Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, who performed the titular roles in 1968’s “Romeo and Juliet,” have sued Paramount Pictures for greater than $500 million over a nude scene within the movie shot after they have been youngsters, new courtroom paperwork present.
Hussey, then 15 and now 71, and Whiting, then 16 now 72, filed the go well with in Los Angeles County Superior Court Friday alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud after the nude scene was included within the movie, regardless of alleged reassurance from Director Franco Zeffirelli nudity wouldn’t be proven.
Zeffirelli, who died in 2019, allegedly instructed the 2 younger actors that they might put on flesh-colored undergarments within the bed room scene and would use digital camera angles to obscure the nudity, the go well with alleges.
In keeping with the go well with, the scene was shot on the ultimate days of filming and ignored these earlier assurances.
FILE – Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, who’re taking part in the title roles in Franco Zeffirelli’s “Romeo and Juliet,” place flowers on the “Tomba di Giulietta,” or the Tomb of Juliet, in Verona, northern Italy, on Oct. 22, 1968.
(AP Picture/File)
Whiting, who performed Romeo, and Hussey, who performed Juliet, mentioned they have been filmed within the nude with out their information, in violation of California and federal laws towards indecency and the exploitation of kids, the go well with says.
The 2 stars mentioned Zeffirelli instructed them they have to act within the nude “or the Image would fail,” the go well with mentioned. He additionally steered their careers could be harm, it added. So, the actors “believed that they had no selection however to act in the nude in physique make-up as demanded,” the go well with mentioned.
The scene in query, which comes close to the tip of the movie, briefly confirmed Whiting’s naked buttocks and Hussey’s naked breasts.
SALLY FIELD SPILLS WORST ON-SCREEN KISSER WAS LONGTIME BOYFRIEND BURT REYNOLDS: ‘A LOT OF DROOLING’
“What they have been instructed and what went on have been two various things,” mentioned Tony Marinozzi, a enterprise supervisor for each actors, in accordance with Selection. “They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they took his lead that he wouldn’t violate that belief that they had. Franco was their good friend, and admittedly, at 16, what do they do? There aren’t any choices. There was no #MeToo.”
Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, the 2 stars of 1968’s “Romeo and Juliet,” sued Paramount Footage for greater than $500 million on Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, over a nude scene within the movie shot after they have been teenagers.
(AP Picture/Jean-Jacques Levy)
The movie was a world sensation on the time and was nominated for 4 Academy Awards. Within the 55 years since its launch, it has been extensively proven to highschool college students who research the Shakespeare play.
Hussey and Whiting mentioned they suffered emotional injury and psychological anguish for many years and their careers didn’t mirror the success of the film, in accordance with the go well with.
“Nude pictures of minors are illegal and shouldn’t be exhibited,” mentioned Solomon Gresen, the actors’ legal professional, Selection reported. “These have been very younger naive youngsters within the ’60s who had no understanding of what was about to hit them. Abruptly they have been well-known at a stage they by no means anticipated, and as well as they have been violated in a manner they didn’t know find out how to take care of.”
Fox Information Digital reached out to representatives of Paramount, however a response was not instantly returned.
FILE – “Romeo and Juliette” film director Franco Zeffirelli, left, actors Olivia Hussey, heart, and Leonard Whiting are seen after the Parisian premiere of the movie in Paris on Sept. 25, 1968. The 2 stars of 1968’s “Romeo and Juliet” sued Paramount Footage for greater than $500 million on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, over a nude scene within the movie shot after they have been teenagers.
(AP Picture/Eustache Cardenas)
The lawsuit was filed underneath a California regulation briefly suspending the statute of limitations for child sex abuse, which has led to a number of latest lawsuits and the revival of many others that have been beforehand dismissed.
In 2018, Hussey described the controversial scene as “very taboo” in America however appeared to defend its use within the European-set movie because it was “carried out very tastefully.”
OLIVIA HUSSEY RECALLS CONTROVERSIAL ‘ROMEO AND JULIET’ ROLE AT 16, REVEALS PERSONAL TRAGEDIES
“I believe as a result of it was carried out very tastefully,” she instructed Fox Information. “And in Europe, it was very totally different. In America, it was very taboo. However in Europe a number of the movies had nudity. No person actually thought a lot of it. But it surely was simply the truth that I used to be 16 that acquired a number of publicity… The massive crew we labored with was whittled right down to solely the very fundamental folks, a handful of individuals. It was carried out later within the day when it wasn’t busy. It was a closed set.”
Regardless of being unclothed, Hussey described being comfortable on set.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“When you see it, the fact is these two younger youngsters married towards their mother and father’ needs and have this one night time collectively after which they die… And it wasn’t actually banned in any nation… And we shot it on the very finish of the movie. So by that point… we’ve all develop into a giant household… It wasn’t that massive of a deal. And Leonard wasn’t shy in any respect! In the course of capturing, I simply fully forgot I didn’t have garments on,” she mentioned on the time.
In keeping with the go well with, the actors are looking for damages of greater than $500 million.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
#usanews #usa_news
