Courts

Did No Attorney Explain To Actress Eva Green What Litigation Entailed *Before* She Filed Her Lawsuit Against Film Producers?

The actress calls discovery 'humiliating.'

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Red Carpet Arrivals – Cesar Film Awards 2020 At Salle Pleyel In Paris

(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Actress Eva Green, of “Casino Royale” and “Penny Dreadful” fame, is suing White Lantern (Britannica) Ltd. over a role she was supposed to play in a movie, “A Patriot.” The project ultimately collapsed due to a lack of funding, but Green asserts she’s still owed $1 million under her “pay or play” contract. White Lantern, along with finance company Sherborne Media Finance, countersued for “conspiracy, deceit and unlawful interference,” claiming Green tanked the production in an effort to buy out the script herself.

As the legal drama unfolded in London’s High Court, some WhatsApp messages by the star made an appearance. The messages are decidedly unguarded, something she’s blamed on her “Frenchness.” As described in Variety:

As part of the discovery process, numerous communications between Green and other individuals – including her agent, Charles Collier of Tavistock Wood, and the film’s writer and director Dan Pringle – were disclosed, in which Green admits she was “very direct.” Among them are missives in which Green calls Sherborne “arseholes” and “sad little people” and describes one of the producers on the project, Jake Seal, as “evil” and “the devil.” She also referred to the crew at production facility Black Hanger Studios as “shitty peasants.” On Monday, the court heard that Green had described the failing project as a “B-shitty-movie”.

But what strikes me is Green testified that she was surprised her private messages were being read in court, a process she describes as “humiliating”:

As part of a lengthy cross examination, White Lantern’s lawyer, Max Mallin KC, asked Green whether she was “accustomed to lying in text messages,” to which Green responded that she has a “very direct” manner, before adding: “I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court. It’s already very humiliating.”

So… no one told her what litigation was going to be like? It seems to be when a client — yes, even a famous one — is contemplating filing a lawsuit, part of the conversation should entail ‘next steps.’ Sure, as an English case discovery rules are going to be different than what American practitioners are used to, but… yeah, the parties are gong to have to disclose the relevant documents.

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Seems like some real talk about the process could have saved Green the “humiliating” process.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.

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