Three people who worked on It Ends With Us are speaking out about what was really going on between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni on set!
As Perezcious readers know, the duo appeared to be feuding after refusing to promote the movie together in any capacity earlier this month. Other cast members and the book’s author Colleen Hoover have also snubbed Justin — the lead, director, and producer — during the press run.
(Almost) everyone’s been keeping quiet about what happened. But the most common theory from sources has been that the co-stars butted heads over creative choices. Meanwhile, others have also argued that Justin made Blake uncomfortable with “borderline abusive” behavior on set. Specifically, she was supposedly upset after learning that he’d asked about her weight so he could properly train for a lifting scene due to a back injury — and for reportedly lingering too long on a kiss, too, among other things.
Related: Blake Dragged For Saying THIS Movie Made Her ‘Laugh The Hardest’!
It’s been a real back and forth between sources. But now several people who worked on the film are speaking out!
Chatting with Rolling Stone in an exposé out on Wednesday, the insiders — all of whom were hired and paid by Justin’s Wayfarer Studios — pointed out that this production was already a struggle due to tons of delays thanks to strikes, Canadian wildfires that turned NYC skies orange, and several cast and crew members getting COVID. But it was creative differences and polar opposite personalities that really made things difficult. One crew member dished:
“Everyone knew that they didn’t like each other.”
That said, they think all the feud drama has been blown out of proportion:
“I think some of the rumors online seem a little strong. I don’t think they hate each other. But I don’t think they would work together again. Their styles are way too different. Blake is very business-minded and very practical. Justin … is so on the other side of why he makes art that they were never going to be friends.”
They’d never work together again?? Welp, there goes the sequel.
Another crew member agreed that it was creative differences that caused trouble — though it wasn’t because anyone was doing anything wrong. They just handled their work differently, they explained:
“There were such conflicting ideas of how to make the movie, and since Blake was bankrolling it, Justin couldn’t really put his foot down. But also he didn’t really have a strong opinion. He’s very good at directing actors and he’s good at acting, he’s an actor’s director, but as far as the direction of the entire picture goes, I don’t think it was his sort of film.”
Hmm. He was very passionate about the project and even secured the rights. The Jane the Virgin alum also previously directed Five Feet Apart and Clouds. Two people from the Cole Sprouse-led flick Five Feet Apart said they’d work with the director again happily, so in general, it doesn’t sound like he’s an issue. But his work style, ultimately, just wasn’t the right fit with his love interest.
While Justin took a backseat approach, Blake was apparently much more demanding. The Gossip Girl alum reportedly started off super enthusiastic about the project and had a lot of ideas about her character. The insiders said she brought in scrapbooks of ideas and notes for Lily Bloom’s wardrobe and set decorations. Unfortunately, this conflicted with what the costume department had already decided upon, one crew member said:
“We went dark because of picket lines and [in that time] the costume department was running around with their heads cut off trying to figure out how they could change everything to make sure Blake was happy. There were a lot of returns, exchanges, and repurchasing of an entire wardrobe.”
Oof.
A similar thing happened with the design of the leading lady’s flower shop. The design of the original set was “almost Gothic” with rich, dark violet and deep reds, giving it “a moody vibe,” a source recalled. However, Blake didn’t think the vision aligned with the character and pushed for changes. Ultimately, the set stayed mostly the same, but the crew member felt it was a perfect example to show just how much pressure there was behind the scenes over differing opinions.
But here’s where things get REALLY interesting. Despite starting off strong, the mother of four reportedly totally lost interest in the project — seemingly after getting criticism from the public!
The three insiders recalled that, from the very beginning, the leading lady often had scheduling conflicts, which isn’t very common for the principal actor who is also a producer. But things took a turn for the worse when photos of her on set leaked and she suddenly seemed to lose her passion for the film! Yikes!
If you don’t know, the initial first look at the movie was met with a lot of negativity from diehard Colleen Hoover fans because they were upset the cast had been aged up and many didn’t like Blake’s outfits. Guess Blake got her feelings hurt! The sources added that she didn’t hide her disinterest in being on set after this paparazzi incident — and it was often a conversation among line members of the production. One pointed out:
“There was lots of talk about, if this wasn’t contractually obligated she probably would have just scrapped the whole thing. Justin was a little inexperienced with running a big crew and Blake was, at first, too domineering, because she was treating us like a bigger production than it was. Then, after she stopped caring, she didn’t care about anything about the shoot … Normally that wouldn’t be that big of a deal, a lot of actors are like that, but she was so invested in the beginning and then the more she and Justin interacted, the less she cared about it.”
