There is no understating the excitement around the premiere of It Ends with Us, the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s mega-hit novel. With Blake Lively in the role of Lily Bloom, Justin Baldoni both directing and playing Ryle, as well as Brandon Sklenar taking on the character of Atlas, fans of the series are excited (and maybe a little nervous) to see what these actors bring to their beloved story.
The She Reads team was lucky enough to attend an early screening of the movie and we shared some of our thoughts in a recent review. We also rounded up a bunch of interviews from Colleen Hoover herself on what she thinks of the film and those starring in it.
Now, we’re going to dive into a round-up of interviews from the cast of It Ends with Us for one last peek behind the current before the August 9th premiere.
Justin Baldoni
The best part about Justin Baldoni directing and starring in the film is just that he makes for an excellent Ryle, he was a fan of the book first. And took very seriously the subject-matter he was working with, even doubting whether he could or should play the lead role at all.
“I promised her that I would protect the book, and I’d protect the intention and the why behind the book,” he says. “But it’s funny, I hadn’t really thought about playing Ryle. And then, after my assistant at the time read the book, she brought up, ‘You know you’ve got to play Ryle,’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ And then, before we had officially optioned it, Colleen had emailed me. It was just right as we were getting close to paperwork, and it was a very short email. She said, ‘Have you ever thought about acting in the movie? Maybe Ryle, perhaps? I think you could do it.’ And that was all the email said.”
Read the full interview on EW here.
The cast and creators appear to be very tight night as Colleen hooks arms with Justin and discusses the work they both created. It becomes clear pretty quick that Justin is not simply a director who optioned a book, he’s a full blown member of the CoHorts. In an interview with ET, he shares the emotional connection he made to the story.
“When you love something so much and you’re touched and moved by something as deeply as I was by this book, it just comes naturally. What comes from the heart hits the heart.”
Justin also addressed the criticism and concern around the wardrobe and aging up the characters. Giving just as much reassurance as Colleen did.
“Once you see the movie, it will all make sense.”
And finally, when it comes to dealing with he book’s heavy subject matter, he had this to say:
“It was really important that we acknowledge that this was a movie about love and hope, but we don’t shy away from the issue.”
Watch the full interview here.
Blake Lively
Blake Lively plays a stunning portrayal of Lily Bloom, bringing her brand of wry humor and intelligence to the role. In the below interview, Colleen Hoover even says she “likes movie Lily more than book Lily” now. Perhaps the highest of praise. But what does the leading lady herself have to say about the role and what fans can expect from the movie?
First of all, she reassures fans that they have nothing to worry about with the adaptation. A sentiment we echo.
“If you read the book first, I genuinely believe you will love this movie.”
Watch the full Book Bonanza, hour-long interview here.
Even for “the book is always better” people, this movie has its own vibe and and its own life that not only captures the book, but also gives you something fresh and new to love. Still, Blake isn’t worried about that.
“Some people will always like a book better than a movie and some people like a movie better than the book, but I think that we just did our best to honor the book and honor the fans, and, I think, really make something that works even by itself,” Lively told ET Online.
Blake Lively also has major respect for the book’s beginnings and the trajectory it has taken overtime. Noting that the readers really are the ones who have made this story what it is today and she appears to still hold that audience in the highest regard.
“[Hoover was] self-published initially, so this is somebody who the fans really authored the success of your stories,” Lively said. “She wrote stories that resonated with people and didn’t go to all the traditional means that people go to. She went directly to the people she was speaking to and they came forward in masses.”
Read the full interview on EW here.
Brandon Sklenar
Colleen Hoover has not been shy about the fact that Atlas is her favorite IEWU character. And Brandon Sklenar does a stellar job capturing this beloved character. Though he’s perhaps slightly lesser known than Lively and Baldoni, his role in the Yellowstone spinoff 1923 has connected with a lot of fans. And rest assured, his role as Atlas will too.
And while, we’ll get to his actual remarks on the film, please, don’t miss the skit of Ryan Reynolds confronting him:
If his charm here doesn’t sway you, then certainly his portrayal of Atlas will. And though he wasn’t familiar with the book going in, he felt a connection to the material and subject-matter itself and quickly understood the importance of the book and film.
“After speaking with him, over the course of the call, I learned what this book was. I wasn’t aware of the book and became aware of the book, and came aware of his intentions behind making the film and how important it was. I have someone in my life who’s very close to me who has gone through pretty much exactly what Lily has gone through, so it immediately, once I came aware of the story and its cultural impact and how many women it has helped, it just felt like something I had to do.”
Read the full interview on Forbes here.
Though he didn’t start out familiar with Colleen or her work, he quickly became a fan like the rest of us.
“I love Colleen. We got on immediately. We had some fun times. She’s such a special person. She’s got this really dry, admittedly dark sense of humor. She’s such a sensitive person, obviously because she wrote this book. And I just admire her so much for putting herself out there and putting something like this out there that’s so personal to you.”
Watch the full interview here.
So there you have it. From the cast to Colleen herself and the She Reads team, we hope this roundup of insight gets you geared up and ready for the beautiful adaptation of It Ends with Us.
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