Film producer, 61, with credits on James Bond and Harry Potter is banned from the road for two years
An Emmy-winning filmmaker who has worked on James Bond and Harry Potter films has been banned from driving after crashing her car while nearly three times over the alcohol limit.
Courtney Vanderslice-Law, 61, crashed her black BMW 1 Series in Rowstock, Oxfordshire, on the morning of July 25 last year.
She appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday using crutches after sustaining a serious fracture that nearly resulted in the amputation of her foot.
Vanderslice-Law, from Hounslow, west London, has been fined £900 and given a two-year driving ban after previously admitting to driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
The court heard the visual effects producer, who has starred in some of the biggest Hollywood films of the past three decades, smelled of alcohol and sustained injuries when police officers were called to the scene.
Courtney Vanderslice-Law, 61, crashed her black BMW 1 Series in Rowstock, Oxfordshire, on the morning of July 25 last year
Vanderslice-Law’s credits include Specter (pictured) and other blockbusters like X-Men and Captain America
Alcohol tests later showed she had 98 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, nearly three times the legal limit of 35 micrograms.
Vanderslice-Law admitted to consuming alcohol the previous night but said she felt fit to ride this morning.
She told the court that she was taking a number of different medications that may have affected her body’s ability to process alcohol.
The hearing was scheduled for a “special reason” argument to allow attorneys hired by the film producer to present reasons why she should not have her driver’s license suspended.
However, reports of how the drugs would have affected her body’s ability to metabolize the alcohol were ongoing.
District Judge Kamlesh Rana was then asked to stay the case until it was completed, but refused, insisting it was not “in the interests of justice”.
Vanderslice-Law was unable to attend an earlier court hearing last year because she was in the United States, the judge noted.
Then it was “not possible to commission lawyers and experts with sufficient care”, which led to further delays in the proceedings before the court.
District Judge Rana concluded that there would be a further “significant delay” if she adjourned the case again.
She appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday using crutches after sustaining a serious fracture that nearly resulted in the amputation of her foot
The court mitigated that Vanderslice-Law was “very successful in the film industry”.
She was a director at Cinesite, a visual effects company, and worked as a producer on films such as the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises.
Her credits also include X-Men, Captain America and Assassin’s Creed in a career spanning more than 25 years.
In 2009, she was part of a team that won an Emmy for visual effects on Gulf War drama Generation Kill.
Recently, in February 2021, Vanderslice-Law sustained a Listfranc fracture in her foot and nearly lost her limb.
The foot was saved, but she had to undergo five surgeries to repair the injury.
She is still in significant pain and appeared in the dock on crutches and wearing a surgical boot.
Vanderslice-Law had also endured a series of family bereavements in recent years, the court heard.
She had no criminal record before pleading guilty to drink driving in October last year.
On top of that, fine and driving ban, was also Vanderslice law ordered to pay £610 in costs and surcharge.
She was given the opportunity to shorten the length of her disqualification by completing a drunk driving rehabilitation course.
