Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
The NSW Supreme Court battle between Australian actor Rebel Wilson and the producers of her directorial debut The Deb has wrapped up, with Justice Elisabeth Peden reserving her judgment.
During the two-week hearing there have been allegations about untraceable smear websites, the definition of a bath and what bathing with someone entails, bullying and backstabbing behaviour, and how and why a $22m movie raked in just $320,000 at the box office.
It’s the sort of drama that would be at home in a Hollywood film script, although not the kind of feel-good flick like the movie that’s been at the heart of this case.
AI Film Production, the UK-based company that financed the 2024 musical comedy is suing Ms Wilson for damages alleging she breached her contracts and sabotaged the film’s release by publishing false and derogatory statements causing the company financial and reputational damage.
Producers Vince Holden, Gregor Cameron and his wife Amanda Ghost through AI Film and other corporate entities are also suing Ms Wilson.
In July 2024, Ms Wilson posted to Instagram making a series of accusations against the producers, including that they were trying to block the film from showing at Toronto International Film Festival, behaved inappropriately towards the film’s lead and embezzled money.
Wilson denies she breached her contracts and has countersued. She alleges a pattern of theft, bullying and sexual misconduct by the three producers and is seeking almost $600,000 in fees and costs for herself and her company Camp Sugar.
Ms Wilson flew in for the hearing which began on September 21 fresh from the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival, where she had been promoting her latest film Girl Group.
TIFF is also where The Deb premiered back in September 2024, although it fared better with the critics than her latest effort with Girl Group widely panned as unfunny and underwhelming.
The Pitch Perfect star sat in the back of the court alongside her mum Sue Bownds, who co-owns Camp Sugar, while the three producers and the movie’s star Charlotte MacInnes, who earlier this year lost a defamation case against Ms Wilson, gave evidence.
The star herself did not give evidence and when the hearing switched gears for days of legal submissions, she opted to be elsewhere.
Sue Chrysanthou, SC, for AI Films told the court that Ms Wilson was a “liar” and had lied repeatedly over a long period of time. Ms Chrysanthou said Ms Wilson’s conduct had rendered The Deb “worthless” and that the actor had devalued it so she could buy it cheaply.
Ms Wilson’s barrister Dauid Sibtain, SC, submitted that she had fulfilled her contract both as actor and director of the movie and there was no evidence that her posts had caused any loss or damage to the producers in the way that had been alleged.
It is not the first time what happened behind the scenes of The Deb has brought the players to court – and it won’t be the last.
In July, Ms MacInnes failed in her defamation action against Ms Wilson over a number of Instagram posts but she has indicated she plans to appeal.
There is also ongoing legal action in the US, with Mr Holden, Mr Cameron and Ms Ghost suing her for defamation with a trial set down for January 2027.
