Is it the fault of the
French Touch
?
Actress Eva Green invoked Monday, January 30 "her French side" to explain to a London court messages deemed "insulting" that she would have sent during the filming of a feature film by Dan Pringle, finally canceled.
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The origins of the affair date back to 2019. The 42-year-old actress, star of the James Bond
Casino Royale
in 2006, is then preparing to shoot in the science fiction film
A Patriot
: the story of an employee who evolves in a futuristic universe and works for an authoritarian government.
On paper, the scenario upsets the codes and immediately seduces Eva Green.
But against all odds, in October 2019, the production company White Lantern Films decided to abandon the project.
The daughter of Marlène Jobert and Walter Green, a dentist of Swedish origin, feeling aggrieved, does not intend to let go and decides to sue the British company to recover her stamp of one million dollars (920,000 euros).
Since then, White Lantern Films has decided to counterattack by launching its own lawsuits against the actress, believing that she has harmed the production of the film, text messages in support.
Read alsoHow Eva Green ends up in court to get a million dollar fee
“I say things out of emotion”
Called to the bar on Monday in the context of her trial against White Lantern Films, Eva Green reaffirmed that she had first "fallen in love" with the film project which was to deal with the climate crisis.
Black turtleneck and dark green blazer, Eva Green arrives at the High Court of Justice in London.
(January 30, 2023.) Abaca
Lawyers for White Lantern Films believe, however, that the French actress has expressed "lack of confidence and dissatisfaction" with members of the production team.
They rely on WhatsApp messages in which Eva Green allegedly called a member of the team "evil", "devious sociopath", "liar and crazy".
She also reportedly called production manager Terry Bird a "cretin" and "a complete asshole."
Asked about the fact that she would have qualified in a message to her agent as “weak” and “stupid” producer Adam Merrifield and screenwriter Dan Pringle, Eva Green replied that she could have made hurtful remarks under the influence of emotion , apologizing for his “inappropriate remarks”.
"I don't know (...) it's my French side that sometimes comes out," she said.
"Sometimes I say things out of emotion that I don't really mean.
Of course they are not weak or stupid.
“I don't care about the money.
I live to make good films, it's my religion”, she added, stressing that she was worried as the filming progressed that the film would turn out bad and that it would harm her career.
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“Smearing the reputation of an actress”
For Edmund Cullen, Eva Green's lawyer, it's clear: the financial plan established to shoot the feature film has always been doomed to failure.
“Eva Green was passionate about this project, he defended Thursday, January 26.
The theme of the film, namely climate change, is of great concern to her.
She liked the script and wanted the film to be made.
She went above and beyond for that.”
A version that White Lantern Films disputes.
The actress had however shown good will by accepting "the transfer of production from Ireland to England", proclaims her lawyer, and offered to use "part of her fees to offset production costs".
And Edmund Cullen to conclude: "All this seems to be intended to tarnish the reputation of an actress who has not broken a contract or missed a day of shooting once in the space of twenty years of career."
The trial which opened on Thursday is expected to last nine days.
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