Eva Green today won a £4million court battle against movie bosses who had blamed her for sabotaging a sci-fi film in a bitter row which saw her call crew members ‘s****y peasants from Hampshire’ and dub the producers ‘weak and stupid’, ‘pure vomit’ and ‘total a***holes’.
But despite ruling in her favour in London this morning, a High Court judge did not accept that it was ‘credible or adequate’ for the Hollywood star to blame her rudeness in multiple swear-laden rants on her ‘Frenchness coming out’.
Mr Justice Michael Green also branded the French actress a ‘frustrating and unsatisfactory witness’.
The former Bond girl, who starred in Casino Royale in 2006, was set to play the leading role of Kate Jones in dystopian thriller A Patriot but the production collapsed in 2019. The 42-year-old actress sued the film makers of the £4.6million movie, claiming she was entitled to her $1m (£810,000) fee under the terms of her contract agreement.
This morning a High Court judge ruled Green was entitled to the lump sum, however, Mr Justice Michael Green was clear that being French was not a defence for her poor language. But he added: ‘This was not part of some unlawful conspiracy or deceit’.
French actress Eva Green (pictured arriving outside court in January) has successfully won a multimillion-pound High Court case in London after being blamed for the collapse of the dystopian thriller film A Patriot
Jake Seal (pictured leaving the Rolls Building in London in February ), the owner of Black Hangar Studios in Hampshire, said he did not know actress Eva Green described him as ‘pure vomit’
Throughout the trial, Ms Green had sought to blame her use of expletives and brash treatment of staff on her ‘Frenchness coming out’ claiming it made her say things in a ‘very direct way’.
This included calling executive producer Jake Seal a ‘devious sociopath’, saying it was ‘not credible or adequate’.
White Lantern Film and lender SMC Specialty Finance brought a counterclaim against Ms Green, alleging she had undermined the production and relinquished her contract.
In text messages used in White Lantern’s claim, Ms Green is said to refer to one of the film’s executive producers, Jake Seal, as ‘evil’, a ‘devious sociopath’, ‘a liar and a mad man’ and ‘pure vomit’. She is also said to have called production manager Terry Bird ‘a f****** moron’ and described the men as ‘total a***holes’.
During her evidence, Ms Green blamed her ‘Frenchness’ for a message describing a producer and writer on the film as ‘weak and stupid’.
But the judge said: ‘I understand the torment it must have been for her to have all her private texts and WhatsApp messages revealed in open court and scrutinised for what they disclosed about her true state of mind and intentions in relation to the film.
‘She said it was ‘humiliating’ but some of her explanations for the language she used and the feelings she expressed – such as they were down to her ‘Frenchness’ – were not credible or adequate.
‘However I do think allowances need to be made for the heightened emotions that were clearly present when some of the messages were written and for the fact that these were assumed to be personal correspondence between friends that would never have been imagined to be seen by anyone else and certainly not analysed to the extent they were.’
The judge agreed that the Casino Royale actress (pictured earlier this year) was entitled to her million-dollar (£810,000)
Producers Terry Bird (left) and Jake Seal were mentioned in a series of text messages the actress had said. She called the director of the film ‘weak and stupid’ in one message
Ms Green – who was cast as soldier Kate Jones in the dystopian thriller which was also set to feature Game Of Thrones star Charles Dance and Twister star Helen Hunt – said there was a serious lack of preparation for the film, such as an absence of stunt training.
The court heard from one of the assistant directors on the project who said the proposed studios in Hampshire were ‘like a morgue’ and were ‘an aircraft hangar with leaks and no soundproofing’.
However, Ms Green said: ‘If I had been called to set, I would have done this film even though it would have been a disaster.’
The actress had made the comments, including calling the director of the film ‘weak and stupid’, over a series of private text messages.
The judge said he took into account Green’s ’emotional and forthright personality in explaining her more extreme comments’, in private messages about the producer – whom she ‘clearly detested even though she only met him once’.
He added while the James Bond star had said some ‘extremely unpleasant things’ about the film crew, ‘she was speaking her mind in the private messages, using hyperbolic language not in her native tongue’.
In a statement issued after the ruling, Ms Green said her ‘professional reputation had been upheld’.
The actress said: ‘I fought tooth and nail to defend the beautiful film that I loved and had signed on for.
‘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.’
Thanking her legal team and the judge, she said she had been ‘forced to stand up to a small group of men, funded by deep financial resources, who tried to use me as a scapegoat to cover up their own mistakes.’
‘I am proud that I stood up against their bully-boy tactics,’ she added.
Mr Justice Michael Green announced the actress’ victory this morning at the High Court of Justice in London, ruling she was entitled to the fee, and dismissing the counter-claim.
He said text messages from the star to her associates which said ‘we have to pull our’ or ‘we had to get out’ could not be taken out of context to prove she had terminated her contract.
