Eva Longoria. MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images
Eva Longoria continues to celebrate the massive financial success of John Wick.
More than a decade after investing $6 million into the movie, Longoria, 49, revealed she is still getting checks from the 2014 action thriller film.
“What I’m pissed off about is I wasn’t connected to the rest of them,” she told Business Insider in an interview published Thursday, October 31. “This was a one-time thing. That was the gamble. But that was my only mistake, not being attached to all of the films.”
About a week before production on John Wick began, directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch nearly ran out of money when they lost almost $6 million in gap financing. After Longoria stepped in with an investment, the film was released and made more than $86 million worldwide, serving as the beginning of a successful franchise with actor Keanu Reeves.
When asked how much she has made off of her investment, Longoria replied, “More than double, for sure.”
In addition to three sequels, the John Wick franchise also includes the prequel television series The Continental, video games and comic books.
Through all of the expansions, Longoria has been able to stay in touch with Reeves, 60. During their last reunion, both parties couldn’t help but acknowledge the 10-year anniversary.
“We ran into each other because of his girlfriend, Alexandra [Grant],” Longoria recalled. “We know her through some friends, and we met her and Keanu at an art event. Keanu said, ‘I’d love to take you to dinner. We should celebrate 10 years.’ So we toasted to John Wick.”
Longoria admits she is often asked to invest in a variety of companies and products. While she has said yes to some like Casa Del Sol tequila and the Los Angeles professional women’s soccer team Angel City FC, the actress says key factors play a role in her decisions.
Plenty of celebrities like to drink alcohol, but only a select few actually make it themselves. Close friends and Vampire Diaries alums Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder — they played brothers on the show — turned their real-life friendship and into something exciting, which became Brother’s Bond Bourbon. “The reality is we would finish shooting […]
“The things I invest in have to have purpose,” she explained. “They have to have a point of view. They have to fix a market problem or improve upon a market problem.”
Although John Wick was an undeniable success, Longoria was asked if she would still be investing if the project was unsuccessful. The producer believes she would be asking the same question: “How does my money make money?”
“I’ve been obsessed with that,” she said before adding her winning mindset. “I want to be making money while I’m sleeping.”
