Lights, camera, drama: Blake Lively vs. director on blockbuster set

A movie based on a hit book, an extensive promotional campaign, millions made after the first weekend in theaters, and in the background... a scandal. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni avoid each other like the plague; what they created on screen was just an act.

Author Colleen Hoover's book It Ends With Us first conquered TikTok and became a phenomenon. Nearly three million copies sold last year were the result of the hashtag #BookTok, which has already amassed over two billion views on TikTok. Platform users gather to share videos with presentations and recommendations of interesting books.

Rights to the screenplay were quickly sold, and the film's trailer featuring Blake Lively was watched 128 million times in the first 24 hours. When the production hit theater screens, it surpassed "Deadpool & Wolverine" on its first day of showing. With costs reaching just 28 million dollars during the premiere weekend, "It Ends With Us" raked in as much as 56 million dollars.

It would seem that this is a great reason to celebrate. However, it turns out that Blake Lively is in conflict with the director and main actor in the film, Justin Baldoni. The hot romance on the screen was just an act. In reality, the couple does not have the best relationship.

During the film's promotion, fans quickly realized that the atmosphere among the crew must be tense. First and foremost, the director did not participate in the screenings that Blake attended. It turned out that Lively does not follow Baldoni on social media.

The Hollywood Reporter learned that the rift surfaced during post-production, resulting in two different versions of the film. Blake even asked her husband, Ryan Reynolds, to help her take control of the production.

Baldoni made ironic remarks about Blake in interviews as if that weren't enough. When asked by journalists if he plans a sequel to "It Ends With Us," he snapped, "There are better people for that one, I think Blake Lively's ready to direct."

"It Ends With Us" is an adaptation of the best-selling print book of 2022 in the United States. Colleen Hoover's novel tells the story of Lily Bloom (Blake Lively), who fulfills her life's dream and opens a flower shop for people who don't like flowers. In her life, a handsome and wealthy man, a neurosurgeon, also appears. Everything goes perfectly, but only up to a point. What lies behind the seemingly perfect relationship can only be seen by Lily’s old friend, her first high school love.