LOS ANGELES, Apr 1: Actress Amber Heard has countersued the producer of her 2015 film “London Fields”, accusing him of keeping a series of sexy photos of her without her consent.
Christopher Hanley initially filed suit against the actress after she and director Mathew Cullen staged a publicity boycott at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival in Canada, following the producer’s alleged movie takeover.
Hanley’s USD 10 million claim against Heard for an alleged breach of contract and her subsequent refusal to attend the Toronto premiere was filed in November last year, and now she has responded by telling a judge, “This case shines a spotlight on the dark underbelly of Hollywood”.
In a cross-complaint targeting Hanley and his wife Roberta and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Heard’s attorney claims, “A rising film star, Heard agreed to play the lead in the motion picture entitled London Fields based on Martin Amis’s novel.
“After reading the script, she insisted on specific restrictions about nudity and sex scenes in the film as a condition to agreeing to appear in the Movie. Hanley… expressly agreed to Heard’s terms, and they were memorialized in the Nudity Rider to her contract.”
According to Heard, Hanley fired director Cullen and created a “Producer’s Cut” that included unauthorised sexual images and vulgar scenes.
“The Hanleys also caused to be filmed secretly several additional nude and sex scenes with a body double for Heard and included them in the ‘Producer’s Cut’ – also in violation of the Nudity Rider,” states the cross-complaint.
“The secret filming of this body double footage was not on the schedule that had been provided to Heard and was shot with a skeleton crew only after Heard had completed filming and had left the set.
“The body double footage included an explicit pornographic sex scene that Heard would never have agreed to do herself… The body double footage was designed and intended to leave anyone who saw the images with the distinct impression that it was Heard.”
The actress also claims Hanley demanded “continuity photos” of Heard during filming.
“Such photos can include various states of undress during wardrobe changes. There is no legitimate business purpose for Hanley to have such photographs after filming was concluded, and the Hanleys had and have no rights to use such photographs for any proper purpose after filming ended.”
Heard is countersuing for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, among other complaints.
She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages plus a permanent injunction to prohibit distribution of the film. (PTI)
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