Betting $20 million on Hollywood star Rebel Wilson as a first-time director was "a lot of risk" but a film company was happy to proceed, a judge has heard.
Wilson faced the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Monday in the latest lawsuit over her directorial debut, a musical comedy fittingly named "The Deb".
The Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids star wore a purple dress and sat in the back row of the small courtroom, frequently typing on her phone, as her barrister Dauid Sibtain SC questioned one of the film's producers.
Vince Holden, part of AI Film Production Limited which brought the lawsuit, was asked about a series of budget and financing emails in 2022 over the 2024 film.
"You accepted that $15 million was a lot of money to risk on a first-time director, do you agree?" Mr Sibtain asked.
"Correct, yes," Holden said.
Holden agreed AI Film was "quite content to risk that money and see where it ended up" and that the risk increased when the budget "subsequently went up to over $20 million".
In July 2024, the film's co-producers including Holden, Gregor Cameron, and Amanda Ghost claimed Wilson and her company Camp Sugar had made defamatory statements about them.
AI Film company directors claimed these alleged statements breached contracts and Wilson's obligations as production company director.
That allegedly caused economic loss, a potential film distributor to withdraw an offer and reputational damage to the producers.
In a cross-claim, Wilson and Camp Sugar allege Ms Ghost, Mr Cameron and Mr Holden’s involvement in the film was marked by “a troubling pattern of illicit egregious behaviours, including theft, bullying and sexual misconduct”.
Wilson - whose other credits include Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit and ABC underworld series Les Norton - and her company had an initial fee of six per cent of the film's budget, shared 50-50 with AI Film.
The Deb - eventually released in April 2026 - had multiple estimates for its potential worldwide revenue, starting from a predicted loss of $4.5 million if it performed poorly.
If successful, the film could "break even" or make a multi-million dollar profit, Justice Elisabeth Peden heard.
As a musical comedy with an Australian theme, The Deb's predicted revenue was based on the prior films Pitch Perfect, Muriel's Wedding, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Strictly Ballroom.
"They were all breakout successes but some of them came out 15 to 30 years ago," Mr Sibtain said.
"When people went to cinemas, before streaming?"
Mr Holden said it was "not easy" to get sound projections for box office revenue since the arrival of video streaming services "disrupted" the market.
The hearing continues.
The equity case follows a blockbuster defamation trial in May involving Wilson and the star of her directorial debut.
Australian actor Charlotte MacInnes claimed she was defamed in four social media posts by Wilson but a judge in July dismissed the case.
