Director of new Colleen Hoover film draws line on on-set drama
EXCLUSIVE — The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel "It Ends With Us" — unfortunately for book and movie lovers alike — ended up being overshadowed by a very public feud between the two main actors, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Vanessa Caswill, director of the new movie "Reminders of Him," also based on one of Hoover's books, said she has a system in place to keep the peace on her sets and perhaps avoid such off-screen drama. The story centers on Kenna as she returns from prison after a fatal mistake led to the death of her boyfriend, Scotty. She is now seeking redemption from Scotty's parents in hopes of meeting her daughter, Diem, whom she gave birth to while in custody.
"We actually had a really beautiful ensemble and collaborative dynamic on set," Caswill told Fox News Digital. "And I think, for me, as a sort of steerer of the ship, it's really important to lead with a very open heart and try and hold space and try and have an environment where everybody feels like they can bring their whole selves to it, and they can bring their mistakes and their flaws and that that's OK, and that we can work together and be open and have compassion for whoever is vulnerable in that moment."
"Because everybody bringing their talent — whether they're cast or crew — it's a vulnerable thing too," she continued. "And to be seen and to be appreciated and feel like you can be having a bad day, that's fine."
While not getting into details, Caswill said she has had at least one unpleasant experience on a set before and now prefers to quickly nip those incidents in the bud.
"It's really important to me, and it's the way I like to, you know, hold my sets," she said. "I've had one experience that was unpleasant, and it was unpleasant for me and, you know, it was just not a good environment. But that was a long time ago, and I think I wouldn't stand for that now."
Hoover admitted in an interview with Elle magazine in November that she was "embarrassed" by the fallout between her "It Ends With Us" cast. The tension between Lively and Baldoni was evident from the start of their press tour as the two chose to conduct separate interviews leading up to the release of the film. Then came a series of back-and-forth accusations about their behavior on set, and eventually dueling lawsuits.
Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and more against Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights Department and later in federal court.
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Baldoni filed his own lawsuit, saying Lively had "falsely" accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation after the fallout from the movie's press tour after the actress took control of the film. His lawsuit has since been dismissed.
Hoover regretted that the legal battle had overshadowed the true theme and message of the book, which had been inspired by her mother's strength in dealing with physical abuse.
"The book was inspired by her story, and now it gives us PTSD to think about it," Hoover told Elle. "I feel awful because I almost feel like she’s gone through more with the aftermath of this film, more pain than she went through with my dad, just seeing the ugliness of it."
"I can’t even recommend it anymore," she added. "I feel like [the lawsuit] has overshadowed it," she noted. "I’m almost embarrassed to say I wrote it. When people ask what I do, I’m just like, ‘I’m a writer. Please don’t ask me what I wrote.’"
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Caswill commended her entire "Reminders of Him" cast, including the young Zoe Kosovic, who played Diem in the film.
"I mean, she was amazing," Caswill said. "I loved working with her. I love working with non-actors as well, generally, because I think they bring a different, very pure energy to the material. But I think there's obviously an element of pressure having an actor that is a bit of a wild card, potentially, and you know, obviously, a 5-year-old kid can have a bad day, and I have to say 99% of the time, Zoe was just absolutely on it."
Two of the most moving scenes come near the end of the film, and Caswill said the cast nailed those moments of "connection and heart."
"And both of them were really late in our schedule, so I was kind of carrying those scenes in my heart throughout the entirety of the filming process, knowing that if we didn't land those scenes, the film wasn't going to work," she said. "So, it was partly emotional because there was relief in the fact that they were so brilliant — Micah and Lauren and Zoe were so brilliant in those scenes. And also emotional, because I think we were all carrying the intensity of the story and the pain of these characters the whole way through."
"Reminders of Him" is in theaters now.