‘It Ends With Us’ writer addresses controversy surrounding Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in casting Sony adaptation

It ends with us Author Colleen Hoover has opened up about the controversy surrounding the casting of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in Sony’s adaptation of her best-selling novel of the same name.

In a conversation with TodayJenna Bush Hager at Hoover’s Book Bananza festival in Texas, the author shared details on the upcoming adaptationsaying that the choices fans were worried about were her decision.

One thing fans seem unhappy about is the casting of Lively and Baldoni as Lily and Ryle respectively, because in the book Lily is 23 and Ryle is 30, while Lively is 35 and Baldoni is 39. Hoover explained that he wanted to age the characters in the movie trying to fix a mistake he made in the book.

“When I wrote It ends with usthe new adult genre was very popular,” he said. “You were writing college-aged characters. That’s what I was tasked with doing. I created Lily very young. I didn’t know neurosurgeons went to school for 50 years.” .

Hoover continued, “There is no 20-year-old neurosurgeon. When I started making this film, I thought, “We have to age them, because I was wrong.” So, it’s my fault.

She stressed that despite some of the backlash, she’s “extremely happy” with their casting, sharing that she’s been “obsessed” with Lively ever since Gossip Girl and I couldn’t believe the actress agreed to star in the adaptation.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, OK, that would be great,'” she said. “I think (Baldoni, who is also a director and executive producer,) expected (me) to yell into the phone. But he doesn’t realize… I haven’t allowed myself to get really emotional because I think something might happen. The shooting isn’t over. Everything could go wrong.

The author also addressed conversations about Lily’s dresses, which were photographed in New Jersey before production halted due to the writers’ strike. He said he wasn’t really imagining certain outfits when she was writing the book, but he “loves” the conversation the photos have generated because it means people care.

Lily’s style has been described as disheveled and hard to predict, as some days she wears camo, other days blue boxer shorts under patterned trousers, and sometimes baggy multicolored sweaters.

“I don’t remember describing the outfits,” Hoover continued. “I don’t care what they’re wearing. In my head, it’s about the conversation they’re having and the story. It’s the same in the movie. She added that she’s not concerned because what people have seen are clothes that are out of context and will all make sense in the film.

According to his description, It ends with us follows Lily after she moves to a new town, where she meets and falls in love with Ryle, a neurosurgeon, with whom she is in an abusive relationship. Then, her first love, Atlas (played by Brandon Skelnar), reappears and challenges the new relationship.

Despite fans’ concerns, the writer believes when It ends with us brought to life on the big screen, the movie people want is the movie they’ll get. She shared that she saw some footage when she visited the set and cried “so much,” though she insists she’s not an emotional person.

“You guys are going to be so happy,” Hoover said. “I am extremely happy and now my expectations have risen and I will keep them.”