Eva Green gives evidence at High Court in lawsuit over collapsed film – saying she fell ‘deeply in love’ with the project
Hollywood actress Eva Green has told the High Court in London that she “fell deeply in love” with a film she was due to star in before the project collapsed – giving evidence for the first time in person after filing a lawsuit against producers.
The star, who is best known for her portrayal of Vesper Lynd in the James Bond film Casino Royale with Daniel Craig, was due to play the lead role in A Patriot, but the production was abandoned in October 2019.
Green, 42, is suing White Lantern Films and SMC Speciality Finance for the $1 million (about £808,000) fee she says is still owed, despite its cancellation.
Green is best known for starring alongside Daniel Craig in the James Bond film Casino Royale
White Lantern is bringing a counterclaim against the French actress, alleging she undermined the independent film’s production, made “excessive creative and financial demands”, and had expectations that were “incompatible” with the film’s low budget.
The producers have cited WhatsApp messages from Green in which she described one producer as a “f****** moron” who should be fired and another as “evil”. She also allegedly described funders for the movie as “a*seholes” and some proposed crew members as “sh*tty peasants”. The actress addressed these messages later in her evidence.
Entering the witness box at the High Court on Monday, the third day of the hearing, Green first told how making quality productions was her “religion” and said abandoning A Patriot would have been like abandoning her “baby”.
In her written evidence to the court, Green said she “fell in love” with the film, in which she was cast as soldier Kate Jones, after reading writer and director Dan Pringle’s “brave and daring” script.
“I believed and still do that the film had the capacity to really wake people up and help them to see that the devastation of our world would eventually trigger resource wars and massive migration,” she said in the statement.
Green added in court: “As I have said repeatedly, I fell deeply in love with this project – not only the role, but also the message of the film.
“I couldn’t imagine abandoning the film, as it would have been like abandoning my baby. It still feels that way.”
Producers say Green had ‘animosity’
Helen Hunt was also due to star in the film. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Green said the script for the film was “one of the best scripts I have ever read” and that she was excited to play the role of a soldier, which she had never done before. She cited the film being about climate change as an issue “dear to my heart and important”.
The actress also discussed some of her other work, telling the court: “I don’t care about the money. I live to make good films, it’s my religion.”
Max Mallin, representing White Lantern, previously claimed Green had an “animosity” towards a vision for the film held by one of its executive producers, Jake Seal.
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The barrister said that in exchanges on WhatsApp with her agent and the film’s director, Green claimed Seal was planning to make a “cheap B movie” and described him as “the devil” and “evil”.
Mr Mallin asked Green if she remembered sending a different text message, suggesting the film under Mr Seal would be a “B-sh*tty-movie”; she said she did.
Green told the court: “I never wanted this to be a B-movie but I realised more towards the end that it was going to happen.”
She continued: “I had several opportunities to walk away from this project but at the time I felt like I had an armour, the strong crew members around me.
“I thought we had these strange producers but a strong crew so we could still make something good quality, but I was probably naive.”
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The move from Ireland
In her witness statement, Green said her initial confidence in the film dwindled following delays and its move from Ireland to a studio outside London, and that she felt she had been “deceived”.
Denying allegations that she was not prepared to go ahead with the film, she said: “In the 20 years that I have been making films, I have never broken a contract or even missed one day of shooting.
“Nor have I been late or done anything but give 100% heart, body and soul to every project I have ever been involved in.”
She added: “Why on earth would I sabotage a project that I loved and that I risked my reputation on? It makes no sense at all.”
‘Nothing against peasants’
Green also apologised for “inappropriate language” and “some horrible things” expressed by her in emails and texts in August and September 2019.
She said one message was an “emotional response” after finding out she had been “lied to” about the move from Ireland.
The actress also told the High Court she has “nothing against peasants” when questioned about the word being used in one of her messages.
