Murder and harassment: Which movie shoots ended up in court and why

Filmmaking isn’t always just about creativity; It’s also about dealing with bureaucracy and paperwork, finding investors, complying with a set of security rules, and solving thousands of organizational problems. And of course, when so many people are involved in a project, even the slightest thing can sometimes lead to misunderstandings and conflicts that cannot be resolved peacefully, and then you have to go to court.

We have previously written about tragedies that occur on movie sets. Now we tell you which film shoots ended up in court and why.

“It’s all going to end with us” – creative differences and sexual harassment accusations

A new scandal between Blake Lively and Justin Baldone has broken out around the movie “It All Ends With Us”. Previously, the cause of the conflict was called creative differences: allegedly, the actress, who also produced the film, began to dictate her own terms to the director, changing the original script, turning the story about harassment into a romantic comedy. . The man refused to attend the promotion of the film and confirmed these rumors. At first, fans assumed the scandal was fabricated for public relations purposes for the film, but it was later confirmed that the actress’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, was involved in rewriting the script. Fans accused Blake Lively of hypocrisy. Recently, the actress declared her desire to restore her reputation and filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldone, accusing him of sexual harassment. Trials are currently ongoing.

“Rust” – murder

On October 21, 2021, cameraman Galina Hutchins was killed on the set of the western Rust. According to investigators, prop manager Hannah Gutierrez-Reed mixed up the cartridges and gave actor Alec Baldwin live ammunition instead of blank ammunition. Due to an error, Galina died and the film’s director, Joel Souza, was injured. Since Alec Baldwin not only starred in the series but was also a producer, he was the one accused in court. The court acquitted the player only in the spring of 2023. At the same time, the deceased’s mother still blames Baldwin for her daughter’s death. The actor himself admitted that he was threatened with cancellation due to the unfortunate incident.

“Elena in the Box” – untimely rejection of the role

We are all used to hearing stories about the whims of actors on the set, but in practice, after signing the contract, the actor is obliged to fulfill the terms of the contract and in case of refusal to pay compensation. Kim Basinger had to be paid almost $8 million after the actress first verbally agreed and then refused to star in the movie “Elena in the Box.” Main Line Pictures was able to prove that they lost over 6 million because of him. Because of this, the actor almost went bankrupt, but during the appeal he managed to limit himself to a payment of $ 3.8 million. By the way, before that, Madonna was a candidate for this role. Apparently, the producers decided to make such a move, fearing that the rejection of the two celebrities would badly affect their reputation. As a result, Twin Peaks star Sherilyn Fenn was cast in the lead role. Note that the film was directed by David Lynch’s daughter, Jennifer. Meanwhile, the film only grossed $1.8 million. According to the plot of the thriller, the actress played the lover of a surgeon. After the heroine breaks up with him, she has an accident, after which the surgeon decides to save her life by depriving her of her arms and legs so that she can never leave him.

“Black Widow” – violation of rental conditions

Scarlett Johansson is known as one of the highest-paid actresses, largely thanks to her role as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. While the contract with the actor was ending, the studio was preparing the last film about the superhero. Unexpectedly, Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney in Los Angeles Superior Court. The actor accused the company of breaching contract by releasing “Black Widow” in theaters and on Disney+ streaming simultaneously. The fact is that Johansson’s fee depends on box office revenues and therefore it turned out to be less than expected. As a result, the studio agreed to pay the actor approximately $40 million.

“The X-Files” and “Destroyer” hide movie studio revenue

Because an actor’s pay in Hollywood often depends on the success of the project, movie studios often hide true profits. For example, this happened with the popular series “The X-Files”. The leading actor, David Duchovny, realized that there was a discrepancy between the ratings of the series and its payments, and as a result, he managed to achieve justice through the court.

A similar situation occurred with Sylvester Stallone. However, 25 years later, he realized that he was underpaid for the movie “Destroyer” according to the terms of the contract. The document included an important point: “If the film grosses more than $130 million, Stallone will receive 15% of the profits from the rental in addition to the fee.” The actor went to court and proved that the real income was hidden from him. As a result, the company had to comply with the terms.