The John Wick series is one of the biggest action movie franchises in the world right now, with multiple sequels, a TV series, and a new film spin-off coming soon. However, all of this might not have happened if it hadn’t been for Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria and a last-minute investment of $6 million.
In a new interview with Business Insider, John Wick directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch explain that a decade ago, right before filming was set to start on the movie, they heard the worst news any independent filmmakers could hear: They were out of money.
“We were less than a week out, and we lost almost $6 million on a gap financing,” Stahelski told Business Insider. “We were financing independently to get the bond, but one of the investors couldn’t raise the money in time.”
At this point, the directors as well as John Wick star Keanu Reeves had already put a lot of their own money into the movie’s production. Even the film’s producer, Basil Iwanyk, had maxed out three credit cards financing the flick. And suddenly, they didn’t have enough cash to start filming.
However, Creative Artists Agency, the company putting together the financing for John Wick, got desperate and started offering actors it worked with an opportunity to invest in John Wick. CAA promised that anyone who invested would be the first to get paid once the film was out.
One of CAA’s clients, actress Eva Longoria, took the risk and invested $6 million into John Wick’s production at the last minute. It was her first producer credit. She has since become a very successful producer in Hollywood.
“She came to the rescue, and she provided the gap financing, literally less than 24 hours before we had to lock the doors on the movie and walk away,” said Stahelski. However, at the time, neither Stahelski nor Leitch knew who provided the last-minute investment. Producer Iwanyk only told them who saved the day after John Wick became a box office hit.
“[Iwanyk] took us out to dinner, and we were laughing about all the bullshit that happened, and he said: ‘By the way, funny story, you know who gap financed you? Eva Longoria.’ We were like, ‘What!’” explained Stahelski.
Stahelski and Leitch had never met or talked to Longoria before, so they took her out to lunch to thank her for the investment.
“She was laughing, going, ‘I didn’t think it was going to work,’” said Stahelski.
Later, Leitch ran into the actress at an event and they began talking about John Wick. She told him, “Wow, that was the best money I’ve ever spent.” He said her investment “paid back significantly for her.” John Wick made over $85 on a $20 million budget.
.
