The new movie It Ends With Us starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni was released on Friday, August 9, and everyone in Hollywood is talking about it. But the film is also making headlines for other reasons, such as a possible rift between Lively and Baldoni.
According to a source speaking to People, the problems behind the scenes of It Ends With Us extend far beyond the alleged artistic differences between Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni.
According to the source, “Everything is not as it seems. There is more to this story. The lead actors and (writer) Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with it.”
Based on Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same title, the film follows Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) as she tries to fulfill her lifelong dream before her turbulent relationship with Riley Kincaid (Justin Baldoni) comes to an end. Other cast members include Hasan Minhaj, Isabella Ferrer, Jenny Slate, Alex Newstedter and Brandon Sklenar.
Over the weekend, It Ends with Us grossed a decent $50 million at the domestic box office. Prior to the film’s release, there were rumors of tension behind the scenes as Baldoni handled most of the press appearances himself and did not pose for a group photo with the actors at the New York premiere.
An insider familiar with Baldoni told PEOPLE on Monday that the alleged differences were exaggerated, pointing to an Aug. 8 Hollywood Reporter article that noted differences between the filmmakers during post-production that led to two different versions of the film being made.
According to the source, Lively “wants to direct the next film, taking over the rights from Colleen, leaving her aside.” However, a Hollywood source claims that no talk of a sequel has come to fruition just yet.
It Ends With Us is currently playing in theaters.
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