I try to read a question/answer each day in the French and Spanish editions of Quora to keep my language skills alive. I like Quora because the content is basic (easy to understand), and the questions are usually People Magazine dumb, which is a nice break from reading blog posts about economics and social issues. Today, there was an interesting question about Kim Basinger:

“Kim Basinger won an Oscar for LA Confidential, but her career went nowhere. Why? Did she make a huge mistake by taking a 2-year sabbatical right after that win? Why was she never again the huge movie star she once was in the early ‘90s?”

As it turns out, she didn’t take a sabbatical at all. She took a course in the School of Hard Knocks and learned a hard lesson about contract law.

Apparently, at some point in the early ‘90s, Basinger verbally agreed to star in a movie called Boxing Helena. Some time later, she backed out of it, saying she hadn’t realized that it was a story about a woman who is mutilated and held captive by a psychotic surgeon.

But by then, the movie was well into pre-production and millions had been spent, including money to put out the word about Basinger’s role in it. The producer, Main Line Pictures, then sued Basinger for breach of contract, citing losses of $6.4 million in overall sales.

Basinger was found guilty and was ordered to pay $7.4 million in damages, which forced her to file for bankruptcy. And despite her talent, her Oscar win for LA Confidential, and her bankability at the box office, the scandal damaged her reputation in Hollywood.

The lesson: Informal agreements are sometimes enforceable under the law. When you agree to something, even if you don’t have a formal, signed contract, you are obliged to fulfill your end of the bargain.