Paramount Pictures attorneys state in new court papers that a renewed lawsuit by the then-teenage stars of the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” in which the plaintiffs say they were duped into appearing partially nude in one of the movie’s scenes, should be dismissed on free-speech and other grounds.
The updated case, filed Feb. 12 in Los Angeles Superior Court by Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, alleges unlawful use of intimate photos and likeness and violation of the Performers Rights Act of the United Kingdom, and it focuses on the release of the film’s digital photos.
The previous suit alleged sexual harassment, childhood sexual abuse, fraud, negligence, infliction of emotional distress and other violations, and it was dismissed by a judge last May.
In court papers filed Wednesday, Paramount Pictures stated that the new case should be dismissed and judgment entered in the studio’s favor. The lawyers cite multiple defenses, including lack of jurisdiction by a California court, First Amendment protections, ratifications of the conduct by the plaintiffs and a violation of the statute of limitations.
According to the earlier lawsuit, Whiting was 16 years old when he played Romeo in the film, opposite Juliet portrayed by Hussey, who was 15 at the time. The first complaint further stated that the two actors were told by the film’s director, Franco Zeffirelli, “that there would be no nudity filmed or exhibited, and that plaintiffs would be wearing flesh-colored undergarments during the bedroom/love scene.”
At the time the first suit was drafted, neither actor knew that Paramount and Janus Films LLC, through its subsidiary Criterion Collections Inc. — both of which are co-defendants in the suit and also state in court papers that the case should be dismissed — intended to release and distribute the release containing digital photos which “depicted their private areas in such high detail that the gratuitous display was lewd and lascivious and demeaning to them,” the revised suit states.
“Hussey and Whiting thereby became concerned that the digital release containing the digital photos could wreak havoc upon their professional reputations and subject them to critical obloquy and professional ridicule and contempt,” the current suit states.
Paramount maintains Whiting and Hussey “have irrevocably consented to Paramount’s absolute right to use and license the use of those original photos in any manner it sees fit,” the new complaint states.
Whiting is now 73 years old. Hussey is 73. Zeffirelli died in June 2019 at age 96.
“Romeo and Juliet” won Oscars for cinematography and costume design. It was nominated for best picture and best director for Zeffirelli.