The producer of the failed Ava Green film “A Patriot” has accused the project’s director Dan Pringle of being “inexperienced” and “starstruck”.
Jack Sale, who was brought in by financiers Sherborne Media Finance in an apparent bid to save the project after funding fell through, was on the witness stand at London’s High Court to give evidence at the trial on Tuesday.
It was the producer and owner of Sale, Hampshire-based production facility Blackhanger Studios, whom Green called an “idiot”, “pure vomit” and “devil” in private texts and emails during the pre-trial discovery process. Come forward. . He also called his Black Hangar staff “rude peasants” and said the cell “needs to be fired.”
Under cross-examination by Greene’s lawyer Edmund Cullen KC on Tuesday afternoon, Sale told the project court: “This is effectively a first-time director, very inexperienced, who has never worked with a studio before. ” Sale added that Pringle had previously only made one feature, which was filmed on location rather than on a sound stage, and had never supervised a set building or worked with a water tank before. , all of which “A Patriot” required. . According to IMDb, Pringle directed a previous feature titled “K-Shop,” about the son of a kebab shop owner who seeks revenge for his father’s death.
Sale also said that “the people” – understood to mean Pringle and his producing partner Adam Merrifield – were “star-struck” by Greene, suggesting that this led him to rule over her. Reluctant to do. In his written evidence, which was submitted to the court, Seale claimed that Sherborne owner Alastair Burlingham was “disappointed” in Merfield’s “work as a producer” because he “felt that he was not handling Ms Green properly”. are[.]”He said Green eventually walked away from the project, squandering his fee.
But Green’s attorney countered that the film fell through because Seal failed to make any preparations, such as building sets or hiring cast members, even as the film’s start date quickly approached. Cullen and Sale argued over whether Bill Nighy, who was in the running to replace Charles Dance on the project, had ever been sent a solid offer. Cullen referred to a text exchange between Merrifield and the casting director in which the casting director said he was “feeling very upset” because the film was scheduled to shoot in 20 days. Seal responded and said that “we didn’t know if Bill Nighy was realistic or not,” adding that the dance “didn’t exactly pan out, it was back and forth.”
Green is suing White Lantern (Britannica) Ltd. – the production company founded by Merrifield and Pringle to make “A Patriot” – over her $1 million fee. Merrifield and Pringle resigned as directors of the company shortly before the end of the project in late 2019. Green claims he is still owed his fee under the terms of his “pay or play” contract, which is currently held in escrow with his agent.
White Lantern and its parent company Sherborne are countersuing for “conspiracy, fraud and tortious interference.” They claim that Green is not owed money because she walked away from the project and – along with Merrifield and Pringle – tried to buy the script back from White Lantern to make the film herself. Last week, Green told the court she “fell in love” with the script for “A Patriot,” which Pringle wrote. “It’s one of the best scripts I’ve ever read,” she said.
In his written evidence, Seal, appearing as a witness for White Lantern and Sherborne, said he had “limited contact” with Green during the project, meeting him in person on only one occasion and Exchanged some emails regarding casting and production staff. . But she called it “unpredictable” and suggested she made “demands” about the staff she wanted to work with and what they should be paid.
White Lantern, in its original incarnation under Pringle and Merrifield, originally approached Sherburne to provide a bridge loan as they sought production finance to bring “A Patriot” to completion. But after a series of mishaps – including production moving from Ireland to Hampshire, which had a knock-on effect on tax credits, a Chinese distributor effectively reneging on the deal and financiers Piccadilly Pictures pulling out – Sherborne himself Found on the hook. The entire budget while he tried to extricate himself from the project without hurting his wallet too much.
In an attempt to salvage the film and save some money, Sherborne parachuted Seal into White Lantern as a lead producer and asked him to make Black Hanger available for shooting at no cost.
Greene’s case is that by then the film had died and Sherburne had no intention of funding principal photography but did not want to pull the plug because that would mean the actor was entitled to his full fee. was “[It was a] His lawyer told the court. “Because the parties were far apart because nobody wanted to be accused of infringement… you were all playing filmmaking.”
The case is scheduled to be heard on Friday. The verdict will be announced later.
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