Blake Lively, RR & It Ends With Us drama

[notallbloom]

Have NC because I freely admit that I have (limited) skin in this game, I am not entirely neutral.

This tells the story of the rift better than I could video here more about JB here JB info

Have worked for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in the UK, they are ...erm not my favourite slebs to work with. BL can be nasty to staff, her I'm all for women thing would be great, if she wasn't awful to them in reality. RR sometimes apologetically, always sides with BL, as his wife.
However, she does have 4 young DCs, so has spent much of the last decade pregnant, or post partum, which is enough to make anyone tired and therefore appear 'difficult'.

As I am senior in my role, stars have to treat me with some decency. Even so, the mask slips, I do everything I can to make their time in the UK as comfortable as possible, whilst placating the staff they upset, I will not work with them if I can avoid it.

Justin Baldoni directed It Ends With Us, I do not know JB.

Anti JB side (note there isn't much information about what JB has done wrong):
• He was difficult on set.
• He was acting and directing, diluting his ability to do both.
• He has hired a the firm of PR crisis manager who helped to improve Johnny Depp's image during the Amber Heard trial.
• JB has a pro 'good' men podcast called Man Enough, largely it is positive. Unfortunately he had Drake Bell on the podcast and did not question his accountability for previous SA.

Anti BL side:
• BL is trying to give the film a Barbie moment, encouraging audiences, for a film about DV, to wear florals.
• BL has objected to two things; she says JB fat-shamed her on set and, in one scene kissed her for too long (no suggestion that the kiss itself was inappropriate e.g. tongue).
• BL & RR made a cut of the film, which emphasises the rom-com of the story, rather than the DV.
• BL has corralled the author, Colleen Hoover and the cast to 'unfollow' JB on social media.
• RR rewrote a scene for the film without being asked by the director in doing so, RR broke the writer's strike.
• The cast have not been doing any press or standing on the red carpet at the premieres with JB.
• BL is using the film promo to also promote her new hair brand.

It may be that JB was a massive a-hole, or it may be that BL was a 'mean girl' and used her considerable power to influence the rest of the cast to be unpleasant to JB.
The truth could lie somewhere in the middle.

This is everything I know, I did not work on the film, or the promotion of it, so far.
I am able to agree that I have direct experience of seeing what BL and RR are like IRL, whereas I do not have the same experience of JB.
I'm prepared to accept that JB is the villain here.
I do not have any further information about this situation, if any comes my way I will, without breaking my contractual obligations, write about it here.

Scarlett Johansson said to a journo once at a Marvel panel something alone the lines of “Why do I get all the costume questions ask the men that” when she’d had to sit and hear them asking all the men there in depth questions about their characters and then her question was about whether she could wear underwear under costume. There was clearly a sexist undertone to the line of questioning there and she was praised highly for calling it out (rightly so).

I think Blake was trying to have a similar feminist moment but got it completely wrong because 1) there were no men in the room for the interviewer to ask 2) Blake built her career on fashion that’s basically what Gossip Girl was all about 3) the film was a period piece and the costumes had been commissioned by Chanel so it was hugely relevant and there weren’t sexist undertones. It actually came across as Blake clearly not understanding why what happened to Scarjo was offensive and what point she was making! As I’m
sure you’re aware Scarlett was married to Ryan before Blake and there was allegedly an overlap…maybe Blake was still feeling insecurity about being the OW.

i dont know why but bl seems to be very efensive in interviews

the poor woman who coulnt conceive an wasnt amerian/british was just tying to be nice an got a bitchy reposnse bak

as for well what do you want my phone number i that was really rude -its like she couldnt care less aboutddv

This thread is a good example of how women are held to a different standard. Ryan has sounded like an asshole in interviews many times, and he gets away with it.

'He suffers from anxiety, I always thought he was putting on a funny guy to mask his anxieties, I also do this (but I'm not rich lol!)

BL comes across as a mean girl IMO and thick she owes her fame mainly to RR'

Ryan gets a pass, while Blake is a 'not very bright' 'mean girl' who 'owes her fame mainly to RR', despite starring on a hit TV series at the age of 20, before even meeting him.

Is anyone else getting a bit dizzy with all the initials on this thread?

RR, BL, SJ, TS... and the rest. We need a glossary!

JB Justin Baldoni: Blake's co-star in It ends with us/director of film
BL Blake Lively: Ryan's wife and It ends with us lead
RR Ryan Reynolds: Blake's husband and Deadpool lead

BA Ben Affleck: Blake's co-star in The Town
SJ Scarlett Johansson: Ryan's ex-wife and Black Widow lead
TS Taylor Swift: Blake's BFF best female friend, whose music appears on It ends

Blake and Ryan met on Green Lantern
Justin found fame on Jane the Virgin
Blake and Ben were supposedly close when he was married to Jennifer Garner
Blake and Ryan were supposedly close when he was married to Scarlett Johansson

Justin has said he would not return to the potential sequel It starts with us
and that he thinks Blake is ready to direct it herself!
(That comment can be taken as both a compliment and a dig. Clever).

