Eva Longoria is still making a lot of money for a movie that’s now ten years old, but there’s a catch: she didn’t even star in the production that has since spawned a successful film franchise.
It turns out the actress – who attended an event supporting Kamala Harris in Arizona on Sunday – invested in John Wick (2014), starring Keanu Reeves in the title role, at a time when it was just 24 hours away from closing due to a funding gap of $6 million.
Despite little knowledge of the business world, Longoria stepped in and closed that gap with a $6 million investment, which earned her a producer credit and saved the film and the jobs of the cast and crew.
“That’s right,” the Corpus Christi, Texas, resident confirmed Business insider when asked if she had stepped in to revive the troubled production. “By the way, I was still in my infancy.”
She confessed, “My bankroll was very new, and it was a lot of money, and I thought, “So how does it work?” I had no idea.’
Eva Longoria, 49, revealed she’s still getting checks after investing in John Wick (2014) despite having little business acumen, thus avoiding production shutdowns due to lack of funding
“My bankroll was very new, and it was a lot of money, and I thought, ‘How does it work?’ I had no idea,” she confessed about her personal finances at the time she invested in John Wick, which was likely in 2013.
Longoria, 49, admitted that the idea to invest in the original John Wick film did not come from her or anyone in her financial network.
“I’d like to say I was an investing genius and I just knew it and calculated my risk. No, none of that. An agent, and he wasn’t even my agent, he called me and said, “You have money, you need to put your money here,” she revealed.
Despite being a professional actress since 1999, she had little knowledge of behind-the-scenes financing and budgeting of a film.
“I didn’t even know how a movie was made,” she readily admitted. “I was like, ‘What do you mean by gap financing?’ But looking back, I learned something: I like investing in people,” she explained.
“You can tell me you’re going to open a chicken farm, but if you’re damn passionate about it, have done the work and know the market, I mean: [director Chad Stahelski and producer David Leitch] have done their job.’
She added: “They put in their 10,000 hours as stuntmen and second-unit directors; they had seen all the bad movies and knew how to make a good one. That’s it. They were undeniably passionate and I knew they were going to create an unmistakable product.”
Longoria then confirmed that she is still making money from her investment over a decade ago.
And while she doesn’t know exactly how much money she made for the film’s $6 million investment, she does have a rough estimate.
Longoria said an agent pushed her to invest in the film, and that the agent wasn’t even someone she was working with at the time.
Longoria estimated that she made more than $12 million – or doubled her investment – on John Wick; she sees herself arriving at the Ny Breaking offices in New York last week to talk about her new book My Mexican Kitchen
Since its premiere last year, John Wick: Chapter 4 has grossed a whopping $440 million against a budget of around $100 million in the US, continuing the trend of rising returns for each film.
“You know, I should check,” she said, before adding, “More than double [$6 million]“Sure,” which would translate into a $12 million payout to date.
‘Yes. What I’m pissed about is that I was disconnected from the rest. This was a one-off,” says the actress and entrepreneur. ‘That was the gamble. But that was my only mistake, that I wasn’t attached to all the films.’
Directed by Chad Stahelski from a screenplay by Derek Kolstad, the original release also starred Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo and Willem Dafoe.
John Wick became a hit at the worldwide box office, grossing $86 million against a budget of $20-30 million.
That win was good enough for the team to reassemble for a sequel with an even bigger budget.
The franchise stars Reeves in the title role of John Wick, a retired assassin who has built a legendary reputation in the criminal underworld and is drawn back into the violent life against his will.
Stahelski and Kolstad reteamed three years later for the first sequel, with Moynahan, Leguizamo and McShane reprising their roles, along with new cast members Common, Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose, Lance Reddick, Peter Stormare and Franco Nero.
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) ended up doing even better at the box office, raking in $171.5 million on a budget of around $40 million.
Stahelski returned to the director’s chair for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019), this time based on a screenplay by Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins and Marc Abrams.
Among the new cast members for the third round were Halle Berry, Mark Dacascos, Anjelica Huston and Asia Kate Dillon.
Following the trend of the first two films, Chapter 3 topped the box office of both previous installments, grossing a whopping $327.3 million against a budget of $75 million.
Keanu Reeves attended the John Wick 10th Anniversary Fathom Screening Q&A at AMC Century City 15 on Sunday (November 3) in Los Angeles
The franchise star attended the panel discussion with producers Erica Lee and Jason Constantine, costar Ian McShane and director Chad Stahelsk
Reeves returned for the latest installment in the franchise alongside regular cast members Ian McShane (Winston), Lance Reddick (Charon) and Laurence Fishburne (Bowery King).
Sadly, Reddick passed away at the age of 60, just a week before the American premiere of the fourth installment. His death was ultimately attributed to coronary artery disease and atherosclerotic heart disease.
Since its premiere in the United States on March 24, John Wick: Chapter 4 has grossed a whopping $440 million against a budget of around $100 million.
In honor of the 10th anniversary of the original, Reeves attended the John Wick 10th Anniversary Fathom Screening Q&A on Sunday at AMC Century City 15 in Los Angeles, with producers Erica Lee and Jason Constantine, costar Ian McShane and director Chad Stahelski.
