Romeo and Juliet, Zeffirelli’s actors sue Paramount (54 years later) for a nude scene

Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whitingthe actors they played Romeo and Juliet in the film adaptation of Franco Zeffirelli from 1968they did lawsuit against Paramount Pictures – seeking compensation of more than 500 million dollars – for an “unauthorized nude scene” appeared in the film of fifty-four years ago. Hussey and Whiting, who each won a Golden Globe for their performance in the film, during filming they were respectively 15 and 16 years old and were therefore minors. Today that of years ne year 71 and 72 have filed a complaint against the Paramount who produced the film for sexually exploiting them by showing images of their buttocks and breasts in one scene.

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According to the sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud suit filed last week by Hussey and Whiting in Los Angeles County Superior Court, initially Frank Zeffirelliwho died in 2019, had told young Olivia and Leonard that in that scene shot in the bedroom they would wear flesh-colored undergarments. But on the morning of the shoot, she had changed her mind and had pressed her hard they only had make-up on their bodies, while ensuring that the camera would be positioned so as not to show nudity. The director had convinced the two actors – again according to the quote – by explaining to them that if they didn’t do as he said the film would have been «a fiasco». And their careers would suffer.

1968; Romeo And Juliet 1968. Original Film Title: Romeo And Juliet 1968, Composer: Nino Rota, Director: Franco Zeffirelli, IN CAST: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey (Credit Image: © Entertainment Pictures/Entertainment Pictures/ZUMAPRESS.com)-IPA Not claims no copyright or license in the accompanying material. any download fees charged by IPA are for IPA’s services only and do not convey, nor do they intend to convey to you any copyright or license to the material. By posting this material, you expressly agree to indemnify and hold IPA harmless from any claim, demand, or cause of action arising out of or related in any way to your posting of the material.Entertainment Pictures / ipa-agency.net

Fifty-four years later, Hussey and Whiting claim they haven’t never stopped suffering from anxiety and emotional distress after that scene. And they accuse Paramount «of having shot scenes of naked or semi-naked minors without their consent, in violation of laws». For the moment the production house has not commented on the news, while the specialized magazine variety he stressed that Olivia Hussey, in 2018, had defended the offending scene during an interview: “It was necessary for the film,” she explained.

Zeffirelli’s film, based on the play by William Shakespeare and currently available on Prime Video, it was a worldwide success (nearly 40 million dollars grossing in the United States alone) but already at the exit she was involved by controversy due to the nude scene between the two minor protagonists. In the United States, the film was rated A, adult, and the same protagonist was forbidden to see it because of the scene she played. A paradox that Olivia commented like this: “How is it possible that I can’t look at something I see in the mirror every day?”.

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Source: Vanity Fair

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