Attorney Bryan Freedman, representing actor/director Justin Baldoni, appeared on the November 8th episode of the “2 Angry Men Podcast” with hosts Mark Geragos and Harvey Levin, pushing back against claims that Baldoni’s team “missed a crucial filing deadline” in the explosive Baldoni v. Lively case.
Freedman also called out TMZ’s coverage specifically, again clarifying that no appeal deadline was missed and that TMZ reports stemmed from “a misunderstanding of legal procedure.”
“Before anyone can even file an appeal, there has to be a final judgment,” Freedman explained. “The judge only issued that a few days ago and even reserved it from being appealable until after ruling on the attorney fees motion. So there was no missed deadline, because there was no deadline yet.”
Levin, who acknowledged that TMZ’s initial report was incorrect, admitted, “We screwed that up. It wasn’t analyzed right.” He explained that his newsroom “counted the wrong date” and immediately corrected the story after Freedman’s clarification.
Freedman emphasized that the misunderstanding actually originated from Lively’s legal team, accusing them of spinning the story to make it seem as though Baldoni’s side had given up on the countersuit.
“That spin came directly from the Lively camp,” Freedman said. “They tried to portray this as a legal victory when, in fact, nothing procedural had changed.” Freedman added that he and Baldoni are actually “excited to go to trial,” noting that Baldoni has no interest in settling. “We’re looking toward trial and we’re confident in the facts. The case has always been about whether there was sexual harassment and whether there was a smear campaign. A jury will decide.”
Levin, Geragos and Freedman also discussed media bias, Hollywood influence, and what Levin referred to as “the TikTok jury.” Freedman admitted that social media has been very fair to Baldoni, crediting audiences for “seeing through the noise.”
The legal feud between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively began in early 2025 after Lively filed a $161 million civil lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, retaliation, and defamation linked to their work on “It Ends with Us,” a film he directed and co-produced through his production company, Wayfarer Studios. Lively claimed Baldoni “smeared her reputation” and caused “irreparable harm” to her career.
Baldoni, known for “Jane the Virgin,” vehemently denied the allegations and filed a countersuit alleging defamation and malicious interference with his business partnerships. That countersuit was dismissed in June 2025, leading to widespread media reports that Baldoni’s team had failed to meet procedural deadlines, a claim that Freedman dismantled on the podcast.
“This case has always been about two questions: was there sexual harassment, and was there a smear campaign? We’re confident the jury will see the truth,” he told Geragos and Levin.
The case, filed in the Southern District of New York under Judge Lewis Liman, remains one of Hollywood’s most closely watched legal battles since the Depp-Heard defamation trial. Both sides have accused the other of weaponizing the press. The trial is scheduled in NY for March 2026.
Blake Lively is seeking over US$160 million in damages due to an alleged smear campaign launched against her during the release of the film It Ends With Us.
In a newly unsealed court filing, viewed by People, Lively claimed she lost $56.2 million in past and future earnings from acting, speaking engagements and endorsements.
The documents, originally submitted in July, claim that the 38-year-old actor also suffered $71 million in lost business profits from her haircare line, Blake Brown, and her beverage companies, Betty Buzz and Betty Booze.
Her legal team also alleges Lively has suffered $34 million in reputational harm due to “defamatory statements.”
In her lawsuit, which was first filed on Dec. 31, 2024, Lively’s legal team stated that her damages exceeded $75,000. But in a disclosure provided to the defence in the new documents, her team argued that she has suffered at least $161 million in actual damages.
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Her lawyers will also seek at least three times that in punitive damages, according to Variety.
Lively’s disclosure notes that her damages figure is preliminary and subject to proof via expert testimony at trial, per the filing.
The documents came after a final judgment was entered in her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni’s $400-million defamation and extortion countersuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds after Baldoni missed the deadline to file an amended complaint.
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Last Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman signed an order stating that Baldoni, 41, and his production company Wayfarer Studios had let the deadline lapse after the court dismissed the case in June.
Liman said he’d contacted all parties on Oct. 17 to let them know he’d be entering a final judgment to conclude the case.
Lively was the only one to respond, asking the judge to finalize the dismissal and keep her request for legal fees open, which the judge agreed to.
Baldoni may still appeal the dismissal after the court decides Lively’s pending motion for legal fees, according to E! News.
Liman previously dismissed Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios’ lawsuit on June 9, but allowed him and his legal team to amend the complaint to change the “allegations relevant to the claims of tortious interference with contract and breach of implied covenant.”
Liman also ruled that Baldoni’s claims that Lively stole creative control of the film didn’t count as extortion under California law.
“The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged,” Liman wrote in the opinion and order filing. “The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and (publicist Leslie) Sloane made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct and that the Times made additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign.
