HOW BLAKE LIVELY SEIZES POWER
aka
BLAKE LIVELY HAS A DREAM PLAN
THE DEMANDING BLAKE PHASE aka PRODUCTION PHASE TWO
Following repeated denials of access to the assembly cut, Blake Lively escalates her tactics by issuing a list of non-negotiable demands—many of which were in place as far as standard safety concerns. Her approach appears more about exerting creative control than resolving any alleged misconduct, placing Wayfarer and Sony in a difficult position - effectively cornering the studio as they approach post-production, as they had already invested millions into the making of the film by that point.
(Reminder, she was denied access THREE times at this point)
November 8, 2023:
Jamey Heath sends Lively’s Agent the new shooting schedule, to be resumed on November 15th. -Exhibit A, page 50
November 9, 2023:
Lively’s lawyer sends over an email containing a 17-point list of non-negotiable conditions that Lively demanded be met before her return to work. The list, both in tone and content, appeared to insinuate—or outright allege—that Baldoni, Heath, and others had engaged in sexually inappropriate conduct during filming.
Timing of this, of course, is not lost on me. - Now, this is the THE MOST IMPORTANT event in the sequence of events, in the upcoming sh*t-show.
Instead of attaching the 17-point demand, I want to highlight these two critical points and an excerpt from her lawyer, Lindsey Strasber. Upon closer look, the 17 point demand gives more creative control over the movie, than addressing her alleged SH claims and concerns regarding the production.
-Exhibit A - Protections for Return to Production
"8. BL may have a representative of her choosing present with her on set for the remainder of the rehearsal and shooting days, including while on a closed set."
In comes Ryan. Helping Blake to re-asserting her power, which she momentarily lost during the strikes, punishing Wayfarer for rejecting her requests, by reinstating her power behind the scene and letting them know who actually will be running the show. Reminding everyone on set not to poke her dragon.
"10. There shall be no retaliation of any kind against BL for raising concerns about the conduct described in this letter or for those requirements. Any changes in attitude, sarcasm, marginalization or other negative behavior, either on set or otherwise, including during publicity and promotional work, as a result of these requests is retaliatory and unacceptable, and will be met with immediate action." (Did we read that right? RETALIATION? Did Blake foreshadow retaliation almost a year in advance? Is she a clairvoyant now? Or does she already have a plan? Is this premeditation? JUST ASKING QUESTIONS...)
With more than half the film’s budget already spent—and a significant chunk of that due to Blake's costly decisions, from extravagant wardrobe changes to repeated shoot rescheduling—she’s backed both the studio and Sony into a corner. (Was this deliberate? There’s speculation, yes—but so far, no concrete proof in messages or documented exchanges. I’m not prepared to state it conclusively, but have definitely made a note of it.)
Timing is everything here. As production nears its post phase, and with several key scenes still left to shoot, Wayfarer simply can’t afford to lose her. The investment is too deep. Despite and because of being denied access to the assembly cut three times, Lively is now forcefully inserting herself into the post-production phase. Because otherwise, once the remaining scenes are shot and the studio goes into production, she will have no power- that’s when she’ll need and use—her leverage.
This goes back to what Bryan Freedman stated in the lawsuit, Blake was well aware of Baldoni's position in this movie. She will need a wrecking ball, in order to execute her plan of becoming the face of the movie. And once Baldoni and the Wayfarer Studio started objecting to her requests for the dailies, she knew she needed a bomb to destroy the strength of both the director and the production studio. And what would be something that could destroy them? )AH YES, you guessed right, SH ALLEGATIONS.)
“While we reserve all legal rights, at this stage our client is willing to forgo a more formal HR process in favor of everyone returning to work and finishing the Film as long as the set is safe moving forward. In order for our client to feel safe returning to the production, we are attaching a list of protections that will need to be guaranteed and observed by the Film’s producers. If the production is unwilling to accept and uphold these protections, our client is prepared to pursue her full legal rights and remedies." -Excerpt from the same email on the 9th of November 2023 to Wayfarer
As we know by know, Blake has blamed Wayfarer for not giving her instructions on how to file an HR complaint, yet she is clearly stating here that she is "... willing to forgo a formal HR process...” - Why would she do that you ask?
Well, the answer is simple: -(opinion)
1. A formal HR complaint would engage a formal investigation to her claims. We all agree collectively that in our opinion she was not SH-ed, it's obvious to us at least.
