An intimacy coordinator is weighing in on that raw footage from It Ends With Us!
As Perezcious readers know, as part of his lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Justin Baldoni released a nearly 10-minute video showing the actors filming an intimate slow dance scene on set.
As part of her sexual harassment claims, Blake alleged he made unwanted advances on her during the scene, including telling her that she smelled good. And she’s actually happy he released the footage because she believes it supports her claims. That said, Justin clapped back with the clips because he argued it proved he did nothing wrong.
Related: Justin Sued By His Own Lawyer Before — Over Issues With Another Film!
The footage began by showing a screenshot of the script, which noted that the couple would “slow dance in the bar” while others watched sports near them. There was no mention of kissing or anything else intimate — although Justin went in for one several times despite Blake insisting they should just talk. See (below):
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, Mia Schachter, an intimacy coordinator on shows like Lessons in Chemistry, Insecure, and American Crime Story, shared her two cents on the clips — and she’s actually shocked the director released it! When asked what first stood out to her when she watched the scene, Mia dished:
“The first thing is that he is trying to kiss her, and they clearly haven’t discussed that ahead of time, and she keeps pulling away and clearly doesn’t want to do that.”
So, she totally thought it proved he was in the wrong. She continued:
“He didn’t ask her [about kissing] or even mention that it was something he wanted to shoot — he just went for it. She pulled away, and then he did it again. He definitely should have communicated that that was what he wanted to shoot, but he didn’t. To me, that’s pretty damning, both as an actor and a director.”
Oof!
That said, she can understand why there may not have been an intimacy coordinator on set for this particular scene, noting:
“There’s two main reasons why people bring on an intimacy coordinator: either simulated sex or nudity. Anything else that could be considered intimate, we’re not always present or required. In a scene like this, it’s really common that you wouldn’t bring on an intimacy coordinator because there’s no simulated sex or nudity, and there’s not even kissing written into the scene. We saw that from that script excerpt. I know that there were two intimacy coordinators credited on this film, but it doesn’t surprise me at all that they wouldn’t have had an intimacy coordinator present for this scene. An intimacy coordinator would have been very clear: ‘We’re not doing any kissing. This is the kind of touch that is on the table. Nothing else is, we’re not going to bring anything into the scene that we haven’t discussed prior.'”
As for the power dynamic between the feuding co-stars, Mia mused:
“Even though she’s Blake Lively and can say no and isn’t going to be fired for speaking her mind the way that somebody else might fear, she still has to keep working with him and keep the peace and play nice. I can just see her trying to stay lighthearted and in good spirits about it and not upset him or anybody, and not waste anybody’s time. But of course, she is trapped between a rock and a hard place. I can see her appeasing him and trying to keep a smile on her face.”
She continued:
“In terms of the hierarchy on a set, he is in charge. But it can be very murky. Obviously, she’s the star, the household name on the project. I didn’t know who he was until this movie, but I have known who she is for many years, and so she’s not powerless. I would say she has a significant amount of power here. But regardless, he is the director and she’s supposed to take direction from him. I was sort of surprised that this is the clip that his team leaked.”
Clarifying why she thinks this video does NOT help the Jane the Virgin alum’s case, she shared:
“And I see the opposite. When someone has [Lively’s] level of fame and recognition, they do have a certain amount of power, but there’s always the actor-director relationship, and the director’s in charge.”
She went on to explain that “the problem here was that none of this [physical intimacy] was planned or discussed.” As for the fact that they were talking out of character during the scene, Mia didn’t think the conversation crossed any lines, but understands how tricky that can be. She opened up:
“If I were hearing what’s in this clip, none of it stands out to me as something where I would need to intervene. I even thought it was kind of sweet that they were talking about their own real-life partners. It was kind of awkward, but it was not inappropriate. And it was sort of reminding each other, we have lives outside of this.”
She added:
“But if I heard someone saying the things that I read that he had said [in Lively’s lawsuit], jokes about d**k size and things like that, I would have to intervene. But that even puts an intimacy coordinator in a really difficult position because he is also the director. Then it’s like, who do you go to? If you’re afraid that he has an ego that would lead him to have any kind of reaction that could stall shooting, then you become the villain. I would be afraid to be fired, quite honestly.”
While the alleged comment about smelling good may have sounded innocent, Mia went on to point out it could have just been “a straw that broke the camel’s back type of situation,” sharing:
“To say that out of character, it’s not inherently wrong or inappropriate, but when there has been mounting discomfort and mounting line crossings, I can see how that becomes yet another thing that was out of line.”
That said, she doesn’t think either of the stars are “lying” about what happened — they’re just strictly viewing the scene from “their own experience.” She reflected:
“They are really strongly disagreeing about things like professionalism, etiquette, what’s appropriate, what’s not, what it means to be an actor.”
She compared Justin’s behavior to that of old “Hollywood,” when it was more common for actors to do what they wanted without consent because they were “in the moment” or wanted it to “be organic.” She said:
“In Hollywood, in the not too recent past, that was not out of the ordinary. That doesn’t mean that it was OK, but we were operating with a different set of standards.”
Damn. This isn’t sounding very good for him! Maybe he shouldn’t have released those clips??
What do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Does this footage look bad for Justin? Tell us (below).
[Image via Phil Lewis/WENN/MEGA & Sony Pictures Entertainment/YouTube]