Amid It Ends With Us‘ debut on the 2024 movie schedule, it was at the center of rumors and speculation regarding an alleged feud between Justin Baldoni, the director and star, and Blake Lively, the star and producer. One of those rumors regarded the lead actress allegedly commissioning a second cut of the film. So, when I interviewed Oona Flaherty, one of the two credited editors on the project, I asked her about the viral reports. In response, she spoke about collaborating with the director and the rest of the post-production team.
Per anonymous sources who spoke to THR, Baldoni and Lively’s supposed disagreements came about during the post-production process. Allegedly, two different cuts of the film were made, as the Gossip Girl actress reportedly commissioned Shane Reid – who edited Deadpool & Wolverine – to cut a version of the movie. Those claims have not officially been verified, and it’s unclear if anything from that reported version made it into the final cut. As for the film that was released in theaters, Oona Flaherty and Robb Sullivan are credited as the two editors on the project.
So, during CinemaBlend’s interview with Flaherty, I asked about “the viral craziness that happened after the movie came out, with the alleged drama and the rumors about a second cut.” After I said that, I asked for her thoughts on the matter. In response, the editor explained:
I don’t have comment on all the viral stuff. There are always multiple cuts of a movie, every film. And, yeah, I’m really proud of the cut Robb and Justin and I did.
While Justin Baldoni’s film was surrounded by rumors during the weeks after its release – like the one about Ryan Reynolds re-writing the rooftop scene, which the screenwriter Christy Hall didn’t know about – it received mostly positive reviews and performed well at the box office.
As I wrote in my review of It Ends With Us, it’s a strong adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel. The film ultimately made $344 million at the worldwide box office, with $148.3 million of that coming domestically. That overall sum makes it the twelfth highest-grossing movie of the year, per Box Office Mojo. Flaherty noted that success and conveyed how proud she is of the film as well as the work she did on it with Baldoni and the post-production team. She said:
The movie is a huge success because of that, all the work that we did, and the team behind it, and the team that came after, the sound team. You know this, it’s really a collaboration that takes a lot of different minds, and if you’re not open to different ideas, then you kind of just have to make your own thing and not collaborate with people.
During our discussion about this topic, the Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. editor did not mention Blake Lively or the rumors about the alleged second cut mentioned above. She only said that there are always multiple cuts of “every film.”
In the weeks since all the alleged It Ends With Us drama started, there’s been very little said about it from those directly associated with it. Purportedly, Blake Lively was surprised by the discourse. As all the rumors were breaking, Justin Baldoni did say he thought Lively was “ready to direct” when asked about potentially adapting Hoover’s sequel to this story – It Starts With Us. The only person who truly addressed the discourse was Brandon Sklenar, who played Atlas. When Sklenar shared his thoughts on “the amount of negativity being projected online,” he referred to it as “disheartening.”
Based on the comments Oona Flaherty shared with us, she appreciated her collaboration with fellow editor Robb Sullivan, Justin Baldoni as well as the rest of the post-production team. And, based on the way the film has been received, Flaherty certainly has reason to be proud of the work.
It Ends With Us is currently available to buy or rent on Amazon now. The film will also be released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 5. Keep your eyes peeled and ears open as we learn more about the film’s home media release, the potential for a sequel and the viral discourse surrounding it.