JOHN WICK Director Chad Stahelski Reveals Story of How Eva Longoria Helped Save the Film

The kickass action-packed world of John Wick almost never made it to the screen, and according to director Chad Stahelski, we all have Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria to thank for saving it.

In a wild behind the scenes reveal from the new documentary Wick is Pain, now streaming on PVOD, Stahelski opened up about the film’s early financial struggles and the unexpected hero who stepped in. Stahelski told ComicBook:

“Dave [Leitch] and I didn’t know anything about her until after we wrapped — until after the movie came out. Then [producer] Basil [Iwanyk] told us, ‘Hey, by the way, you guys have a lunch scheduled with Eva,’ and we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s great.

“We’d love to meet her, great, why does she want to meet us?’ He’s like, ‘No, no, no — you’re going to buy her lunch and say thanks for that.’”

Turns out, Longoria quietly invested in John Wick at a critical moment when it desperately needed funding to survive. She wasn’t a veteran producer or financier at the time, just someone who believed in supporting filmmakers.

That leap of faith paid off in a massive way. According to Business Insider, she’s since doubled her stake and still collects residuals as the franchise keeps expanding. Stahelski continued;

“We’re like, ‘Well, back up, what?’ Like, no one had told us, so we didn’t know until much, much later in the game. He’s like, ‘Through her investments, and she wanted to invest in filmmakers and stuff.’

‘When Dave and I got to the lunch, it was still very fresh in our minds, we had only been told the day or two before. So, we got there and we sat down for lunch, and we’re like, ‘Look, we haven’t met before, but we don’t even know what to say,’ we were very embarrassed.”

What followed was a deeply humbling moment for the filmmakers, who suddenly found themselves face to face with the woman who unknowingly helped give their careers a massive boost. Stahelski added:

“We were like, ‘I wish someone would have told [us],’ if someone had told us the first day, I have no doubt Dave and I would have jumped on a plane from New York, flown back to L.A., and mowed her lawn…

“We were too starstruck and thankful, we were not very cool at all. We’re just like, ‘We can’t thank you enough,’ we were almost in tears, and she was really cool, she was like, ‘No no.’”

I love this story! A behind the scenes Hollywood story where a passion project teeters on collapse and an unexpected player steps in not for glory, but just to help. And now, thanks to Longoria’s support, John Wick went from a near casualty to a global action franchise.