Eva Green said having her private messages exposed during a film-related trial has been “humiliating.”
The “Casino Royale” actor took the witness stand Tuesday in London’s High Court where several WhatsApp messages between Green and her agent, as well as with director Dan Pringle, were read aloud, per Variety.
Green described the production crew of science fiction thriller “A Patriot,” which collapsed in 2019 due to a lack of funding, as “shitty peasants.” She said the finance company, Sherborne, was full of “sad little people” and “arseholes” and called producer Jake Seal “the devil.”
Green is suing Sherborne and production company White Lantern for a $1 million “pay or play” fee due to their failure to secure financing. They allege she deliberately undermined the production to see it fail and acquire the script herself, however, and are countersuing.
They claim Green engaged in “conspiracy, deceit and unlawful interference.” Hearings in the case began late January, when Green’s attorney, Edmund Cullen, claimed the film had been a “passion project” for her — and that Green was being unfairly portrayed as a “diva.”
Green, who was an executive producer on the film, testified Tuesday.
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“I have a very direct way of saying things,” said Green on the witness stand, according to Page Six. “I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court. It’s already very humiliating.”
Green reportedly added that “sometimes you say things you don’t mean” and likened her impassioned messages to a statement by Daniel Craig. Her former co-star famously told Time Out after reprising his role as 007 for the third time that he’d rather die than do so again.
“There’s a famous example of Daniel Craig saying he would rather ‘slash my wrists’ than do another Bond movie,” said Green. “He did honor his contract, he did another Bond movie, he didn’t slash his wrists. Sometimes you say things under extreme pressure, and it just comes out.”
Green allegedly called “A Patriot” a “fucking nightmare” and told an associate, “We had to get out,” however. Whether this indicates intentional sabotage of the production and a resultant breach of Green’s contract remains to be concluded in court.
“It doesn’t mean I wasn’t going to honor my contract,” said Green. “If called to set, I would have done this movie, even though it would have been a disaster. I have never broken a contract, I had to do it.”