Amber Heard has had a $10 million lawsuit filed against her by the producers of her film ‘London Fields’.
The 30-year-old actress – who starred in the crime/thriller drama film as Nicola Six, a promiscuous physic – is facing legal action for allegedly breaching "performance and promotional obligations".
Over a year ago, ‘London Fields’ debuted at the Toronto Film Festival and tongues were sent wagging by the no-show of many of the movie’s stars.
The movie was then mired in legal action as director Mathew Cullen sued Christopher Hanley’s Nicola Six Limited company for fraud, claiming producers hijacked the final cut of the movie changing it from his vision.
However, Hanley hit back with counterclaims accusing Cullen of failing to deliver the film – based on British writer Martin Amis’ novel of the same name – on budget and on time.
On Monday (21.11.16), the new lawsuit was filed against Heard at Los Angeles Superior Court accusing the blonde star of not fulfilling her contracted duties either on set or on the promotional tour and of conspiring with Cullen to violate his contractual agreements.
The filed paperwork states: "While the inherent tension between actors and directors (on the one hand) and producers (on the other) is nothing new in Hollywood, the unauthorised and unlawful acts of Heard, Cullen, and others – most notably, their campaign to damage Plaintiff, the Picture, and the Picture’s investors – are perhaps unprecedented. Indeed, as a result of their misconduct, which continues to this day, the very promising Picture remains in limbo, hijacked and placed under a cloud by Heard, Cullen, and others."
The lawsuit also states that after the movie had been submitted to the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, Heard – whose ex-husband Johnny Depp also appears in the film – got into an argument with Nicola Six Limited over the use of nude scenes in the final cut.
The papers state: "In an effort to intimidate Nicola Six, Heard falsely claimed to Nicola Six that she had not contractually agreed to allow the use of nudity in the Picture. Heard also falsely claimed that she had not granted Nicola Six the right to the results and proceeds of her acting services in the Picture.
"As a result of Heard’s refusal to comply with her contractual obligations – including her improper refusal to act in provocative scenes contained in the pre-approved script – key scenes in the script had to be removed and/or rewritten to accommodate Heard’s behaviour."
The lawsuit also claims that Heard refused to participate in dialogue replacement and then in mid-2015 she along with her castmates Depp and Billy Bob Thornton allegedly forwarded their correspondence with Hanley to Amis a violation of her agreement not to disclose confidential information about the project.
Hanley and the other producers are seeking a minimum of $10 million in compensatory damages.