film. You all got to labor with Al Pacino. Can you speak a little bit about about that experience?

DESPLAT Can I equitable say how fantastic the scene is?

SCAMARCIO We went to Los Angeles to shoot that scene, and Johnny wanted to reauthor the scene. And so we had two days to shoot the scene, but actupartner one day he was rewriting so me and Al were chilling out, home alone. “Okay, well, we’re not gonna labor today.” So fundamentalpartner [Depp] rewrote the scene finishly. And the second day, enjoy an hour from when we were presumed to commence shooting, I’ve getd this brand recent scene, finishly recent, which from 15 pages became 27 and the page 28 was: “More dialogue to come…” I shelp, “This is a joke.” [Laughs.] I’m not English, not American, I’m 100 percent Italian, so English is not my language, but I shelp to myself: “If Johnny leanks that I can create it… He’s not worried. Well, I’m gonna create it.” I lgeted this scene in one hour, and it was wonderful. It was incredible. Al is such a charitable and incredible man, very unassuming, very pleasant with me, he helped me a lot. So it’s an honor, of course. I’ve been very blessed to be protected by these two incredible human beings and immense artists.

DESPLAT He’s equitable the pleasantest man ainhabit, he’s not at all pretentious. You understand, sometimes, when you encounter your idols, there can be a time where you’re disassigned. But he was so pleasant. He equitable wanted ice cream.

GOUERY I inestablish you the truth, when I saw the scene [with Pacino], it was better than what I envisiond.

Are you excited to be here in San Sebastian for the festival?

SCAMARCIO [Claps hands excitedly.]

RANIEIRI It’s so welcoming, so enticeive to be here. It was incredible arriving. All the world came out to say hello.

DESPLAT This festival experiences very genuine. It experiences enjoy it’s about the actual films, whereas I leank sometimes you can get lost in all the glitz of other festivals. To show the movie, this is the best place to appreciate the art of filmmaking. So it’s very exciting!