A statement released on Monday announced the return of Gérard Depardieu in an Austrian film. His agent firmly denies the information.
While an Austrian producer had announced the return of Gérard Depardieu to the cinema in an action film, despite the numerous accusations of sexual violence weighing on the actor, the agent of the sacred monster formally denies this Tuesday, May 21 to our colleagues at BFMTV.
The information, relayed by The Sun, came from a statement revealed on Monday by PR Newswire. The American press agency had reported that the 75-year-old French actor would soon be starring in a film called Travel Agents.
It was to be co-produced by Austrians Norbert Blecha, producer, and Jürgen Pichler – nicknamed Trickster -, musician and businessman. The latter, who was also supposed to have a role in the feature film, had relayed the information on his own Instagram account.
The statement even attributed remarks to Gérard Depardieu: "This project comes at a good time, I can’t wait to get back to work," it read. "I was chosen to play a great character and I can’t wait to bring him to life".
The PR Newswire statement promised a film with a budget of nearly 85 million pounds (nearly 100 million euros), which would be based on real events shot in Brazil, Mexico, United Kingdom, Turkey, Spain and the Dominican Republic. The same statement announced that models Alexandra Pekarkova and Monika Jakišić would also have leading roles in the feature film.
Pichler mentioned the controversies surrounding Gérard Depardieu: "Of course, he has recently been the subject of serious accusations," it read. "Myself and all the actors and the ‘Travel Agents’ team stand for empowerment and empathy".
Since 2020, five women have filed complaints against the actor for rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment or sexist insults and a sixth complaint was mentioned by Mediapart last March. Already indicted for rape, he "was given a summons to appear before the criminal court" and will be tried in October 2024 in Paris for facts that occurred in 2021.
Gérard Depardieu categorically denies all the accusations against him. "Never ever, have I abused a woman," he assured last October in Le Figaro. He had however admitted to having a "provocative, overflowing, sometimes coarse" temperament.
The agency VMA representing the actor denies any participation of the famous comedian.