"Romeo and Juliet" features, now in the 1970s, has just filed a complaint on "illegal" nudity on the screen

Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were adolescents when they played in the adaptation of Shakespeare.


The stars of one of the most famous Shakespeare adaptations in the history of cinema are taking action against the studio that made the film, 55 years later. Olivia Hussey and Whiting Leonard play in Franco Zeffirelli Romeo and Juliet In 1968, when they were both adolescents and minors. Now the actors continue what they claim to be a "illegal" nudity in the film. Read the rest to find out more about their trials and how they claim to have been misleading on the set.

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Romeo and Juliet was welcomed and has become a classic.

Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey in
Characteristics of Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images

The 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet was a success with viewers and criticism. He was nominated for four Oscars, including the best film and the best director, and won for Two: Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. The film also lived for decades because it has remained popular to show students who teach Shakespeare.

Whiting and Hussey say they were told that there would be no nudity in the film.

Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting at the premiere of
Images Bob Aylott / Keystone / Getty

At the time that Romeo and Juliet started filming, Whiting was 16 years old and Hussey was 15 years old. (Today, they are 72 and 71 years old.) In their trial, they say that they were told that they would not have to make nude scenes. But in the published version, the back of Whiting and Hussey's breasts are briefly shown.

According to The variety ,, The actors affirm that Zeffirelli Initially said they would not be filmed naked at all and would rather carry naked underwear. But finally, the filmmaker urged them to undress and explained that because of the place where the camera was placed, their nudity would not be really captured. The trial says that the director, who died in 2019, said to them: "The photo would fail" if they did not make the scene as he asked.

The trial was filed against Paramount Pictures, the pair affirming that they were sexually exploited and that the company distributed naked images of children via the film. According to the AP, they are Search for more than $ 500 million In damages. The best life has contacted Paramount to comment but has not yet received an answer.

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Their lawyer says they were enjoyed young people.

Franco Zeffirelli, Olivia Hussey, and Leonard Whiting in London in 1967
Event Standard / Hulton Archive / Getty Images

As indicated by The variety , Hussey and Whiting lawyer, Salomon Grenas said: "The naked images of minors are illegal and should not be exposed. They were very young naive children in the 1960s who had no understanding of what was going to hit them. Suddenly, they were famous at a level they never expect, and in addition they were raped in a way that they did not know how to manage. " AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

The trial says that the actors have lost jobs due to the film and have undergone emotional and mental distress. The trial is now filed because California has temporarily suspended the limitation period for older allegations of sexual abuse, as indicated by The variety .

They have approached controversial scenes over the years.

Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey at the 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival
Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images

The two actors have already thought about the filming of the naked scene. In an interview with The variety In 2018, Hussey said , "Nobody my age had done that before ... It was necessary for the film." In an interview with Fox News the same year, she said , "In America, it was very taboo. But in Europe, many films had nudity. No one really thought it. But it was just the fact that I was 16 who had a lot of advertising ... "

As for Whiting, according to a fans website called Lenpage, In a television interview in 1995, he said , "Franco thought that the scenes were - one of the manifestations of beauty, sensuality and visual interest for the differences between Romeo and Juliet. At first, he asked:" Do you agree with Naked? "We said - No, no, no! But he implored so much, that we finally accepted."


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