Keanu Reeves, who was at the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend to promote his new movie Hardball, had a lot to say–and not just about baseball.
The film was not part of the festival, but this was the only weekend Reeves could eke out of his hectic shooting schedule for The Matrix sequels in Australia.
The actor, however, appeared eager to give his version of what happened with last year’s film The Watcher, and made it clear he was not happy with the project and how it came about.
Reeves was quoted in the Calgary Sun claiming a friend of his forged his signature on an agreement to appear in the $25 million shocker The Watcher.
“If it’s September that means it’s been a year so I can finally talk,” Reeves said.
Apparently, the actor could not say anything negative about the film for one year or he would have faced a lawsuit.
“I never found the script interesting, but a friend of mine forged my signature on the agreement,” he said. “I could not prove he did and I didn’t want to get sued for not honoring my contract so I had no other choice but to do the film.”
Watcher director Joe Charbanic is a former roadie for Reeves‘ rock band Dogstar and has also directed a music video for the group. According to Variety, Reeves had agreed to work for scale on the film as a favor to Charbanic.
Charbanic had been working on his low-budget directorial debut Macon, but teamed up with Interlight Pictures to make The Watcher after the first project was scrapped.
Universal Pictures reportedly acquired the domestic rights the R-rated crime thriller for a paltry $5 million but had to promote the film without the help of Reeves‘ interview support or images.
The actor ultimately received an additional $2 million for his role in the picture, which also stars James Spader and Marisa Tomei.