“But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them, as is required for them to be liable for defamation under applicable law.
“The Wayfarer Parties’ additional claims also fail. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety.”
The judge also dismissed Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, which had reported on Lively’s sexual harassment allegations.
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Baldoni’s suit was seeking at least $400 million for damages that included lost future income. The lawsuit from Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios, which also named Sloane as a defendant, came about two weeks after Lively sued Baldoni and several others tied to the film, alleging harassment and a co-ordinated campaign to attack her reputation for coming forward about her treatment on the set.
Lively sought unspecified damages when she sued Baldoni in late December 2024 for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation. The trial is currently set to take place in March 2026.
A final judgment was entered in Justin Baldoni’s US$400-million defamation and extortion countersuit against It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds after Baldoni missed the deadline to file an amended complaint.
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman signed an order stating that Baldoni, 41, and his production company Wayfarer Studios had let the deadline lapse after the court dismissed the case in June.
Liman said he’d contacted all parties on Oct. 17 to let them know he’d be entering a final judgment to conclude the case.
Lively, 38, was the only one to respond, asking the judge to finalize the dismissal and to keep her request for legal fees open, which the judge agreed to, according to People.
Baldoni may still appeal the dismissal after the court decides Lively’s pending motion for legal fees, according to E! News.
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Liman previously dismissed Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios’ lawsuit on June 9, but allowed him and his legal team to amend the complaint to change the “allegations relevant to the claims of tortious interference with contract and breach of implied covenant.”
Liman also ruled that Baldoni’s claims that Lively stole creative control of the film didn’t count as extortion under California law.
“The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged,” Liman wrote in the opinion and order filing. “The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and (publicist Leslie) Sloane made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct and that the Times made additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign.
Justin Baldoni’s legal team claps back after Blake Lively’s recent court victory
“But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them, as is required for them to be liable for defamation under applicable law.
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“The Wayfarer Parties’ additional claims also fail. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety.”
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The judge also dismissed Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, which had reported on Lively’s sexual harassment allegations.
Lively’s lawyers previously called the dismissal “a total victory and complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times.”
“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation,” Lively’s lawyers said in a statement.
Baldoni’s suit was seeking at least $400 million for damages that included lost future income. The lawsuit from Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios, which also named Sloane as a defendant, came about two weeks after Lively sued Baldoni and several others tied to the film, alleging harassment and a co-ordinated campaign to attack her reputation for coming forward about her treatment on the set.
Justin Baldoni releases behind-the-scenes footage of him and Blake Lively on ‘It Ends with Us’ set
Lively’s lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that Baldoni and his production company’s claims that they were defamed were a “profound abuse of the legal process.”
“The law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits, like this one, to retaliate against individuals who have filed legal claims or have publicly spoken out about sexual harassment and retaliation,” the lawyers said.
“The right to seek legal redress and the right of the press to report on it are sacred principles that are protected by multiple privileges, including the litigation and fair report privileges, which are absolute.”
Lively’s legal team also referred to Baldoni’s lawsuit as part of a “sinister campaign to bury and destroy” her for speaking out about sexual harassment against him.
Lively sought unspecified damages when she sued Baldoni in late December 2024 for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation. The trial is currently set to take place in March 2026.
Japanese anime feature Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is off to an impressive start at the U.S. box office, where it topped Friday’s chart with $8.5 million from 3,003 theaters. The acclaimed manga pic — now on course to open to a better-than-expected $15 million to $17 million — boasts a 96 percent critics score and a 99 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, a rarely seen combo, in addition to an A CinemaScore.
Friday’s earnings include a stellar $3.4 million in Thursday previews.
Since launching in cinemas last month in Japan, Chainsaw Man— The Movie has already grossed north of $64 million at the global box office. Sony and Crunchyroll are handling the movie domestically and in select overseas markets. Produced by the team at MAPPA, the R-rated pic is based on the hit manga-turned-anime TV series that is available to stream in the U.S. on Disney+, Crunchyroll and other platforms.
Chainsaw Man follows the adventures of Denji (Kikunosuke Toya), a teenager and demon hunter who is killed by his overlords, the yakuza. But when his beloved chainsaw-powered, devil-dog Pochita (Shiori Izawa) makes a deal and sacrifices himself, Benji is reborn with the ability to transform parts of his body into chainsaws. Along with violence, the pic doubles as a teenage romance with the arrival of the mysterious Reze. However, Reze is not quite who she seems, and a series of battles ensues that could destroy Tokyo when their love story takes a twisted turn.
Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, the film is based on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s original story, with a screenplay by Hiroshi Seko.“It’s safe to say that manga and anime fans won’t be disappointed, even if they’ll inevitably be nitpicking about one narrative aspect or another,” writes THR in its review.
