Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, the co-directors of the 2014 action thriller “John Wick,” have revealed that actress Eva Longoria contributed millions to the project after the filmmakers experienced a funding shortfall that nearly jeopardized the film’s production. “We were less than a week out and we lost almost $6 million on a gap financing,” Stahelski told Business Insider in a recent interview published on Oct. 21.
“We were financing independently to get the bond, but one of the investors couldn’t raise the money in time.” The filmmaker said he, Leitch, and Keanu Reeves, the film’s lead actor, had already exhausted their financial contributions. “John Wick” producer Basil Iwanyk had also maxed out three of his credit cards to support the film.
“We all had put in everything,” Stahelski recounted. “And we were still short. So we were shut down.
” Leitch told the publication that the Creative Artists Agency, which was managing the film’s financing, offered several actors the opportunity to invest in the film. “[Eva Longoria] came to the rescue and she provided the gap financing,” Stahelski said. “We didn’t know any of this.
Basil never told Keanu or us. Literally less than 24 hours before we had to lock the doors on the movie and walk away, Basil said, ‘We’ve got the investor, we’ve locked the gap.’” The film spawned a franchise with the release of “John Wick: Chapter 2” in 2017.
“John Wick: Chapter 3–Parabellum” pr.
