Amber Heard Sued for $10 Million for Undermining ‘London Fields’

Actress Amber Heard was barely out of the headlines after a divorce and abuse allegations against Johnny Depp before she ended up back in the spotlight this week. Now, the producers of the film “London Fields” are suing her for conspiring to undermine the movie and breaching her obligations.

The movie was scheduled to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last year but got stuck in a legal dispute between the producers and the director. And now, more than a year later, Amber Heard is next in line to go to court. The ongoing drama could have been part of the movie itself. In the film, Heard plays a clairvoyant femme fatale who has seen her own murder but doesn’t know who will kill her. Billy Bob Thornton, Jim Sturgess, and Amber’s then-husband Johnny Depp also have parts in the movie.

The real life drama started when the director and the actors spoke out against  the film’s final edit, which according to them was far from the director’s original vision. Director Matthew Cullen was so upset that he sued producer Chris Hanley, who apparently saw the movie going in a different direction. And for some reason, both versions were prepared independently, as the actors were asked to read lines for two different variations. After the original lawsuit, the film’s premiere at the Toronto Festival was canceled. Then the production company sued back, saying that Cullen and the main actors were trying to sabotage and undermine the film.

London Fields producers suing Amber Heard for $10million.. #amberheard #londonfields https://t.co/XomvRWlQkS

— Flickreel (@Flickreel) November 21, 2016

The complaint against Heard, filed on Monday, says that she refused to shoot certain scenes though they were in the script, refused to show up at the film festival, and conspired with Cullen, the director. Hanley is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages. The scenes mentioned in the complaint involve nudity, which according to the production company, Heard had agreed to beforehand. The complaint reads:

While the inherent tension between actors and directors (on the one hand) and producers (on the other) is nothing new in Hollywood, the unauthorized 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.

On the other hand, the director has said that the producers hijacked the movie, adding “incendiary imagery evoking 9/11 jumpers edited against pornography” to the final edit.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.