It Ends With Us, starring Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and Brandon Sklenar is one of the most anticipated romance films of 2024. Based on one of Colleen Hoover’s most popular novels, the film is the first of Hoover’s novels to be adapted to the big screen.
As is often the case with novel adaptations, a few creative changes had to be made to make the film more relatable to the masses, while also staying true to fan expectations and preserving the true essence of the book.
Baldoni, Hoover, and Hall knew they wanted to preserve the heart and soul of the book, so they assembled a focus group of some of the book’s biggest fans—who call themselves the CoHort—to get their input. “We put out a call on social media and got a tremendous response,” says Baldoni.
“When we gathered the group, they all got to meet Colleen, read one of our first drafts, and give us their honest feedback. We got some really important information. At one point, we didn’t know if Lily should say the phrase ‘it ends with us,’ because you try to avoid saying the name of the movie in the movie. So, we tried a draft without it, and immediately the fans were like, ‘what? She didn’t say it!’ Christy and I looked at each other and just laughed, and boom, the line went back in.”
“I know that their feedback changed some of the things in the script for the better,” says Hoover. “And I just thought that was brilliant. You know, who better to tell you how the script is and what they want to see in the book than the readers themselves, who have been there from the very beginning?”
“Colleen is so protective of the fans and their experience,” says Lively. “She wanted to make sure that the film captured the heart and soul and essence of the book, and even the details were really important to her. She was an advocate for the fans, to make sure the adaptation captured the spirit of the people we fell in love with.”
Directed by Justin Baldoni, the film stars Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Amy Morton and Brandon Sklenar.
Sony Pictures Entertainment India will exclusively release ‘It Ends With Us’ in Indian cinemas on 9th August 2024.
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