2. Interesting and, in my opinion, important detail of the list of 17 demands: Blake does not allege SH in her list, at all. This is very very and i want to highlight, VERY important. Had she put any such thing in writing, again Wayfarer had the full right to launch and investigation to her allegations or insinuation of such behavior, having it on record that she had (still, stating my opinions, just in case need to remind the reader) lied about her allegations to advance her position within the production.
It is important to note again and again, that they sprinkled in the “sexual” connotation but not out right stating so, burying it behind "on set protections."
November 10-15, 2023:
Despite having an input by Sony and asking for clarifications, BL makes it clear that their 17 point demand list was not up for negotiations. Yet again, exerting her power, at a time where the studio would have 2 options: either refuse and lose millions invested, not to mention at that point +4 years of hard work or obey BL's demands.
January 4, 2024:
The infamous list of 30 demands which was read out loud during the January 4th meeting. Did anyone notice that she never sent that list to anyone? This was read out oud, not put in as an HR complaint, because, AGAIN, having a written document where she properly alleges misconduct would give Wayfarer duty and right to investigate, resolve, and remedy if founded on truth and close off the complaint. Which in turn would strip her off of her leverage to continue her tyranny. But with this strategy, a clever one at that, Blake Lively would be able to hold the list of 17 demands against Baldoni and Wayfarer. (She obviously didn't expect sh*t to hit the fan as it has now).
Oh and as per her list of 17 demands, Lively chose Ryan to be present in the meeting as her representative, which in effect negates Ryan's statements that he was simply playing the role of her husband. In the list, it is clearly stated that whoever she chooses to bring on, will be taking the role of a representative.
THE WHINY BLAKE PHASE aka PRODUCTION PHASE ONE
From Mid May through June 2023, Blake Lively increasingly exerted influence over key production decisions, often overstepping her contractual role as an actress. When met with slightest resistance regarding changes she wanted to be applied, her true colors start to show up. Her uncalled for behavior included filing complaints about the director and crew, requesting unauthorized access to material like dailies and assembly cuts, and disrupting the production schedule—all of which created tension within the team and burdened the studio, mentally and financially..
May 16.2023:
Right from the jump, Blake proves to be a pain in the ass, for everyone involved. After Baldoni went in to relay SONY's concern regarding her wardrobe, he expressed his desire to have more control over her wardrobe. Baldoni later began to realize this conversation was just the first of several subtle manipulations. Shortly after, Blake requested a producer meeting—where she goes to blaming him to have made eye contact as he was turning away to face the wall.
May 29, 2023:
Wayfarer was made aware that Lively had placed a call to the Film’s Sony executive to share a few grievances.
1. Baldoni’s “sexy” comment about the wardrobe of her character Lily, which, as previously contextualized, was benign and mischaracterized by Lively, who took the comment personally. [Video documentation clearly shows the comment was made in a non provocative tone by a director to his actress and was not as Lively described].
2. Heath showed her a post-home birth video.
3. Lively shared her grievances about the 1st AD and suggested that she be replaced. (She and the 2nd AD, who is also a woman, were shortly thereafter let go).
At this point, Blake's "creative input" wasn't being as welcomed as she had originally hoped. This is when I personally think she changed her tactic, and went berserk.
June 3, 2023:
Jamey Heath informs 1st AD that she would be replaced. Justin and Jamey exchange texts about how they do not want to let her go, but concede to the situation they are in. - Exhibit A, page 35
June 13, 2023:
BL asks access to the “dailies” via text message, Justin Baldoni discusses the request with the production team. He compromises by sending a curated 5 hour playlist. - Exhibit A, pages 38-40
June 14-15, 2023:
Production was halted for 1 day, due to WGA picketing lines and the next day IEWU was allowed to resume set, but Lively was gone - poof- within 24 hours of WGA announcement, refusing to return to set despite having scheduled shooting, which was originally set to end on 23rd of June. This naturally affected the schedule and cost of production, intentionally disregarding Studio’s economical burden of rescheduling to meet her needs.
July 19, 2023:
Lively again requested access to dailies for the second time and was met AGAIN with resistance from the director of the movie, promising to send her his assembly cut once he feels comfortable. Lively still tries to insert power by asking who else has access (THE AUDACITY OF THIS WOMAN, GOSH, YES MY INNER DIALOGUE WILL BE IN CAPITAL LETTERS FROM NOW ON, BECAUSE WTF???), to inquire information regarding directorial approach to the movie edit, which she has no business getting involved in. - Exhibit A, pages 47-49.
