LOS ANGELES -- Actress Kim Basinger, sued for backing out of a movie deal, testified Monday she felt uncomfortable about nude scenes in the film 'Boxing Helena.'
Basinger, taking the witness for the first time in a $6.4-million breach of contract suit filed by Main Line Pictures Inc., told the Los Angeles Superior Court jury that she turned down the script in 1991 over concerns that some of the scenes would include 'graphic' rather than 'artistic' sex.
'You'd rather have artistic (scenes) instead of graphic,' Basinger said before a packed courtroom in downtown Los Angeles.
Attorneys for Basinger have been attempting to establish that the actress never made a final commitment to star in the movie as Helena.
In the film, a doctor rescues Helena from a car accident, then amputates her injured legs and unhurt arms and keeps her as a hostage in a box, hoping she will fall in love with him.
Main Line has argued it had an oral agreement from Basinger to star, but that she walked off the project four weeks before shooting had been slated to begin in July 1991.
The company claims the actress' defection wasted months of effort designed to raise funds based on her agreement to do the movie.
After Basinger backed out of the film, Main Line re-cast the movie with Sherilyn Fenn and premiered it at the Sundance Film Festival in January. No studio has agreed yet to distribute it domestically.
In addition to suing Basinger, Main Line has also named the International Creative Management (ICM) talent agency as a plaintiff because of alleged interference.
Hollywood is closely watching the trial -- which is expected to last for another week -- because of the case's implications for studios and stars on the applicability of oral agreements.
Basinger, who has worn demure black outfits during the two weeks of the trial, testified Monday that she had never approved the script -- despite testimony to the contrary given by the head of her development company during a deposition.
Main Line and Basinger's negotiations for 'Helena' followed widespread reports of battles that the actress and co-star Alec Baldwin had with Disney during the filming of 'The Marrying Man,' which subsequently flopped at theaters.
Carl Mazzocone, president of Main Line, testified last week that Basinger's agent at ICM told him that the actress did not want to play the part of a 'bitch' in 'Helena,' because of the scathing news reports about her actions on the set of 'The Marrying Man.'
