It Ends With Us director and actor Justin Baldoni has brought on crisis public relations manager Melissa Nathan from The Agency Group, following reports of tension with his cast members, including co-star Blake Lively, a source close to the situation tells PEOPLE.
The film, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, premiered on Friday, August 9.
At the New York premiere on August 6, Baldoni was seen posing with his wife, Emily, but noticeably distanced from the rest of the cast, which includes Lively, Brandon Sklenar, Isabela Ferrer, and Jenny Slate. Baldoni also skipped out on joining the cast for the film’s introduction at the screening and has been absent from other group promotional events, including the London premiere.
In It Ends With Us, Baldoni and Lively portray a couple whose relationship turns abusive, adding intensity to their on-screen dynamic.
Baldoni, who also serves as an executive producer through his production company, Wayfarer Studios, secured the rights to Hoover’s novel back in 2019, well before Lively’s involvement was announced in January 2023.
Lively, credited as a producer on the film, praised her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for his creative input. At the New York premiere, Lively revealed that Reynolds wrote a crucial rooftop scene between her character, Lily, and Baldoni’s character, Ryle.
“The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it. Nobody knows that but you now,” Lively shared with E! News on the red carpet. “We help each other. He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So his wins, his celebrations are mine, and mine are his. I mean, he’s all over this film.”
The film’s screenwriter, Christy Hall, mentioned to PEOPLE that this particular scene was “probably the trickiest one to tackle” because it’s so iconic in the novel. She noted that while she wasn’t aware of Reynolds’ contribution to the dialogue, she did notice a few new additions in the final cut.
However, behind the scenes, tensions seem to be simmering. A source close to the production hinted, “All is not what it seems. There is much more to this story. The principal cast and [author] Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with him.”
It Ends With Us is now playing in theaters.
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