August 25, 2023:
Baldoni sends over to Lively, as he had promised, his favorite sections of the assembly cut. Firmly stating that he will not be sending anything to anyone after this, but is willing to show her in person when the set opens back up after the strike. -Exhibit A, page 49 -
(Do you think she kept the matcha maker Baldoni sent her for her birthday? Oi, Blake, you can send it over if you are not using it... just sayin')
October 17, 2023:
Coming face-to-face with another firm stance against her request to view the assembly cut, BL directs her agent to send an email, mildly demanding JB fly out to show her the full assembly cut that week. (AGAN, THE AUDACITY OF THIS WOMAN!) Jamey Heath, the president of the studio, denies the request for that moment, but reassures Bl would get access to view it with JB when they’re back on set. - Exhibit A, page 50
BLAKE'S VILLAIN ERA aka POST-PRODUCTION PHASE
After regaining control and returning to set under her strict conditions, Blake Lively enters the post-production phase with full force—continuing her campaign to steer the film’s creative direction. Despite not holding directorial authority, she persistently pressures the studio and director for access and influence. Her escalating interference and behind-the-scenes tactics solidify her shift from leading actress to behind-the-curtain power player.
February 9th, 2024:
It Ends With Us shoot wraps up and transitions into post-production.
With the 17-point demand list hanging over them, BL proceeds to make numerous egregious requests—none of which she was asked nor entitled to do.
February 25, 2024:
JB reaches out to Lively, acknowledging her want and need to be in the editing room, and he gives her a time he would invite her to join. She insists on taking the passenger seat “asap.” In spite of it violating the protected 10 week private edit time, solely given to the director, by DGA guidelines. Not having much of a choice- Baldoni concedes. - Exhibit A, page 61-62
April 3, 2024:
Sony informs Wayfarer team of Lively has now moved on to demanding to have her own cut, otherwise she would not promote the movie. Undermining the creative integrity of the project, funded by the Wayfarer team. - This one is “hearsay from Sony” but I believe it. - Exhibit A, page 67-68
April 23-24, 2023:
Jamey is informed of Lively has requested to bring in her own editorial team (later we find out it was the team who also worked on Deadpool). Sony Executive reassures it’s a Wayfarer's movie and they would need approval from the studio, as Sony is only an investor and distributor. They later engage in a text exchange about the troubling situation everyone has found themselves in, because of Lively's demands and how she has inserted (with threats) into the directorial edit, unprecedented role for an actress - Exhibit A, page 72-73
April 30 - May 2, 2023:
Blake demands Wayfarer hire and pay for her personal editor. (SO IT'S NOT ENOUGH THAT SHE IS SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY GETTING RID OF BALDONI AND THE STUDIO FROM THEIR MOVIE, SHE IS ALSO MAKING THEM PAY FOR IT? AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THIS IS... WHAT'S THE RIGHT WORD... VILE?) Wayfarer agrees, under the condition that she signs her long overdue contract, which she has been using as leverage, in addition to the 17 point demand. - Yes that's right.. She still hasn't signed her contract. (Had I not brought that up yet? Isn't that another SUS? Am I the only one seeing through this? Am I the only one who is 150% convinced this was her plan from day 1? I am not saying she was planning to do what she did from get-go, but in my opinion and interpretation of turn of events, she came up with the plan of the list, once she realized it won't be easy taking the passenger seat with Baldoni by simply asking. Baldoni started setting those boundaries from June 13-14th 2023 until November 9th 2023)
Sony at this point, which I assume of course, tired of all the back and forth and negotiations, giving in to Blake's (and Ryan's) status and power in Hollywood, starts to bid her demands and asks Wayfarer to reconsider the contract condition. Sony's switch in the tone, proves one more time, even Sony didn't have the b*lls to say no to the Lively camp. Wayfarer has no option but to concede again.- Exhibit Pages 73-75
May 2, 2024:
While Lively is holding the Film hostage in the edit room, she is simultaneously stalling the Film’s marketing by refusing to approve key materials, including the trailer release. With less than three months until the Film's premiere, Sony becomes increasingly alarmed about the delayed rollout of the trailer, a cornerstone of the promotional campaign. - Exhibit A page 75
May 3, 2024:
Faced with Lively’s escalating threats—ranging from potentially delaying the Film’s release to outright refusing to promote it—Wayfarer, once again, reluctantly conceded to her demands, allowing her to continue editing with her personal editor. Further, Wayfarer had to withdraw their reasonable request for Lively to sign her long-overdue contract, opting instead to focus on maintaining forward momentum. Wayfarer’s only request was that Lively provide updates by the end of the day on May 8, 2024, allowing the director sufficient time to review and incorporate her edits into his cut. Despite the mounting tensions, Baldoni, Wayfarer, and Sony held on to the belief that Lively’s contributions would ultimately be integrated into Baldoni’s vision for the Film. - Exhibit A page 76-77
BLAKE RIDING ON HER HIGH HORSE ERA aka MARKETING & THE PROMO CONTENT
Blake Lively's actions post-production and right before the premiere, show a pattern of gradually isolating Justin Baldoni from his own film.
