Halle Berry Says ‘I Don’t Know’ if James Bond Should Be a Woman, Doubts Jinx Spinoff Movie Will Get Made at Amazon: ‘It Should’ve Happened’ Already

James Bond star and Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry doesn't know if a future 007 "should be a woman," the celebrated actress said this week at a Cannes Film Festival press conference.

via: Variety

All eyes were on Halle Berry as the Cannes Film Festival kicked off on Tuesday with its jury press conference, where the Oscar winner was questioned on everything from Cannes’ new dress code to if she would ever go back to the James Bond universe.

When asked by Variety if she would be open to revisiting a spinoff involving her character Jinx — or if she would take on the role of the famous spy herself — Berry said: “I don’t know if 007 should be a woman.” On the spinoff, she added that “there was a time that that could have happened. Probably should have happened. I would have loved for that to happen.”

Elsewhere during the jusry press conference — which also included president Juliette Binoche and “Succession” star Jeremy Strong — Berry was quizzed on the news of a stricter dress code banning nudity and “voluminous outfits.” In fact, Berry revealed that she “had an amazing dress by Gupta that I cannot wear tonight because its too big of a train.”

“I’m not going to break the rules,” she continued, adding: “The nudity part is also probably a good rule.”

Binoche was also asked about Gerard Depardieu, who was found guilty on Tuesday morning on sexual assault charges and sentenced to an 18-month suspended prison sentence. When asked if larger societal change and the #MeToo movement led to his takedown, she responded: “Of course, yeah, absolutely.”

“For a number of years, indeed the festival is following this trend in social and political life. There have been great changes occurring in the world. Sometimes it follows the trends, sometimes it spearheads it,” she said. “I think the festival is increasingly in step with what’s happening today — the MeToo wave took some time to gain strength.”

Next up was a question about Trump’s tariffs, which have become a hot topic already at this year’s fest with it kicking off just over a week after the U.S. president threatened to put a 100% tariff on all films produced outside of the States. “We can see that [Trump] is fighting and trying to save America and save his ass,” Binoche said, getting a laugh out of the journalists.

Binoche serves as the president of this year’s jury, which beyond Strong and Berry, also includes “All We Imagine as Light” director Payal Kapadia, South Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo, Italian actor Alba Rohrwacher, French-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani, Congolese documentarist Dieudo Hamadi and Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas. Together, they will determine which films receive the festival’s top prizes, including the prestigious Palme d’Or. Under last year’s president Greta Gerwig, the Palme went to Sean Baker’s “Anora,” which ended up winning the Oscar for best picture.

This year’s competition lineup includes plenty of heavy hitters, including Wes Anderson’s latest feature “The Phoenician Scheme”; Ari Aster’s “Eddington,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Austin Butler and Pedro Pascal; Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau’s “Alpha”; Oliver Hermanus’ “The History of Sound,” starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor as lovers; Richard Linklater’s “New Wave,” which depicts the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal 1960 film “Breathless”; “Die My Love” from director Lynne Ramsay, led by Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson; Kelly Reichardt’s “The Mastermind,” featuring O’Connor in his second competition film as well as Alana Haim; and Joachim Trier’s comedy-drama “Sentimental Value,” starring his “Worst Person in the World” lead Renate Reinsve.

Films premiering out of competition include Tom Cruise’s latest “Mission: Impossible” installment “The Final Reckoning,” Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest” with Denzel Washington and ASAP Rocky and Rebecca Zlotowski’s “A Private Life” starring Jodie Foster.

Cannes Film Festival runs May 13 to 24.