How an unreleased Anthony Hopkins movie became the victim of an extortion plot
There have been many maddening accidents and issues that have plagued Hollywood productions over the years.
It could be Faye Dunaway allegedly pissing into a bucket on the set of Chinatown, or David Fincher making Jake Gyllenhaal shoot over 30 takes of throwing paper onto a car seat. Or it could be the many disasters that almost destroyed Jaws, with the director being made a mockery of by his crew who all thought the film would be a complete flop.
However, while countless productions have been disturbed by poor lighting, extreme weather, actor tantrums and abusive directors, there are few that have been met with the unfortunate fate that was handed to Anthony Hopkins latest project, with a hacker threatening to release footage of the film after infiltrating their rushes and company Slack page.
Hopkins seems like one of the most talented and unassuming stars in the business, which only makes the incident that occurred on his recent film, Eyes In The Trees, all the more disturbing. The film is a reimagining of The Island of Dr Moreau, with Hopkins starring in the lead role.
However, after filming the project, producer Daemon Hillin discovered that he had been sent emails from a Korean Zombie address describing how they had hacked their files and stolen 18 minutes of unreleased footage. The creative team were then asked to pay a ransom of $200,000 to be given their files back, with the hacker threatening to release them to the public as well as other popular film studios.
But while some might crack and be instantly terrified by the threat that their film might fall apart, Hillin decided to stand strong against the hacker and not give in to their demands. In his statement, HIllin said, “We’re making this movie no matter what. They’re not going to stop us. And we are resilient. It’s not the first time I’ve been extorted, and it probably won’t be the last time I’ve been extorted. So we’re moving on. The most important thing was to call my financiers to let them know what’s going on. And with their support, that’s the way we’re making this movie. I’m blessed that these people believe in us, believe in me, and believe in the project.”
This would be incredibly distressing to discover as an actor, knowing that your work could be compromised and that there are people out there who can infiltrate the Hollywood walls and quite literally steal your scenes.
But the team remained composed and logical in their approach, with the producer adding, “Our film is going to be something completely different than what the string of Anthony Hopkins’ scenes are going to be. They took unedited footage to try to ruin us. The magic of the movie is the artistic people behind it that are going to put it together. I don’t think [the breach] is going to devalue the movie at all.”
While Hopkins might be the most unproblematic person in the British film industry, he is now a victim to one of the most bizarre film thefts, and who knows if the project will ever recover in the way that they hope it will.
