IT ENDS WITH US

I love a good celebrity gossip. It's a deep flaw in me, admittedly. But this one is too good to pass up. It falls right in line with the DON'T WORRY DARLING drama from a couple of years ago, which I couldn't get enough of at the time lol. I haven't seen this new film, yet so a lot of what I am saying here is speculation based on my observances. so take it with a grain of salt. But the marketing for it has been quite interesting. Blake Lively who produced and starred in the film, clearly did not see eye to eye with the director/leading man, Justin Baldoni. It appears they won't even be in the same room together during this whole press tour. Based on the ways that both people have chosen to speak about the film in interviews, the disconnect becomes glaringly apparent. Creative differences often exist in heated ways between cast and crew. It's part of the process. But rarely does the drama escalate to this level of visible tension in the public.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are an incredibly calculated Hollywood "power couple". Very good at playing their part, but the strange mix of branding crossover between DEADPOOL and IT ENDS WITH US feels off to say the least. Lively has always struck me as one to avoid confrontation. She loves to appear the 1950s wife half of the celebrity duo, and for the most part she's proven to be quite good at it. But that's maybe not the best approach to have as your selling point when your new film carries heavy themes of domestic violence. She's chosen to rebrand the film as a lighthearted, girly, romantic comedy for the sake of cross advertising she and her husband. Every promotion for the film is Blake fluffing a bouquet of flowers and laughing with the cast like she's Debbie Reynolds at a photo op. Or Blake trying to make some tasteless segueway from the topic of abuse in the film...to plugging her new hair care line. Every red carpet event she attends, her wardrobe grows kookier and more opulent. The florals, pastels, the princess ballgowns...it's like a little girl's fantasy, but for a 36 year old woman and mother of four. Many people find this weird shoehorning of celebrity self-promotion in such a serious film, self-indulgent, tone-deaf, and disrespectful to the subject matter. Even for this couple. I know they don't have a lot of experience outside of their usual fluff, but they should know better as veterans of the industry that this wasn't the right move. Though...just the idea of the source material being about DV, yet being written as a romance novel, is already tricky in itself. Your battle will always be uphill. So, why do it, if you're someone like Blake Lively?

I know little about the director, but it seems he is the only one who tried to speak about the film seriously. The only one reminding people that the film is about violence towards women. This is not to say that I think the director is some perfect innocent person in all of this. He seems quite calculated too in his responses where you're not sure who to believe. But lest we forget, he was the one who original bought the rights to the film, before Blake was ever on board. This serious tone in his interviews, clearly alienated him from the rest of the cast...who seem to be doing some sort of weird BARBIE influenced touring campaign. It's a self-indulgent way to make a films success completely about yourself. Not to mention the new accusations Blake is accusing Baldoni of, which feel petty and manipulative based on my observance. Like another example of celebrity/female power dynamics that Blake can flex to victimize herself, as she has the privilege to do so. Blake Lively will always have more power over a guy like this, whether it is deserved or not. Though it's all heresay.

I dunno...everything about it all is weird. I'll be honest...even before I knew anything about IT ENDS WITH US, I was already getting vibes. From the whole Gigi Hadid/Blake Lively personalized Superhero costumes worn at the DEADPOOL premiere, to Blake screaming and jumping up and down obnoxiously with Taylor Swift every time she knew a camera was on her at the Superbowl earlier this year. Wearing half a million dollars in jewelry with that track suit....I dunno. It's gone from well calculated to shameless. There's this elitist gluttony that grows more and more excessive in pop culture these days, the more out of touch one grows in Hollywood. Jennifer Lopez wearing that whole Regency-era inspired gown at her own 55th birthday party is another very recent example. Sitting on a literal fake thrown posing like Marie Antoinette. The "Let them eat cake" references there not even remotely subtle. -_- And they wonder why the public has fallen out of love with these people.