Heading into its U.S. opening, Chainsaw Man was expected to battle Blumhouse and Universal’s holdover hit Black Phone 2 for No. 1 with a debut in the $11 million to $12 million range. But it quickly pulled ahead of the pack thanks to males, who made up 75 percent of all ticket buyers, and younger moviegoers, with more than 50 percent of ticket buyers under the age of 25. It’s also drawing an ethnically diverse audience, including over-indexing among Asian moviegoers (17 percent), according to PostTrak.
In second surprise twist, Regretting You — the second Colleen Hoover book adaptation to hit the big screen after 2024’s box office blockbuster It Ends With Us — pulled ahead of Black Phone 2 and Disney’s new bio-drama Deliver Me From Nowhere: Springsteen to come in second on Friday with a better-than-expected $5.2 million from 3,593 locations for an estimated opening of $13 million (rival studios aren’t sure it will actually hit that mark).
Many expected Regretting You to be dinged by generally withering reviews, but the female-fueled pic is garnering strong exits on PosTrak and boasts an audience score of 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (its CinemaScore, however, was only a B). It’s also clearly benefiting from a glut of male-skewing fare that has dominated the marquee for months, and is also a testament to Hoover’s enduring popularity among younger women and teenagers. (She’s one of many who have been caught up in the ongoing legal battle betweenIt Ends With Us director/producer Justin Baldoni and actress/producer Blake Lively). Females made up nearly 85 percent of Friday’s audience, while 73 percent of all ticket buyers were under the age of 35.
The new film is described as a romantic drama that speaks to the aspirational theme of living life fully and with no regrets. Constantin Films produced and financed the movie, with Paramount acquiring domestic and certain overseas rights. Internationally, the film opens this week in 40 markets, including the U.K., Australia, Brazil and Mexico.
Instead of holding Thursday previews, Paramount hosted a special Regretting You fan event at AMC Lincoln Square in New York City, which was streamed live into 500 theaters across the country. The screening of the pic was accompanied by a Q&A with director Josh Boone and cast members Allison Williams, Dave Franco and Mason Thames.
Saturday will determine whether Regretting You can hold its lead over Blumhouse and Universal’s holdover hit Black Phone 2, which earned $3.8 million on Friday and is projecting a debut in the $12 million-plus range. The pic is holding in remarkably well for a horror title, and should continue to take advantage of being the only major studio horror film opening nationwide over the Halloween corridor this year.
Disney’s bio-drama Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is now expected to come in fourth with $9 million to $10 million after earning $3.5 million on Friday, including $850,000 in Thursday previews. The movie is skewing notably older, which is no surprise. More than 60 percent of ticket buyers on Friday were 45 and older, including 40 percent over the age of 55. Its Rotten Tomatoes critics score presently rests at 66 percent; the RT audience score is far stronger at 83 percent. And it earned a B+ CinemaScore.
Springsteen, playing in a total of 3,460 cinemas, should see a boost from 250 IMAX runs and an additional 750 in other premium large-format auditoriums. The music-infused pic stars Jeremy Allen White in the titular role, and he is credited in THR‘s review for giving a “raw and internalized performance as The Boss.” Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham and Odessa Young also star in director Scott Cooper’s examination of a brutal comedown after a blockbuster tour, which yielded the prolific musician’s most personal album.
It remains to be seen how much of an impact the first two games of this year’s World Series — which pits the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Toronto Blue Jays — have on the weekend box office. Generally speaking, NFL games pose far more competition. At the same time, L.A. is the largest moviegoing market alongside New York City (it is also the biggest market for anime). Friday night’s opening game of the World Series, as well as Saturday’s, are both in Toronto.
At the specialty box office, Neon is launching Shelby Oaks in 1,823 locations. Marking YouTube movie critic Chris Stuckmann‘s debut feature, the found-footage pic is eyeing an opening in the $2 million to $2.5 million range. So far, its main claim to fame is that it raised $1.4 million via a Kickstarter campaign, the highest amount ever for a horror title, per the crowd-sourcing platform. Neon later provided some additional funds.
Focus Features’ awards contender Bugonia is also making headlines in its limited debut at the specialty box office, and is on course to post an opening per-location average of $32,765 from 17 cinemas, one of the best platform starts of the year to date (it will also be the top location average of the weekend by a long shot). Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the acclaimed film stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.
Oct. 25, 9:30 a.m.: Updated with Friday grosses.
This story was originally published Oct. 24 at 6:43 p.m.
Justin Baldoni‘s latest attempt to pull Taylor Swift into his defense against sexual harassment and retaliation allegations from It End With Us co-star Blake Lively looks to be going off the rails faster than the Grammy winner’s upcoming The Life of a Showgirlalbum is expected to rocket to the top of the charts.