Whoa!
Still, Justin and Blake “seemed pretty amicable” on set, even when they disagreed, a source shared:
“Blake had her own opinions on how she felt things should be done. Justin gave his two cents. Blake gave her two cents. She certainly had a say in the scenes and that trickled down to her wardrobe and all those things. But that’s pretty common.”
Another crew member added:
“I feel like a lot of the things you’re seeing online makes it sound like it was a hostile work environment, and it wasn’t in any way, shape, or form. Everybody was very professional. Everyone was nice. They didn’t yell at each other. There was no, like, ‘Oh, Mom and Dad have to go behind a closed door and yell at each other.’ Nothing like that happened.”
Well, that’s good. That would be very unfortunate, especially given the nature of this film.
Doubling down on this, the sources claim Justin tried his best to foster a warm and friendly environment on set, even making an effort to get to know everyone personally and bridge the gap between above-the-line members (directors, actors, writers, all the fancy people) and the below-the-line crew. He’d apparently come to the production offices or set busily high-fiving everyone, and he was described as a “super nice” guy who went out of his way to make small talk. Quite different than his counterpart who was supposedly super “rude”!
By the way, Justin also seemed to connect with his crew. When he cut his hair to play Ryle, he told the crew he was donating his hair to charity because someone who worked on the movie does the same every summer in honor of their mom who had breast cancer. He also hosted and paid for a screening of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves to celebrate their film’s director of photography, Barry Peterson, who worked on both films. An insider explained:
“Justin Baldoni is very much about ‘Namaste, peace, love,’ and is a happy guy. He was much more personable and available than pretty much any other director and certainly any other lead actor that I’ve worked with.”
But no amount of kindness could hide the fact that some crew thought he was “out of his depth” on IEWU. One person acknowledged:
“There’s two types of directors: There’s the ones that want control over every little thing — they choose every color, choose every costume, all that — and then there are directors that hire people they trust and they spend all their time in rehearsal and in front of the camera dealing with actors. Justin was very much the latter.”
Justin reportedly “didn’t have notes on anything” and relied on those he trusted to help steer the ship:
“He just hired people that he trusted, but Blake really wanted to have her fingers in every little thing, which is fine, she’s executive producer. No one was upset by that. But I think she was kind of taken aback by how sort of laissez-faire Justin was.”
That said, he seemed deeply connected to the message of the film and kept that at the forefront of everyone’s minds while filming, a source insisted:
“I understood that he had a lot of weight on his shoulders that he was carrying. He was always reminding us that aside from the fact that we were trying to make the best possible product, we had an obligation to do the victims of domestic violence justice by telling their story in a way that was respectful and accurate, by shining a light on it. He was always reminding us that this movie has the potential to change lives.”
This has been one of Blake’s biggest criticisms from her marketing efforts — that she downplayed the seriousness of the film. TBH, it sounds like she kinda downplayed it on set too. Or, at least she was more passionate about other elements of the film, like the fashion. But does that mean she’s a super terrible diva that nobody will ever want to work with again?? No.
When one crew member who has worked in the industry for more than 20 years was asked what it was like to work with the A Simple Favor alum, they told the outlet:
“It was fine. We’ll leave it at that. It was a fine shoot. Every production I’ve worked on has its cast of characters, and you know, it is what it is. It’s all good.”
Hmm.
It we’re to believe this intel, it sounds like typical Hollywood drama. Heck, if they hadn’t so drastically cut Justin off from the promotion, we may never have known all this had happened. But, still, it’s the fact that they did alienate him so much that still has us wondering… Why cut ties with the actor if they only fought about creative differences? Doesn’t that seem a little dramatic??
Our verdict is still out, but these three crew members who worked on the romance don’t believe things are as bad as they sound on the internet. They insisted that the controversy only got worse after the premiere, when fans started looking into the potential beef. But again, fans weren’t making up the fact that JB was snubbed, were they? So, perhaps there’s still more to the story…
What do you think, Perezcious readers? Does this give you any insight into the scandal? Sound OFF (below)!
