Eva Green Sued for Allegedly Derailing Sci-Fi Thriller ‘A Patriot’
Former Bond and “Penny Dreadful” actor Eva Green is being sued in London’s High Court for allegedly derailing a £4 million ($5.22 million) sci-fi thriller, “A Patriot,” in which she was to have starred alongside Helen Hunt and Charles Dance.
A deal was announced in May last year for Green, whose recent credits include “Dumbo,” “The Luminaries” and “Proxima,” to play the part of Kate Jones, a captain in the Border Corps of a futuristic authoritarian state. Dan Pringle was to have directed from his original screenplay.
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Green, who was also an executive producer on the project, last month started legal proceedings of her own against the film’s producer, White Lantern (Britannica) Ltd. The actor said she had a “pay or play” agreement, entitling her to a £800,000 ($1.04 million) fee even though the project was abandoned. She is also seeking to have the film company pay her legal costs.
In February, Green was told Sherborne Media Finance had taken over White Lantern, and “purported to give notice of termination of the artist agreement.” The company alleged last October that she had breached the agreement, so was not eligible for the fee. Green alleges the company failed to give any information about the reported breach.
In its own suit, White Lantern claims Green demanded that additional crew be hired that would have added up to £250,000 ($326,000) to the budget, although she offered to pay some of this from her own fee, Evening Standard reported Friday.
White Lantern alleges Green wanted to get line producer Paul Sarony, whose credits include “Vampire Academy,” “The Lovebirds” and upcoming “Inversion,” on board, allegedly insisting, “We absolutely need him on board otherwise the ship will sink.”
The production company claims it told her Sarony would be “incredibly expensive” and largely redundant on set. It is alleged Green also sought to get visual effects supervisor George Zwier, whose credits include “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Artemis Fowl,” hired, as well as her own team of personal assistants, claiming, “They cannot work for less and I cannot work without them.” Green also wanted to recruit script supervisor Jeanette McGrath, it is alleged, saying: “Please, we really need Jeanette on board for the quality of the film.” McGrath’s credits include “Game of Thrones,” “Penny Dreadful” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
The film was scheduled to shoot for seven weeks in Dublin, Ireland, starting in August, but was delayed twice. Production was then switched to Black Hangar Studios in England, before it was abandoned.
The production was forced to shut down when she walked away from the project, White Lantern alleges, claiming Green owes it more than £1 million ($1.3 million), and should also compensate them for lost “profits that the film would have generated,” which could have totaled more than £100 million ($130 million).
Max Mallin, White Lantern’s attorney, alleged, “Ms. Green engaged in a course of conduct that demonstrated that she had no intention and/or desire to complete the production of the film. [Her] demands were unreasonable. … [They] created significant distraction, delay and additional costs to White Lantern’s management and their progress of soft and hard pre-production.”
The rival claims have been submitted to the court, but have yet to go before a judge. Variety contacted Green’s representatives for a response to the allegations, but received no immediate reply.
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