- Eva Longoria saved “John Wick” by securing crucial last-minute gap financing.
- The film faced a financial crisis, threatening to close before Longoria’s intervention.
- Longoria’s investment paid off when “John Wick” became a box office success.
“John Wick” is considered today as a modern action classic. As it turns out, Eva Longoria played a big part in making this happen.
A decade ago, when directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch were putting the finishing touches on Keanu Reeves’ revenge movie, they got the news no director wants to hear: the production had run out of money.
“We were less than a week out and we lost almost $6 million in gap financing,” Stahelski told Business Insider in an interview celebrating the film’s tenth anniversary. “We were independently financing to get the bond, but one of the investors couldn’t raise the money in time.”
By that point, Stahelski, Leitch and Reeves had put their money into the film—producer Basil Iwanyk had even maxed out three credit cards. It looked like “John Wick” might never see the light of day.
But backstage, someone threw a Hail Mary. CAA, which was pooling the funding, offered some of its actors who had funding the opportunity to invest, Leitch explained to BI. Promised they would be the first to be reimbursed.
Eva Longoria. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Eva Longoria answered the call, and “John Wick” became her first major producer credit.
Since becoming a household name on the 2000s hit TV series Desperate Housewives, Longoria has become a powerhouse producer with her production company, UnbeliEVAable Entertainment, which she founded in 2005 (it was acquired in 2023 from Hyphenate Media Group, which Longoria co-founded ). She has since produced the Lifetime series Devious Maids, which ran from 2013-2016; the 2015 NBC series “Telenovela” and the 2019 ABC series “Grand Hotel”.
“She came to the rescue and she provided the gap financing, literally less than 24 hours before we had to close the doors on the movie and walk away,” Stahelski said, noting that producer Iwanyk never revealed who came up with the money until later. “John Wick” became a hit.
“Basil took us out to dinner, and we were laughing about all the nonsense that happened, and he said, ‘By the way, funny story, you know who funded your gap? Eva Longoria.’ We were like, ‘What!'” Stahelski said.
Chad Stahelski, David Leitch and Keanu Reeves at the premiere of “John Wick” in 2014. Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Stahelski and Leitch had never met Longorian, so they took him to lunch at the Chateau Marmont.
“She was laughing going, ‘I didn’t think it was going to work,'” Stahelski said.
When Leitch bumped into Longoria last year at an event, they couldn’t help but talk about “John Wick.”
“We were reminiscing,” he said. “She said, ‘Wow, that was the best money I’ve ever spent.’ It came back in a big way for him.” (“John Wick” grossed over $86 million worldwide on a $20 million budget.)
So has this opened the door for Longoria to hit the screen in an action movie?
“She wants to be sure, she wants to take action,” Leitch said. “I’d like to work with him, we’re trying to figure something out.”