‘Romeo And Juliet’ Stars, 16 Years Old, Sue over Nude Scene

The stars of the hit 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” The two teenagers, who were 15 and 16 at the time, sued Paramount Pictures, alleging that they were nude while filming.

Leonard Whiting, 72, and Olivia Hussey (71), filed their lawsuit Friday just before the December 31 deadline. Franco Zeffirelli, a director who died in 2019, at the age of 96, claimed that he had instructed the actors not to use actual nudity in the film and that their bedroom scene would show them in flesh-colored underwear. According to the lawsuit, Zeffirelli threatened them with death by asking them to nude with body make-up as filming ended. “the Picture would fail,” Variety reported.

“What they were told and what went on were two different things,” Tony Marinozzi, the actors’ business manager stated of Zeffirelli. “They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they took his lead that he would not violate that trust they had. Franco was their friend, and frankly, at 16, what do they do? There are no options. There was no #MeToo.”

“Nude images of minors are unlawful and shouldn’t be exhibited,” Solomon Gresen, the actors’ attorney, declared. “These were very young naive children in the ’60s who had no understanding of what was about to hit them. All of a sudden they were famous at a level they never expected, and in addition they were violated in a way they didn’t know how to deal with.”

Hussey was a 2018 speaker Variety The nude scene “Nobody my age had done that before. It was needed for the film.” Zeffirelli was her name. “genius. He just brought things to life. That’s what I loved about Franco. He hired always the most perfect person to do the role, which ever role it was. And then he let that actor do what they felt.”

“I think it was such an amazing experience,” She added. “I used to say to Franco, I don’t want to work with anyone but you. I can do anything for you because you understand me. I mean if I could have, I would have just worked with Franco.”

Hussey has been a successful fighter against stage four breast cancer in the years that have passed since the film was made. Hussey is married to David Eisely, a rocker and grandmother, and she is also a mother of three children. declared bankruptcy After her business manager and his wife deceived her.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases