Actress Eva Green has won her case against a company that abandoned a film she was due to star in.
The 42-year-old, best known for appearing in Bond film Casino Royale, sued White Lantern Film for the million-dollar fee she was due to be paid.
The company and its lender countersued, saying she had renounced the contract by refusing to perform and making “excessive creative and financial demands”.
In WhatsApp messages revealed in the case, Green called one member of the film’s team a “f****** moron” who should be fired and another “evil”.
She also described some proposed crew as “s***** peasants” and executive producer Jake Seal as “pure vomit”.
Green later apologised for “inappropriate language” and suggested her “Frenchness” was to blame.
She said one of the messages was an “emotional response” after being lied to about where the film was due to be shot.
The film, A Patriot, was abandoned in October 2019.
Green’s lawyer said she had been subject to a “character assassination”, while the actress told the court that having her messages disclosed was “humiliating”.
“In the 20 years that I have been making films, I have never broken a contract or even missed one day of shooting,” the 42-year-old testified.
The judge decided Green had not renounced her contract obligations nor committed any “repudiatory breaches” – meaning she’s now set to get her $1m (£803,000) fee.
Mr Justice Michael Green said there had been an “overinterpretation” of the actress’s messages.
“The reality is, however, that neither side was prepared to make the film that the other wanted to make,” he said in a 71-page judgement.
“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.”
