From time to time, the promotion of a movie receives more attention than the film itself. This attention may also be due to some controversy related to the cast. Break the circle (It Ends With Us) It was very well received at the box office in the summer of last year, but its promotion unexpectedly attracted attention due to the tension between the protagonists, Blake Lively and Justin Baldonithe latter also director.
Rumors of a bad relationship between the cast members only increased on social networks such as TikTok or X (formerly Twitter) after the New York premiere. Furthermore, the film, based on the novel by Colleen Hooversparked some criticism for the way it addressed sensitive aspects such as domestic violence.
In recent weeks, the situation has escalated with Blake Lively’s complaint to Baldoni for harassment during the recording of the project and the subsequent smear campaign that the actress suffered from him and his team. Baldoni, for his part, has counterattacked. We summarize the dispute between both stars.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni: they neither speak nor follow each other
Comparisons are odious but with the promotion of Break the circlemany users remembered the chaotic promotion of Don’t worry dearby Olivia Wilde, with a cast made up of Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Chris Pine that was overshadowed by a alleged spit from Styles to Pine at the Venice International Film Festival.
The Hollywood Reporter announced in August that a fracture could have occurred between both filmmakers, Lively in production and Baldoni in directionin the process of post-productionin which two different cuts of the film emerged.
The TikTok theories arose as a result of the absence of Baldoni (let’s emphasize that he is director and co-star) in the joint press events. Also, the lack of group photosand the fact that neither Lively, nor Hoover, nor the rest of the cast, follow Baldoni in instagramalthough he does follow them.
Creative decisions, another reason for discussion?
These theories were also fueled by speculation that Lively had hired her husband, Ryan Reynoldsto help him assume creative control of the film. Lively said at the world premiere that Reynolds was even the one who wrote the rooftop key scene: “We help each other. He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So his victories, his celebrations are mine and mine are his”. Lively herself “helped” Reynolds in Deadpool and Wolverine.
In addition, according to several sources, Lively commissioned a cut of the film from the editor Shane Reidwho was editor at Deadpool and Wolverine and in the Taylor Swift video clip directed by Lively herself, I bet you think about mealthough it is unclear if any of this cut was used in the final cut.
Baldoni recognized Lively’s creative contribution during the promotionbut did not clarify the issue of the different cuts of the film. He also assured that sometimes he let the women on the set take the reins, since the film is told from the beginning. perspective of a woman and focuses on the sensitive topic of domestic violence.
Baldoni hires Johnny Depp’s crisis agency
Far from calming the waters, the news that Justin Baldoni hired The Agency Group added fuel to the matter. The communications agency, based in New York, specializes in communications, crisis, reputation management, personal advertising and digital equipment services in the entertainment sector. Furthermore, his PR was Melissa Nathanwho, among his clients, took the actor Johnny Deppduring Amber Heard’s trial.
Blake Lively denounces Jason Baldoni
On December 21, after months of being the target of exacerbated internet hate and a few days after Baldoni was awarded at the Vital Voices event celebrating men who “elevate women,” Blake Lively sued the director and the studios. Wayfarer for sexual harassment during filming and a subsequent smear campaign.
The lawsuit stated how in a meeting between the protagonists in which Ryan Reynolds, the actress’s husband, and the film’s crew also participated, Blake demanded that, during filming, they not show him images and videos of naked women, not mention him. Baldoni’s alleged addiction to porn, the genitals of members of the team were not discussed, the actress’s weight was not discussed, nor the death of her father was mentioned.
It was also insisted that no scenes of sex, oral sex or Blake’s climax in front of the camera be added beyond those contained in the initial script. Distributor Sony Pictures would have accepted all of these requirements, but this would have caused Baldoni to launch a campaign to “destroy” Lively’s reputation.
Baldoni denied the accusations through his lawyer, who added that the actress was seeking to wash her image and stated that she had behaved unprofessionally on the set, threatening not to appear or not to promote the film.
On December 22, the New York Times published a series of private messages that evidenced the smear campaign that Baldoni had orchestrated against Lively, in which he himself claimed that he wanted to destroy the actress’s image through social networks. In a matter of days, Baldoni lost his management agency, WME, and the Vital Voices award while more and more stars showed their support for Blake, including Amber Heard, Gwyneth Paltrow, America Ferrera, Amy Schumer and Brandon Sklenar, his partner. in Break the circle.
Justin Baldoni sues the ‘New York Times’
On December 31, Justin Baldoni sued the New York Times for defamation, claiming that the article about Lively’s accusations was riddled with misrepresentations and omissions, and seeking $250 million in damages. The North American media, for its part, has defended its integrity.
Will there be a sequel to ‘Breaking the Circle’?
Break the circle exceeded all expectations by raising 50 million of dollars in the national market and 80 million throughout the world with a budget of 25 million. Although Hoover has published a sequel to It Ends With Us, the novel of 2022 It Starts with Us, In it the character of Baldoni is a key figure. Hence, despite the film’s good reception at the box office, it is very unlikely that we will see its sequel on the big screen.
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