Not yet approved by a judge in the case that goes to trial next spring, Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studies inner circle want to see Swift deposed “during the week of October 20-25 due to Ms. Swift’s preexisting professional obligations. However, the recently engaged singer has not been “agreed” to the sit-down next month, which comes weeks after discovery in the matter was supposed to be over, and Baldoni’s side has presented no “evidence” to justify it, says a sharply worded filing by Lively’s lawyers today.
Calling the effort first made public by Baldoni in a September 11 letter to the court, another move “to fuel their relentless media strategy,” Lively attorney Michael J. Gottlieb wants federal Judge Lewis Liman to deny the Swift deposition, its dates and the discovery extension effort. “Even if one were to take the Wayfarer Defendants’ representation at face value, they have not come close to establishing good cause for their requested relief,” the Willkie Farr & Gallagher partner insists.
“The Wayfarer Defendants assert that Ms. Swift is not available for a deposition until October 20, 2025, yet are silent about their efforts (if any) to schedule this deposition during the existing discovery period,” Gottlieb adds.
“That is likely because, as explained in the attached correspondence between the parties, see Exhibit A, the Wayfarer Defendants do not appear to have contacted Ms. Swift’s counsel regarding a date or location about the deposition until earlier this week,” Lively co-lead lawyer states.
“In this respect, the Wayfarer Defendants’ lack of diligence, and disrespect for Ms. Swift’s privacy and schedule, is astounding. Discovery has been ongoing for more than six months, and Ms. Swift is someone whose calendar should be presumed to be packed with professional obligations for months in advance,” Gottlieb continued. “At any point over the past six months, the Wayfarer Defendants could have noticed a deposition, served a subpoena, and negotiated an agreeable time and place for this deposition. But they did not.”
As the overall matter heads towards its March 9, 2026 trial date start, Judge Liman will have the final word – for now – on bringing Swift on board and giving Baldoni and his Wayfarer co-founders more time for their own depositions.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in a scene from ‘It Ends With Us‘
Sony Pictures Releasing / courtesy Everett Collection
Having been round this maypole before over the months since December 2024 when Lively first made her claims to California Civil Rights Department of what went down on the IEWU production and the online smear campaign that allegedly followed, Swift’s reps did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment on the supposed deposition next month and the back-and-forth correspondence. Baldoni and Wayfarer’s PR team also did not answer a request to respond to today’s damning letter from Livley’s side.
Blake Lively and Taylor Swift attend a private party at Lucalli Pizza restaurant in Brooklyn on January 10, 2024 in New York City (Getty)
Robert Kamau/GC Images
Swift and Lively’s long friendship had been a distinct sub-plot in the IEWU legal battles, with tabloid fodder that the duo have fallen out over the controversy adverse Eras Tour performer getting tainted with the whole thing. Swift was name checked in the self titled Scenario Planning document that Baldoni crisis PR chief Melissa Nathan, who is also a defendant in the case, put together in the summer of 2024 as IEWU‘s premiere loomed. “As part of this, our team can also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people in BL’s circle like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want,” the five-pager said in a section called “Scenario 3: Ryan comes forward in defense of his wife.”
On the docket, Swift talking to Baldoni’s Bryan Freedman-led lawyers was a media storm back in May and June. Even before that, Swift, who contributed her ‘My Tears Ricochet’ tune to the Lively cut of IEWU, made a cameo or two in various filings with IEWU director Baldoni feeling ganged up on when Swift’s name was brought up as one of Lively’s “dragons” who backed her suggestions for changes to the movie.
While it does seem that Swift and Lively may not be hangin out that much of late, at least publicly, but the former is still the godmother to one of the latter and Ryan Reynolds’ children. No word, if Lively and Reynolds are going to Swift’s wedding with repeat Super Bowl champ and Kansas City Chief player Travis Kelce – but then again there is no word when that American royalty nuptial day is happening and who is going besides Swift and Kelce.
What we do know is that Swift’s new Life of a Showgirl album is se to drop on October 3 — a few weeks before the deposition Team Baldoni want her to give.
‘The Life of A Showgirl’ album cover
Instagram/ taylorswift / Mert Alas / Marcus Piggott
Taylor Swift has agreed to sit for a deposition in the ongoing legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, according to a court filing from Baldoni’s camp.
Swift is likely to be asked about any discussions she had with Lively about conditions on the set of “It Ends With Us.” Baldoni’s team previously got court permission to obtain messages between Lively and Swift, after Lively’s team tried unsuccessfully to exclude Swift from the case.