“I have nothing against peasants, I didn’t want to work with a sub-standard crew,” she said. “I wanted to work with a high-quality crew who just wanted to be paid standard industry rates.”
A Patriot was also due to feature Game Of Thrones star Charles Dance and Twister star Helen Hunt, with Oscar winner Kathy Bates attached too at one point.
Green is due to finish giving evidence on Tuesday and a ruling on the case is expected at a later date.
Thousands of members of actors’ trade union Equity are being asked whether they would support industrial action over artificial intelligence protections.
The organisation has launched an indicative ballot among about 7,000 members working in film and TV.
Performers are being asked whether they are prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set in order to secure adequate artificial intelligence protections.
It will be the first time the performing arts and entertainment trade union has asked this whole section of its membership to vote in a ballot.
The Hollywood strikes took place in 2023. File pic: AP
The announcement follows the Hollywood strikes in 2023, when members of Equity’s sister union in the US, SAG-AFTRA, and writers, went on strike over issues including AI.
Video game actors in the US also protested over the use of AI, ending almost a year of industrial action earlier in 2025.
Equity’s ballot opens on Thursday and runs for two weeks, and will show the level of support the union has for action short of a strike.
Another statutory ballot would have to be made before any industrial action is taken.
“While tech companies get away with stealing artists’ likeness or work, and the government and decision makers fret over whether to act, unions including Equity are at the forefront of the fight to ensure working people are protected from artificial intelligence misuse,” Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said in a statement.
“If bosses can’t ensure someone’s likeness and work won’t be used without their consent, why should performers consent to be digitally scanned in the first place?”
Mr Fleming said the ballot would give members the opportunity to “send a clear message to the industry: that it is a basic right of performers to have autonomy over their own personhood and identity”.
The union has no choice but to recommend members support industrial action, he said.
“It’s time for the bosses to step away from the brink and offer us a package, including on AI protections, which respects our members,” added Mr Fleming.
The hotly anticipated Spotify Wrapped is revealing our top tracks, artists and albums for 2025.
But how does the streaming service calculate personalised summaries of users’ listening habits and rank the UK’s hottest artists?
Here’s a look at how your data is used.
The platform describes the annual statistics as “a chance to look back on your year in sound”.
It says data is captured between January and mid-November on every account, although it mostly excludes anything streamed in private mode. (Don’t worry, your passion for the Spice Girls can be kept secret.)
Wrapped presents personalised listening statistics, which Spotify calls the “real story of your year of listening”, alongside global figures for comparison.
The streaming service says Minutes Listened reflects the actual time spent listening to audio on the platform.
Once a user streams at least 30 tracks, Spotify generates a list of Your Top Songs. Similarly, Your Top Artists ranks artists based on total minutes listening to a particular performer.
Other metrics identify the top genres users have played, as well as podcasts and audiobooks ranked by total minutes listened. And if you’ve listened to at least 70% of tracks on a record, you’ll see top albums too.
Spotify also creates Your Listening Age, a guesstimate of your age based on the era of the music “you feel most connected to”.
The streaming service says the statistic is calculated using a five-year span of music which users engaged with more than other listeners of a similar age.
Spotify has been summing up 2025’s most listened to tracks. Pic: Spotify
Swift vs Bunny
Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been named the UK’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for the third year in a row.
But she dropped out of the top spot in the global rankings, coming second to Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who secured more than 19.8 billion streams. Third were The Weeknd, followed by Drake and Billie Eilish.
Bad Bunny’s LP Debi Tirar Mas Fotos was the most listened-to album worldwide.
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Spotify revealed Drake was the UK’s second most-listened to artist, followed by Sabrina Carpenter in third, The Weeknd in fourth and Billie Eilish in fifth.
Despite being the most listened-to artist, Swift failed to break into the UK’s top five most listened-to songs and albums of the year.
Alex Warren’s Ordinary was the most-streamed song, and Short ‘N’ Sweet, released by Carpenter last year, the top album.
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