Instead, the judge said the messages had ‘to be understood in the context of a heightened emotional state’ where she was ‘being open with the people she trusts’.
He added: ‘In particular, I find that Ms Green did not renounce her obligations under the artist agreement; nor did she commit any repudiatory breaches of it.’
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The bitter legal battle saw both sides throwing around a number of claims during a high-profile 11-day trial in London earlier this year.
The 007 star’s representation, Edward Cullen KC, told the court that the actress had been subjected to a ‘character assassination’ adding that it was ‘based on some of the cheapest and nastiest sorts of stereotypes around’.
The court heard the actress had described crew members as ‘s****y peasants’ and labelled the production as a ‘B-s****y-movie’.
The trial was also told that the actress branded the executive producer Mr Seal as ‘pure vomit’, ‘evil’ and a ‘devious sociopath’.
She called production manager Terry Bird ‘a f****** moron’ and described Mr Seal and Mr Bird as ‘total a***holes’.
Mr Seal, who owns Black Hangar Studios in Hampshire, told the court in a witness statement he had no idea the actress ‘had all this vitriol towards’ him.
His barrister, reading the statement on the producer’s behalf, said: ‘I only met Ms Green face-to-face on one occasion at a meeting attended by her, the former directors and Mr Harry Boyd.
‘Other than that meeting, I only ever communicated with her via email.’
Discussing Mr Seal’s time in the witness box, the judge said he could see why some might take an ‘instant dislike’ to the producer.
He added: ‘I have to say that, having heard him give evidence, I can see how it might be possible to take an instant dislike to him. In giving evidence he was at times patronising, sarcastic and denigrating.’
‘I found him to have an innate aggression and can understand why Ms Green and others might have been displeased to be told that they had to make the film under his full control.’
During two days of cross examination, Ms Green told the judge that she had a ‘very direct way of saying things’ and blamed her ‘Frenchness coming out’.
She said at the time: ‘Sometimes I say emotional things I don’t really mean. Of course, they are not weak and stupid.’ ‘It was my emotions speaking,’ she added.
The star also said she was not called to the studio for rehearsals or stunt training, describing it as ‘so strange’ and later ‘absurd with a capital A’.
Ms Green starred in Casino Royale in 2006 alongside James Bond legend Daniel Craig
When accused of being rude to staff on set, Ms Green (pictured outside court in January) told the court she had a ‘very direct way of saying things’ and blamed her ‘Frenchness coming out’ – the judge ruled this was not a ‘credible’ excuse
‘In the 20 years that I have been making films, I have never broken a contract or even missed one day of shooting,’ the actress added.
Ms Green denied any responsibility for the botched film, telling the court previously: ‘I didn’t have to do anything to make the film fail… they made it fail on their own with their incompetence.’
Max Mallin KC, representing White Lantern, said Ms Green had shown a ‘categorical and unequivocal refusal to perform’.
But Mr Justice Michael Green said today: ‘I do not believe that any of the defendants’ witnesses truly considered that Ms Green had withdrawn her services from the film and renounced the artist agreement.’
The judge said the allegation Ms Green ‘renounced’ her obligations under the agreement ‘has the feel of being constructed after the event in order to be able to mount some sort of defence to the claim brought by Ms Green’, adding it was ‘based on false evidence’ from witnesses.
He added: ‘There is no doubt that Ms Green did not make any conclusive decision or statement that she would not comply with her obligations under the artist agreement.
‘Nor could anyone have reasonably understood her to have made such a decision.’
During the trial the production company also claimed that she made ‘excessive creative and financial demands’ and had expectations that were ‘incompatible’ with the film’s low budget.
Mr Mallin said it was not up to Ms Green whether or not she was called to set, adding: ‘What is within her control is whether she responds to that call or not and, in my submission, she is making quite clear that she was not.’
He added that she ‘was so concerned about what would happen if she were expressly called upon to perform’ that she had suggested her agent ‘invent a story about Ms Green being hospitalised’.
Throughout the 71-page judgement in Eva Green’s favour, Mr Justice Michael Green said there was ‘overinterpretation’ of private messages throughout the case.
He said: ‘There was, indeed, much reference to Ms Green’s private messages and both sides were accusing each other of pretending to be in a position to make the film at the end of September 2019.
‘The reality is, however, that neither side was prepared to make the film that the other wanted to make: Ms Green made it clear that she did not want to make the film under Mr Seal’s full control; and the defendants were only interested in recovering SMC’s loan.’
Mr Justice Green added: ‘The case is relatively straightforward, it seems to me, both factually and legally – there was little dispute on the law – but it has been complicated by convoluted and overtechnical theories as to what happened and the purportedly malign strategies being adopted by the other side at the time.
‘In my view, there has also been an overinterpretation of the recordings’ transcripts and private messages.’