The two sides are nearing completion of discovery in the high-profile case. Lively has sued Baldoni, her director and co-star, for sexual harassment and retaliation, alleging that he and the film’s producers and publicists launched an online smear campaign against her to punish her for raising complaints. A trial is scheduled for next spring in federal court in New York.
Lively has already been deposed. Her team has yet to take depositions of Baldoni or co-defendants Steven Sarowitz and Jamey Heath. In a motion on Thursday, her lawyers asked for an extension of the deadline to take depositions from Sept. 30 to Oct. 10, stating that the Baldoni team has dragged its feet in producing requested documents.
Lively’s lawyers also stated that they expect Baldoni’s team to ask for a 30-day extension for all discovery.
In a response on Thursday, Baldoni’s side said that is not true, and that they are asking for an extension only so that they can take Swift’s deposition during the week of Oct. 20-25, “due to Ms. Swift’s preexisting professional obligations.”
Baldoni’s side asked the court to extend the deadline solely for the “purpose of accommodating third-party witness Taylor Swift who has agreed to appear for deposition but is unable to do so before October 20, 2025.”
Baldoni’s lawyers opposed Lively’s request for a blanket extension of the deadline. The two sides previously reached an agreement to hold Baldoni’s deposition on Sept. 21-22, Sarowitz’s on Sept. 15, and Heath’s on Sept. 18-19. Lively’s team argues that Baldoni’s lawyers are defying a court order to turn over Signal messages promptly.
Lively’s team has argued that Baldoni’s side has repeatedly dragged Swift into the case in order to attract media attention. Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lead attorney, previously alleged that he had heard that Lively was seeking to pressure Swift to issue a statement of support, and that Lively had urged Swift to delete their communications. The judge struck that allegation from the court record.
Baldoni’s team also previously subpoenaed Swift for communications, though that subpoena was later withdrawn.
A new update for Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively‘s legal battle just emerged, and it involves none other than Taylor Swift. The “Lover” singer agreed to be questioned by the It Ends With Us director’s legal team shortly after her album release.
Us Weeklyreported that Baldoni’s team filed court documents to have Taylor Swift deposed during the week of of October 20 to 25. They noted the dates were determined due to Swift’s “preexisting professional obligations.” Swift is notably releasing her 12th album The Life of a Showgirl on Oct. 3.
Baldoni first subpoenaed Swift in May as part of the lawsuit Lively filed against him regarding alleged sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us. Swift was mentioned in the lawsuit after texts from the actress revealed that she had “dragons” who would protect her—referring to Swift and Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds. “I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better,” the actress’s alleged text read.
A rep for Taylor Swift said in response, “Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history,” Swift’s rep said.
The rep continued, “The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, ‘My Tears Ricochet.’ Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
Lively’s rep also responded to the subpoena being dropped in May, saying they were “pleased” with the decision. “The [Baldoni] team have tried to put Taylor Swift, a woman who has been an inspiration for tens of millions across the globe, at the center of this case since day one,” the rep said.
The legal battle caused strain between the former best friends. In June 2025, a source told Page Six Page Six that Swift “will forever be furious at how Blake quite clearly was using her for clout and leverage in her dealings with Justin,” noting that “she really hates that Blake would even think like that, let alone write the things she did in that text.”
The source continued, “The damage Justin did by revealing those texts—the ‘dragons’ text most especially, and by his initial subpoena, even though he dropped it—is lasting and probably permanent. The truth is, the text wasn’t even accurate. That’s not the kind of friendship they ever had—Taylor would never think of herself as Blake’s ‘dragon,’ or protector, or someone who would interfere on her behalf. For starters, Blake is a grown woman who doesn’t need anyone to do that for her. Secondly, she’s married to one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. It was never a matter of Taylor believing she’d ever have to fight any battles for Blake. For her to see Blake use her name in that context was really hurtful.”
Swift, who recently got engaged to Travis Kelce, didn’t receive a congratulatory message from Lively. “Blake didn’t reach out [following the engagement announcement] and isn’t going to,” a source told the Daily Mail on August 27. “This isn’t the time. What would be the point of reaching out now? It really makes no sense. [Lively] has bigger fish to fry.”
As the first hire for the It Ends With Us film adaption, screenwriter-producer Christy Hall knew she had a long road ahead of her.
After she was asked to pen the script by director Justin Baldoni, who developed the movie via his Wayfarer Studios shingle, and author Colleen Hoover, whose 2016 best-seller inspired the adaptation, Hall jumped right into immersing herself in the book and its beloved story.
“I like to do that first, just fall in love with every word, fall in love with every moment, fall in love with every line,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter. And that’s kind of my marinating piece of it.”
Christy Hall
Cindy Ord/Getty Images
From there, she started creating the screenplay, aiming to stick to the “core story as much as possible,” while also being “extremely strategic and systematic” about what stays in from the book and what doesn’t. In addition, she wanted to make Hoover proud as well.
