Amber Heard is facing a hefty lawsuit from the producers of her recent film London Fields, according to new court documents. The film's production company, Nicola Six Limited, is asking for at least $10 million in compensatory damages from the actress. According to the documents, Heard failed to "perform certain acting services" (nude scenes, in other words), and failed to promote the film. It even goes so far as to claim that she conspired to make the film bomb.
Nicola Six Limited claims that the actress did not hold true to her agreed-upon acting role and public appearances to promote the film. The main contractual complaint involves her refusal to do a nude scene as her character, a "promiscuous psychic about to be murdered" according to The Hollywood Reporter. On page seven of the legal complaint, the details of Heard's "nudity rider" on the contract are discussed. The company claims she secretly worked with Mathew Cullen, the film's director, to rewrite her nude and sex scenes, which was not what was agreed upon in her contract. She had apparently only requested to approve the scenes after they were filmed, not tinker with the actual material.
The movie was filmed in 2015, when Heard was still married to Johnny Depp. One could easily draw a connection between the volatile final days of Heard and Depp's relationship to the actress' reluctance to be involved in press events for the film, regardless of the fact that she plays the lead role. The company was banking on Heard making many promotional appearances as part of a hot Hollywood couple.
This isn't the first bout of drama surrounding London Fields. Cullen himself has sued Nicola Six Limited for fraud, accusing them of creating their own final cut of the film, much to his chagrin. He says that he was promised full creative control but that's not what he was given. In response, the film's producers said that Cullen did not finish the movie in time and within budget, which is why they took matters into their own hands and aired their own version of the film at the Toronto Film Festival.
This legal saga is far from over, proving that fact is always stranger than fiction.
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