French actor Eva Green wins $1M in spat over ‘B movie’

By BRIAN MELLEY
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Eva Green was awarded $1 million Friday by a British court in her dispute over the collapse of a project she feared was destined to become a “B movie” that could ruin her career.

A High Court judge ruled in favor of the French actor in her lawsuit against the producers of “A Patriot,” a sci-fi thriller that collapsed in 2019.

England-based film production company White Lantern Film countersued, portraying Green during a January trial as a diva who made “excessive creative and financial demands” and torpedoed the production.

Justice Michael Green ruled that the actor was entitled to her 810,000 pound fee and he dismissed the counterclaim.

“Ms. Green did not renounce her obligations under the artist agreement; nor did she commit any repudiatory breaches of it,” the judge said.

Green, 42, who played Vesper Lynd in the 2006 version of the James Bond thriller “Casino Royale,” said she “fell in love” with the script for “A Patriot” and its environmental message but became increasingly concerned as corners were cut and production moved from Ireland to England.

“When an actor has appeared in a B movie, they are labeled as a B actor, you never get offered quality work ever again,” she testified.