It Ends With Us follows Lily (Blake Lively) who overcomes a traumatic childhood and embarks on a new life. But after getting romantically involved with neurosurgeon Ryle (Baldoni), she sees sides of him that remind her of her parents’ abusive relationship. And when someone from her past, Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), reenters her life, it complicates things even more and Lily must learn to rely on her own strength to move forward.
Now, years later and with the film finally in theaters, Hall hopes the adaptation “destigmatizes” domestic violence and “sparks a lot of conversation” around the subject.
“I just think it’s art’s job to ignite conversations that can be uncomfortable and hard. But it’s kind of its job to shed light on the darker corners of society,” she says. “And I really believe that art saves lives. I believe this book has saved lives. So I just really hope that the movie can continue the legacy that Colleen Hoover herself started.”
Below, Hall also talks with THR about the pressure “to do this book justice” for Hoover, book fans and everyone involved in the adaptation, her process of writing the screenplay, and why she hopes the movie inspires Hollywood to tell more stories that “society needs.” The conversation took place before reports of a rift between Lively and Baldoni came to light.
Going back to the beginning, how did you first get attached to pen the script?
My film Daddio came out like six weeks ago, [Baldoni], read that as a spec. He also read an adaptation I did for 21 Laps, Shawn Levy’s company. And he reached out to me and said, “I just really feel in my bones that you’re the one to adapt this.” I had not read the book at the time, but he said, “Look, go read it. You’re gonna wanna do this and give me a call.” And that’s exactly what happened. I went away and I read the book and I really, absolutely fell in love with Colleen Hoover as a result. I love that she’s very vocal about that this was inspired by events in her life. I love that I felt like I was just reading a very classic love story and that slowly but surely you realize that Lily was a frog in boiling water. I ultimately called Justin and said it would be my honor and privilege if you guys will have me.
He set up a Zoom with me and Colleen … and we hit it off right away. There was a lot of trust there. I was kind of auditioning for her. I was telling her these are all the things that I feel like we can really preserve in the novel, and then here are things that I think we can continue to explore. Because it’s not a novel, it’s a screenplay, there’s limited real estate. It’s a three-act structure – I was already flagging for her that I maybe want to explore in terms of additions to the narrative. And then here are things that I already instinctively feel like might need to be cut. I basically just laid it out for her. And I like to speak very honestly in meetings, like this is my instinct and if it doesn’t feel like a good fit for you, then no harm, no foul. But I like to be very transparent in meetings like that. And I was thrilled that at the end of that conversation. It was probably an almost two-hour Zoom that we had just really talking about it, really unpacking it. And at the end, she told Wayfarer, “that’s our girl,” so I was thrilled. I felt like I’d won the lottery.
Originally, we thought this was gonna be a small indie movie that maybe Wayfarer would sell on the other side. But I’m a big believer, if you build it, they will come. So it’s been an incredible journey to go from writing a script and then Sony got involved and then Blake got cast and now it’s just swelled into something that is just deeply exciting and humbling.
Knowing the book and story are beloved by so many fans, did you feel any pressure when it came to adapting it into a screenplay?
Not just by the fans, but by everyone involved. Hundreds of people gathered together to create a village to make this movie. And I believe that everyone was there for the right reasons. We all wanted to do this book justice because we were all fans. So, yes, I felt outside pressure because there’s a lot of expectation around this book. But I even felt internal pressure. I love this book. And Colleen chose me and I was damned if I was gonna let her down.
Can you walk viewers through the process of taking an established story in a book and transforming it into a screenplay?
I take a few months to read it and then read it again and then read it again and read it again and just completely immerse myself in the original material to the point that I almost have it memorized. Then from there, you have to start already thinking in a three-act structure, you already have to really be thinking about drive, you have to be thinking about the midpoint, you have to be thinking about the turns. The other complicated thing about this one is it’s a dual timeline, so you have even less real estate if you think about it. There are two stories being told, there’s the past timeline that basically starts when we see Lily wake up and then all the way until she’s seeing – spoiler alert – Atlas being loaded into the ambulance. Then the present timeline. You have to be extremely strategic and systematic about what holds and what doesn’t. And I think a lot of it was just sticking with the core story as much as possible.
No decision was made lightly. We wanted everything to be blessed by Colleen herself because if Colleen isn’t happy, I don’t know what the point [is].
Knowing there is a heavy topic in the story, notably domestic violence, what kind of preparations and research did you do to help make sure its depicted accurately?