Going back a bit, I do think it's a bit of a leap to assume that because BL is bad at talking about DV in interviews about a film about DV that it might mean that RR is ab abusive partner.

I agree. I think that's a massive stretch.

I’m the same. I end up watching how their faces are not able to move naturally and not watching the actual film/series. It’s very off putting.

That was meant to quote whoever was on about Nicole Kidman/Ryan G/whoever else.

The AskHerMore campaign must have been a nightmare for stylists -- actresses are loaned free jewellery, clothes, shoes and bags in exchange for some promotion.

And many actresses have very lucrative contracts as 'ambassadors' of fashion brands. Part of the deal is that the designers get a shout out on the red carpet.

Men aren't asked about fashion much because invariably few male celebrities have lucrative endorsements and make their mark in fashion, and there's much less variety in men's wear- the 'classic' looks are already widely known, how many men are watching waiting to hear what plain boring standard suit someone is wearing? The female fashion world makes substantially more money, which these celebs offended by the question benefit from. Sure it shouldn't be the only question, but it's just another thing with the enjoyment squeezed out of it for the terminally offended. It also depends of course, if it's a speech they're doing and people comment or question what they're wearing randomly then sure, waste of time, but at a film premiere etc what's the issue.

Blake on set sounds rude from this insider info

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13753857/Blake-Lively-Justin-Baldoni-feud-insider-reveals.html

Lively 'wasn’t mean - she was just so effortlessly rude,' the source confided.
There 'wasn't outward feuding or fighting' but the 36-year-old actress was 'so extraordinarily opiniated' and 'had really strong feelings about things' that it caused great stress and tension on the set.
There was tension on set whenever Lively was around, claims the source, because she wasn't shy about having workers 'wait on her.'
There was a 'palpable sense that everyone was a little bit afraid of Blake,' the insider said.

That is some weak tea, lol. Imagine a story about a male celeb bring rude on set. It wouldn't happen because no one would care.

But women aren't allowed to anything less than gracious and humble 100% of the time and are not allowed take up any space - physically or professionally - outside what is allotted to them.

I agree. I think the very strong backlash is over the top. I understand her clumsiness and lack of awareness around DV when promoting the film. And she was rude in that 2016 interview. But if a man did all this people would barely notice.

It’s kind of like people wanted to dislike her, she’s a beautiful woman who seemingly has it all - successful rich husband that a lot of people fancy, four gorgeous kids, best friends with the most famous person in the world, looks like a supermodel. It’s like that’s offensive and makes her easy to hate.

I have no particular like or dislike of her, but think that her cancelling is a bigger reaction than it warrants. I watched some of the other videos on the Daily Hate Mail website that were “evidence” that she’s the worst, and I couldn’t find anything in them that was bad. She does come across as a little awkward and talks too much about nothing really, but that’s all.

So honestly, for me, an apology for the 2016 interview and a “yep, sorry, I misread this” about promoting the film with a “florals, fun!” narrative, and I think the public should “forgive”.

Happens all the time. Alex pettyfer basically lost his whole career because of the way he acted on the set of Magic Mike

The trigger was all the criticism of JB from BL’s camp during the publicity of the film. JB May well be a complete arsehole but there 100s of arseholes in the film industry and calling him out publicly during the film’s release was unprofessional. Inevitably it prompted social media analysis of her own behaviour which I guess she wasn’t expecting. It’s basically a lesson in how not to conduct media management.

Increasingly it sounds like there isn't anything to this whole thing other than a personality clash and a power struggle over the "angle" of the film. I can understand JB tearing his hair out that what should be his project, and one he evidently took quite seriously, was getting shanghaied into a brand promotion exercise by the Lively/Reynolds pairing.

Really? I knew he was jaded with L.A. and there were allegations of DV. but he seems to have kept working. He's in the latest Guy Ritchie movie.
Did he have a clash with Channing or something?

This isn't true though, plenty of men dissappear from public life followed by or proceeded by news of them being 'difficult' and hard to work with. I don't think anyone is expecting perfection from women, but why should anyone not be held accountable for their actions towards others at work?

Alex Pettyfer opens up on bitter feud with Channing Tatum: He doesn't like me | London Evening Standard | Evening Standard
Ah yes. He sounds like a dick here, not paying rent ffs.

I agree it just sounds like creative differences.

Pettyfer allegedly was surly, arrogant and disrespectful on I am number 4 and Beastly before Magic Mike. I am number 4's producer, Spielberg, vouched for him to Channing, after the rumours from those two films led to him having a bad rep (requiring handlers on set?) but he was aloof on MM too, to the chagrin of colleagues.

and control freakery over direction during filming.
It sounds like he deferred to her quite a lot.

Yes, I think if you want that much control you need to direct it yourself.