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Emmy-winning director and screenwriter Sacha Gervasi has been called a “monster” and a “predator” in a sexual assault charge brought by an interior designer who worked on his Hollywood Hills home.
Diana Lands Nathanson – a friend of Gervasi’s heiress wife, Jessica de Rothschild – is accusing the director of The Terminal of multiple harassment and groping in the lawsuit, starting when she was first hired in 2014.
It eventually culminated in Gervasi, 56, pinning her to a table in January of this year and attacking her, she claims.
She is now seeking a jury trial, where she hopes to win an unspecified amount in punitive damages — claiming she left behind emotional distress.
It remains unclear whether there is a lawyer who can speak on Gervasi’s behalf. Other press representatives for Gervasi and de Rothschild have been approached for comment by DailyMail.com, but have not yet responded.
Sacha Gervasi, 56 (left), has been charged with sexual assault by interior designer Diana Lands Nathanson (right)
Gervasi is pictured with his theater producer wife Jessica de Rothschild
Lands argues in her lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles on Sept. 26, that “Sacha Gervasi is a sexual predator.
In public, Gervasi is Hitchcock’s Academy Award-nominated director, as well as the screenwriter and/or filmmaker behind Steven Spielberg’s hit film The Terminal, Henry’s Crime starring Keanu Reeves and the remake of How to Marry a Millionaire starring Nicole Kidman.
“Privately, Gervasi is a monster,” the lawsuit states.
“Despite being a widely admired figure in public opinion – or perhaps because of the unchecked power that comes with such fame – Gervasi is regularly sexually harassed.”
She writes in court documents obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com that: she eventually launched legal action because her work for Gervasi and de Rothschild was complete, accusing him of a range of offenses — including sexual assault, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence, and creating a hostile work environment.
De Rothschild began her own legal action against Lands in May of this year, suing her for fraud.
Lands was contracted to work on Gervasi and de Rothschild’s Hollywood Hills home
Lands also revealed in court documents that she briefly dated the London-born filmmaker in the early 1990s.
Talented and well-connected, Gervasi was the drummer for Gavin Rossdale’s band Bush before they rose to fame, and his first job was working for British poet-laureate Ted Hughes.
In 2005, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell gave birth to their daughter Bluebell.
Gervasi married theater producer de Rothschild in December 2010 at a wedding in London, attended by the likes of Alec Baldwin, Helena Bonham-Carter, Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes and Simon Le Bon with his wife Yasmin Le Bon.
Lands stated in the court documents that Gervasi’s marriage to the British heiress brought her closer to the couple.
“Lands assumed she would be more protected due to the fact that he was involved with the Rothschild, so she was willing to become closer friends with Gervasi and the Rothschild,” she wrote.
“Unfortunately, Gervasi was lecherous and disgusting in his physical behavior towards Lands, even when De Rothschild was there.”
Lands said she was awarded a contract in 2014 to work on the couple’s Hollywood Hills home, previously owned by Ryan Seacrest, and before him by Kevin Costner.
Lands claims that while she was working for the couple, “Gervasi regularly touched and loved Lands in a sexually inappropriate way.”
She said she endured it because she wanted to complete the project and get paid for her work.
Lands claims the situation escalated in July 2021, when Gervasi pushed her against her car as she left, forcing her to kiss and grope her.
She said she drove off “trembling and in tears” and told a friend about the alleged assault.
Lands said she felt obligated to do the job, but accused Gervasi of being ruthless — eventually pinning her to a table in the house with her wrists and “pushing her in” until she managed to flee.
Lands (right) is pictured with Joyce Varvatos at a book launch in Beverly Hills in 2013
Lands said she managed to break free and tried to escape, but claims he “locked the door so she couldn’t get out.”
The suit continues: “Again Gervasi pushed his body against Lands and tried to kiss her on the neck and on the mouth.
Lands kept telling him to stop and she had to get out of the room and leave. She finally got the door open and was able to leave the room. He chased Lands to her car and tried again to tell her she wanted him.’
“Lands assumed she would be more protected due to the fact that he was involved with the Rothschild, so she was willing to become closer friends with Gervasi and the Rothschild,” she wrote.
“Unfortunately, Gervasi was lecherous and disgusting in his physical behavior towards Lands, even when De Rothschild was there.”
Lands said she was awarded a contract in 2014 to work on the couple’s Hollywood Hills home, previously owned by Ryan Seacrest, and before him by Kevin Costner.
Lands claims that while she was working for the couple, “Gervasi regularly touched and loved Lands in a sexually inappropriate way.”
She said she endured it because she wanted to complete the project and get paid for her work.
Lands claims the situation escalated in July 2021, when Gervasi pushed her against her car as she left, forcing her to kiss and grope her.
She said she drove off “trembling and in tears” and told a friend about the alleged assault.
Lands said she felt obligated to do the job, but accused Gervasi of being ruthless — eventually pinning her to a table in the house with her wrists and “pushing her in” until she managed to flee.
Gervasi, whose academic father was an economic adviser to John F. Kennedy while in the White House, grew up in a prosperous and cultured household.
He was educated at Oxford and his first job was with British poet laureate Ted Hughes.
He then went on to work for the trustee of Samuel Beckett’s estate, preparing a sale of his papers at Sotheby’s.
Gervasi moved to Los Angeles to study film and in 2004 wrote the screenplay for The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg.
He also directed the 2010 documentary Anvil about the Canadian heavy metal band of the same name, which won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. The film gained cult status and was re-released in theaters last week.
His first narrative feature film was the Oscar-nominated Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren and Scarlett Johansson.
In 2019, he won an Emmy for My Dinner With Hervé, starring Peter Dinklage as French actor Hervé Villechaize.