I know Wayfair partnered with a company, I believe it’s called NO MORE, to just make sure that we were getting it right and that we were being extremely thoughtful about the decisions we were making. And again, I have a lot of respect for the fact that this is not an autobiographical story, but it is inspired by true events in Colleen’s life specifically. So just really allowing her to be our North Star and then also working with this organization. They read the script, they saw early assemblies of the edit. I think that partnership was a really integral part of it.
Once the film is fully cast, do you go back and make any changes to the script after knowing which actor is playing each character?
I actually try not to write with an actor in my head. Especially for this because in Colleen’s novel, the characters she’s created are very distinctive, very specific. And so [I’m] just trying to honor what Colleen had created in these characters. I absolutely love everyone’s performance. I think Blake’s performance is just absolutely pitch perfect. I have to say Jenny Slate — she is Allysa. I mean, she’s everything you want her to be when you’re reading the book. I feel like it was just cast extremely well and I feel like those performers just really delivered characters that again started with Colleen. I’m just really, really proud of them for that.
I know you couldn’t be on the set due to the writers strike that year, but can you talk about your other role as a producer of the project?
I was able to be deeply involved all the way up until my union [Writers Guild of America] announced the strike. And then as soon as the strike was over, I was able to then be involved and give notes on the edit and I saw very early assemblies, and I was able to then be activated again, which was great. So I’m very proudly a producer on this film, but I’m also very proudly a member of the WGA. I’m sad I couldn’t be on set every day, that was the intention. But also I’m very proud to have stood with my union.
Since you’re been on this journey since the beginning, literally as the first hire, what do you hope audiences walk away with after seeing the film?
I hope that it maybe destigmatizes this subject matter. This can be an uncomfortable subject matter, and I feel like this tends to just kind of be relegated to indie movies talking about domestic abuse. And I’m really proud that… I have to give a shout to Sony to put out a movie that is very glossy and commercial. There’s a lot of wish fulfillment around it. It’s very beautiful. And also it’s tackling a tricky subject matter. So I hope it destigmatizes, I hope it sparks a lot of conversation. I hope that victims who are seeing this movie might seek help. I hope that abusers who see this movie might also seek help. … I hope it inspires friends of victims, you know, you don’t have to force your help but you can offer it and you can render yourself a lifeline and a very safe place to run to if and when a victim is really ready to receive that help. I just think it’s art’s job to ignite conversations that can be uncomfortable and hard. But it’s kind of its job to shed light on the darker corners of society.
Let’s start with something about me: I hate Colleen Hoover books. I despise how TikTok convinced the world that her writing was revolutionary, her plot lines intricate, her style original. It’s a step above airport romance novels in my opinion…so when one of her hit novels, It Ends With Us, was adapted to a movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, I was disappointed but not surprised.
And to make matters worse, I was constantly reminded of this fact because it was filmed on my street in Hoboken, New Jersey…but enough about me. It Ends With Us finally hit theaters on August 9, and the press tour has been nothing short of catastrophic.
We have the internet up in flames ready to burn Blake Lively at the stake for a multitude of reasons (including, but definitely not limited to) her fashion sense, her “pick me” attitude, or her dismissive commentary on domestic abuse, which is a main focus of the film itself. Not only that, but there’s clear tension between Justin Baldoni and the rest of the cast, who stumble over cute press questions like “What was it like working together?”
It’s all very reminiscent of Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry, Darling, which starred Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, and was riddled with obvious cast member drama from the beginning…yet, it’s less hilarious and more annoying. But let’s break down the It Ends With Us press tour drama before you get even more confused.
What’s Going On With The It Ends With Us Cast?
Let’s put it into perspective. Things have gotten so bad that director and actor, Justin Baldoni, has hired the same PR crisis manager (Melissa Nathan) that both Johnny Depp and Logan Paul have used. As the press tour surged on, fans began to notice Baldoni was absent from group press events as reports swirled about disputes between himself and Lively during post-production.
If you see Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni on the same couch together during this press junket, then consider yourself lucky. They’ve split up their press tour with respective outlets: Baldoni gets Access Hollywood, Today, ET!, and GMA; Lively gets Vogue, Capital FM, and CBS Mornings.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that disagreements arose during the final cut while filming. Lively, a producer on It Ends With Us, had scenes she wanted and even commissioned her own cut of the film. However, Forbesassures this can happen without indicating a feud.
Fans have been reading in between the lines during press interviews. Lively has made a few interesting comments furthering the creative control rumors. At one point, she even mentions her husband, Ryan Reynolds, wrote a scene in the film, which some believe was the start of their fight. Then, in another interview, Lively shares she got in a fight with an unnamed person about removing a Lana Del Rey song from the film.
However, given the film’s references to domestic violence, this Lana Del Rey song could have been considered controversial. “Cherry” details loving a man despite all of the hard times in an extremely toxic and unhealthy relationship. So, if Baldoni was the one Lively had to fight, he may have had a point.
