Eva Longoria invested $6 million of her own money to save 'John Wick' — and the directors didn't even know

• Eva Longoria saved "John Wick" by providing important spread financing astatine nan past minute.
• The movie faced a financial crisis, risking shutdown earlier Longoria's intervention.
• Longoria's finance paid disconnected erstwhile "John Wick" became a box-office success.

"John Wick" is regarded coming arsenic a modern action classic. As it turns out, Eva Longoria played a ample portion successful making that happen.

A decade ago, erstwhile board Chad Stahelski and David Leitch were putting nan last touches connected nan Keanu Reeves revenge movie, they received news nary filmmaker wants to hear: nan accumulation had tally retired of money.

"We were little than a week retired and we mislaid almost $6 cardinal connected a spread financing," Stahelski told Business Insider successful an question and reply celebrating nan movie's tenth anniversary. "We were financing independently to get nan bond, but 1 of nan investors couldn't raise nan money successful time."

By that point, Stahelski, Leitch, and Reeves had put their ain money into nan movie — shaper Basil Iwanyk had moreover maxed retired 3 in installments cards. It seemed for illustration "John Wick" mightiness ne'er spot nan ray of day.

But down nan scenes, personification threw a Hail Mary. CAA, which was putting nan financing together, offered immoderate of its actors who had bankroll nan opportunity to invest, Leitch explained to BI. It promised they'd beryllium nan first to get paid back.

Eva Longoria answered nan call, and "John Wick" became her first awesome shaper credit.

Since becoming a family sanction connected nan deed 2000s TV bid "Desperate Housewives," Longoria has go a producing powerfulness subordinate pinch her accumulation company, UnbeliEVAable Entertainment, which she founded successful 2005 (it was acquired successful 2023 by Hyphenate Media Group, which Longoria cofounded). She's since produced nan Lifetime bid "Devious Maids," which ran from 2013-2016; nan 2015 NBC bid "Telenovela," and nan 2019 ABC bid "Grand Hotel."

"She came to nan rescue and she provided nan spread financing, virtually little than 24 hours earlier we had to fastener nan doors connected nan movie and locomotion away," Stahelski said, noting that shaper Iwanyk ne'er revealed who came done pinch nan money until aft "John Wick" became a hit.

"Basil took america retired to dinner, and we were laughing astir each nan bullshit that happened, and he said, 'By nan way, funny story, you cognize who spread financed you? Eva Longoria.' We were were like, 'What!'" Stahelski said.

Stahelski and Leitch had ne'er met Longoria, truthful they took her to luncheon astatine nan Chateau Marmont.

"She was laughing going, 'I didn't deliberation it was going to work,'" Stahelski said.

When Leitch ran into Longoria past twelvemonth astatine an event, they couldn't thief but talk astir "John Wick."

"We were reminiscing," he said. "She was like, 'Wow, that was nan champion money I've ever spent.' It paid backmost importantly for her." ("John Wick" went connected to gain complete $86 cardinal worldwide connected a $20 cardinal budget.)

So, has this opened nan doorway for Longoria to spell connected surface successful an action movie?

"She wants to for sure, she wants to do action," Leitch said. "I would emotion to activity pinch her, we're trying to find something."