Christopher Hanley and Jordan Gertner insisted that director Matthew Cullen's recent lawsuit against them was mere publicity stunt.
- Sep 18, 2015
AceShowbiz - The premiere of "London Fields" at the Toronto International Film Festival was disrupted by the director's lawsuit against the producers. The murder mystery starring Amber Heard was withdrawn from the scheduled Friday, September 18 screening, prompting the producers to lament the organizers' decision.
Matthew Cullen filed a lawsuit against Christopher Hanley and Jordan Gertner on Tuesday, claiming the producers "tampered with [his] work as director of the film," misappropriated his name, and refused to pay him full compensation. The movie was acquired by Lionsgate/Grindstone for a low-seven-figure deal on Wednesday.
"We have recently learned of a legal matter that has arisen between the director and the producers of the film London Fields," a statement from TIFF organizers read. "We have worked to make our festival a public showcase for creative expression through the moving image, however with uncertainty surrounding the creative vision of the version of the film scheduled to be screened on September 18th, we feel it is only appropriate that we remove this film from the Festival lineup. We are hopeful that this matter will be resolved positively, and that audiences will have the opportunity to see the film."
The producers responded, "We are greatly disappointed that TIFF decided to pull the film from the festival. We have always loved launching our films here, but feel that in particular case there has been an ill-considered decision made against our rights. It's the first time we have ever heard of a festival removing a movie from the festival due to its imagery being deemed too provocative."
Hanley and Gertner called the lawsuit a publicity stunt and promised that they would "vigorously oppose the lawsuit."
Also starring Billy Bob Thornton, "London Fields" centers on femme fatale Nicola Six who has been living with a dark premonition of her impending death by murder. She begins a tangled love affair with three uniquely different men: one of whom she knows will be her murderer.
