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French actress Eva Green, known for her roles in "Casino Royale" and "The Dreamers," arrived at the Supreme Court in London to give testimony in her legal battle over a failed film project. The sci-fi film titled "A Patriot" was set to start production in 2019, but the project was halted and never came to fruition.
The Legal Battle
Green sued the producers of the film, White Lantern Films, for not paying her royalties, which she claims she is entitled to, even though the project was canceled. Green stated in her testimony that she was passionate about making "the most brilliant film possible" and fell in love with the script for "A Patriot." However, she soon became disillusioned with the project due to budget cuts and low pay for crew members.
"I don't care about the money, I live to make good films. It's my religion," Green told the court.
An Actor's Reputation
White Lantern's representative, Max Mallin KC, pointed out a text from Green in which she suggested the film Mr.
Seal was attempting to make would be "a B-shitty movie." Green admitted to sending the text and stated that she would not have signed on to "A Patriot" if it had originally been presented as a low-budget film. "Making a B movie, a low quality movie, is bad for your reputation," Mallin suggested.
Green agreed, saying, "Absolutely, when an actor is appearing in a B movie, you get labeled a B actor, you never get offered quality work ever again. It could kill my career."
Crew Pay and Naivety
Green went on to explain that the crew wanted to be paid standard industry rates and that this was the main issue with the project.
"I've done several low budget movies, and still, the crew was paid standard industry rates," she said. Green stated that she never wanted the film to be a B movie, but she realized it was heading in that direction towards the end.
"Although it was not in safe hands, if we managed to surround ourselves with a strong core crew, it was going to be a quality film. I was probably naive," she admitted.
Counterclaim
White Lantern Films filed a counterclaim against Green for breach of contract. The outcome of the case remains to be seen.