We know that sometimes the production of a movie can be a difficult and stressful place, but it seems that sometimes that’s the case even for movies that never get made. Eva Green is currently suing the production company behind A Patriot, a sci-fi film she was set to appear in. The film collapsed during pre-production, but Green claims she’s still owed money under her contract. Now the producer who Green had previously stated was “pure vomit” has told his side of the story.
Texts written by Eva Green were read into the court record to make it clear she didn’t have a very high opinion of producer Jake Seal, who she apparently called a “moron” and “the Devil.” However, Variety reports that while on the stand, Seal placed much of the film’s failure not on Green, at least not directly, but on the writer/director of A Patriot, Dan Pringle, and Pringle’s producing partner Adam Merrifield.
Seal says he believes that Pringle and Merrifield were inexperienced, with Pringle having only directed one feature before A Patriot. That film had been significantly different than this one, as it was filmed on location rather than on a soundstage and did not require the significant construction of sets that this would have needed. He also claimed that the two were “starstruck” by former Bond girl Eva Green, and as a result, they were unable to properly manage the actress.
Despite the heated texts from Green with seemingly strong feelings regarding Seal, the producer claims he only had direct contact with the actress once during pre-production. The rest of their interactions were done via email, but he stated that he found Green “unpredictable” and that she made demands regarding what production staff she wanted to work with.
On the opposite side, Green’s attorneys argued that the movie’s failure was at the feet of Jake Seal, who failed to make proper preparations for the film, including building sets at Black Hanger Studios, the production facility which he owns and was set to be used to film A Patriot. There were also reported issues with casting. Charles Dance had originally been cast in a role in A Patriot but had reportedly left the project. There were discussions with Bill Nighy to possibly replace Dance, but there was no contract in place 20 days before filming was set to begin. There were also apparently some questions regarding Dance’s status as it was possible he might make the movie after all.
Eva Green is suing White Lantern, the production company behind A Patriot, claiming that she is owed $1 million under the terms of a “pay or play” contract which guaranteed her the money whether or not the movie was actually made. The studio and its parent company claim that Green walked away from the project on her own, and thus has no right to the money.