In his own interview with Elle, Baldoni admits to tensions on set: “There are all these things that happen every day on set, there’s always friction that happens when you make a movie like this. Then at the end of the day, it’s that friction, I believe, that creates the beautiful art,”
Cast member Jenny Slate adds fuel to the fire by dodging questions about Justin Baldoni. Slate told a reporter that it “must be difficult working two jobs” when asked what it was like working with him. When Baldoni was asked about Lively, he claimed it “seems like she’s ready to direct.”
There’s been nothing but shade, and apparently, the movie isn’t even that great. What I think everyone can agree on is this press tour needs to end.
In mid-June, star-producer Blake Lively traveled to Dallas to attend author Colleen Hoover’s Book Bonanza for a Q&A in the lead-up to the August release It Ends With Us. Lively surprised the 2,000-plus attendees when she announced they could screen a rough cut of the movie adaptation the following night.
The screening of the movie — the first of Hoover’s popular novels to hit the screen — proved to be a stroke of marketing genius for Sony, which bought rights to release the movie from Wayfarer Studios, whose co-founder, Justin Baldoni, both directed and stars in the film.
“Colleen Hoover’s Book Bonanza and her fans sparked the fire that was the beginning of the cultural movement,” says Josh Greenstein, a veteran marketer and president of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.
Absent, however, from the Dallas gathering was Baldoni. The version shown that night was Lively’s preferred rough cut of the movie.
By the time the movie opened Aug. 9, an ugly war had erupted on TikTok and other social media platforms pitting Baldoni and Lively against each other. Many took aim at Lively, despite reports that some cast and crew members, including Lively, felt uncomfortable over Baldoni’s behavior on set.
The rift became undeniable when Baldoni didn’t appear in any cast group photos with Lively, Hoover and the other lead stars at the New York premiere (many had also unfollowed him on Instagram). He later didn’t attend the U.K. premiere, and instead stayed in New York for several appearances on CBS Mornings and the Today show. In recent days, he hired PR crisis communications exec Melissa Nathan.
It Ends With Us stars Lively as Lily Bloom, a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood watching her father abuse her mother to embark on a new life in Boston and fulfill a lifelong dream of opening her own business. A chance meeting with charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) sparks an intense connection, but as the two fall deeply in love, Lily begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents’ relationship. When Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with Ryle is upended, and Lily realizes she must learn to rely on her own strength to make an impossible choice for her future.
Sony’s marketing campaign — in staying true to Hoover’s book — conveyed that It Ends With Us isn’t a story of victimhood, but a story of redemption. It traverses falling in love, becoming an entrepreneur, friendship and family, alongside pain and trauma. “Lily is a survivor and a victim, but that doesn’t define her, as she is in charge of her identity and her story. These themes were important to the campaign,” says one source connected to the film’s rollout.
Lively echoed those same sentiments when asked at the New York premiere on Aug. 6 about what she would say to survivors who see this movie and recognize their own traumas. “I think that you’re so much — and not to minimize it — but you are so much more than just a survivor or just a victim. While that is a huge thing, you are a person of multitudes, and what someone has done to you doesn’t define you. You define you.” Hoover has always said the same of her book.
Sony is fully in sync with Lively.
“Blake, Colleen and so many women put so much effort into this remarkable movie, working selflessly from the start to ensure that such an important subject matter was handled with care. Audiences love the movie. Blake’s passion and commitment to advancing the conversation around domestic violence is commendable,” Sony Pictures Entertainment Chair-CEO Tony Vinciquerra told The Hollywood Reporter. “We love working with Blake, and we want to do 12 more movies with her.”
Baldoni has been vocal about why he felt like this story needed to be adapted for the big screen, previously telling THR, “This is one that could actually make a real difference, this could save life.” He also acknowledged that the topic of domestic violence needed to be treated with care in the adaptation.
The female-fueled pic exceeded all expectations in debuting to $50 million last weekend at the North American box office to almost catch up with the third-weekend earnings of Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds.
On Monday and Tuesday, It Ends With Us it overtook Deadpool to top the domestic box office charts for a five-day domestic tally of $64 million, a tidy sum for a film that cost $25 million to produce. Overseas, it’s opened to north of $30 million, meaning it’s likely already crossed the $100 million mark.
Sources have told THR that there was a fracture between Baldoni and Lively in the postproduction stage, wherein two different cuts of the movie emerged. Lively commissioned a cut of the movie from editor Shane Reid, who was an editor on Deadpool & Wolverine, according to multiple sources.
On Friday of the movie’s opening, Baldoni was asked if he would consider directing the book adaptation of Hoover’s sequel It Starts With Us. He suggested that Lively might be best suited for the job.
