Hollywood actress, Eva Green on Friday, 28th April, 2023, won a legal battle with producers and financiers whom she sued in London’s High Court for her fee for a failed film in which she was to starred in.
The French actress, whose film credits include the James Bond movie ‘Casino Royale’, sued White Lantern Films and SMC Specialty Finance for the sum of $1 million fee she claimed she was owed for the planned independent movie ” in which she was to play the lead role as a soldier.
According to reports, Green, 42, had appeared in court in January, to testify that she had become concerned about how the film’s production team had been cutting corners, citing how her stunt training had been reduced from four weeks to five days.
The presiding Judge, Michael Green stated in a written ruling that Eva Green was entitled to payment of the $1 million fee.
The production company had launched a counterclaim against Green for what they called a breach of contract, blaming her for the science fiction film’s failure before it went into production in late 2019, saying she had never intended it to go ahead.
White Lantern’s lawyers said Green, also an executive producer on the project, had made unreasonable demands about crew, locations and equipment.
They cited WhatsApp messages from Green in which she described a producer with unprintable names, who should be fired and called another one “evil”.
The judge in his ruling, said that while Green may have said some extremely unpleasant things about the film’s producer and crew, this was born from a genuine feeling of concern that any film would be of very low quality, therefore ruled that Eva Green was entitled to payment of the $1 million fee.
Green in a statement she released after the judgement said:
“I fought tooth and nail to defend the beautiful film that I loved and had signed on for,” Green said in a statement. “A film that spoke of a cause I hold dear – climate change – and warned of the resource wars and mass migration that would occur if we don’t address the problem.
“I stood my ground and, this time, justice prevailed.”
White Lantern Films and SMC Specialty Finance expressed their disappointment with the judgment and stated that they were considering other options and steps to take including an appeal.
Story: Hilda Katu