'Humiliated' Bond girl Eva Green sent messages branding crew on failed film 'sh*tty peasants,' High Court hears
31 January 2023, 15:33 | Updated: 31 January 2023, 15:49
Eva Green called the crew on a stalled film project "shitty peasants," a court has heard.
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Ms Green is suing production company White Lantern Films, claiming she is entitled to her $1million (£810,000) fee for the independent movie A Patriot, despite it being cancelled.
In turn, White Lantern Film is bringing a counterclaim against the Casino Royale star, claiming that she undermined the film's production, made "excessive creative and financial demands" and had expectations that were "incompatible" with the film's budget.
Giving evidence at the Hight Court in London in the legal battle over the film, Ms Green, 42, earlier said she didn’t "care about the money" and that she "lives to make good films".
Ms Green also described potential crew members under producer Jake Seal's plans as "shitty peasants... from Hampshire".
Asked about her use of the phrase, the actress said: "I have nothing against peasants... I wanted to work with a high-quality crew who just wanted to be paid standard industry rates."
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The court also heard that in a message to her agent, Ms Green said: "I am very worried, they are super weak and stupid."
Mr Mallin suggested the message was "presumably" about producer Adam Merrifield and writer and director Dan Pringle.
Ms Green replied: "I don't know ... it's my Frenchness coming out sometimes."
She added: "Sometimes you say things you don't actually mean, of course they are not weak and stupid."
In text messages used in White Lantern Film's claim, Ms Green is also said to have referred to one of the film's executive producers, Mr Seal, as a "devious sociopath", "pure vomit" and "a liar and a mad man".
Ms Green said it was "very humiliating" to have her WhatsApp messages read out in court.
Her barrister Edmund Cullen KC told the court that the case was "designed to paint my client as a diva to win headlines and damage her reputation".
Eva Green arrives in court for legal action against White Lantern Films
On the second day of Ms Green's evidence on Tuesday, Max Mallin KC, for White Lantern Film, asked the actress about a message where she described Mr Seal as "evil" and said that she had to "get out" of the film.
Denying that she meant was withdrawing from the project, Ms Green replied: "If I really wanted to pull out, I would have asked my agent to do so in a legal way."
"Are you accustomed to simply lying in casual WhatsApp messages?" Mr Mallin asked. Ms Green said that she had a "very direct way of saying things".
She continued: "I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court, it's very humiliating. Sometimes you say things you don't mean.
"You say you hate a person and you say 'I'm going to kill this person', are you going to kill this person?
"No. It's a cry from the heart."
In her written evidence to the court, the actress said: "I couldn't imagine abandoning the film, as it would have been like abandoning my baby.
"It still feels that way."
Ms Green finished giving her evidence on Tuesday, and a ruling is expected at a later date.