Each step is - in my opinion - deliberate and incremental, building toward a larger goal: pushing Baldoni out, marginalizing Wayfarer, rebranding the film as Blake Lively’s own and later getting the rights to the movie. (this is what i think her plan was) By isolating Baldoni from the cast and decision-making, combined with the earlier 17-point demands that gave her extraordinary control. She was preparing to leverage the position Baldoni and Wayfarer would find themselves in. as an easy strategy to make them forfeit and sell the rights to the sequel.
Imagine this alternate scenario for a second:
What if Blake had laid it all out from the start—put in writing that she wouldn’t return to set unless every one of her demands from February 9 to August 6 was met? What would Wayfarer have done then? They most likely than not, would’ve told her—and Ryan—to respectfully, f*ck no. Because if their intentions had been stated that plainly, there’d be no room to spin the narrative. The game only worked because it was cloaked in ambiguous protections she had Wayfarer sign off on. Had they exposed the full extent of their play upfront, the answer would’ve been a firm no.
May 20, 2024:
Wayfarer is informed through Sony that Lively, emboldened by the feedback she received from her friends and family screening, demanded an official audience test screening of her version of the Film. In light of Lively’s threat to withhold promotion of the Film, as well as her barely veiled threat to end Baldoni’s career with a slew of false accusations, the studio reluctantly agreed to do an official audience test of both versions (again at Wayfarer and Sony’s expense). - Exhibit A page 80
June 2,2024:
Despite her edit scoring lower with the target audience intended for the film, Lively backs down on her promise to allow (YES, SHE IS NOW GIVING PERMISSIONS TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE MOVIE) Baldoni's cut to be promoted, instead she decided to incorporate some of his cuts into her lower-scoring screening. Which I am assuming was a request by Sony, the distributor. - Exhibit A, page 80-81
June 12-14, 2024:
Wayfarer is informed by Sony that Blake Lively will show audiences at Book Bonanza her cut of the Film, regardless of Sony or Wayfarer’s approval.
Before I move on, again, I want to bring attention to how Deadpool came to be; for those who are unaware:
According to a well know rumor and an-almost-admission by Ryan, Ryan Reynolds had leaded his own two-minute footage, getting outstanding reviews from fans, and convincing the studio to greenlight RR’s vision for the franchise.
In Blake’s case however, the movie had already been made, but her battle was ensuring that her version of the cut was the one released to the public. To achieve this, she - in my opinion - STOLE and showcased her version at Book Bonanza, pressuring Sony and Wayfarer into compliance. By allowing over 2,000 fans to see her cut, she made it nearly impossible for the studios to ignore or discard her version without backlash. During the same event, Blake openly admitted that she had taken the cut without permission, further solidifying her defiance and determination to control the film’s final release.
A video of this comment is available at the 48:32 mark at: https://youtu.be/8P5POKBU7Ys. - Exhibit A, page 84-85
June 17, 2024:
Lively makes the decision to bring in her new composer, AT THE EXPENSE OF WAYFARER, despite Wayfarer having already worked with an expensive composer. Blowing up the budget, yet again. -Exhibit A, page 85
June 18, 2024:
Sony marketing requests that Baldoni waive his “Film By” credit on the secondary poster so that only Lively’s name would appear above the title. Further, despite having already approved a poster for the Film it was understood by Wayfarer that Lively would not approve this new version in which Baldoni’s name appeared next to hers, thus requesting that Baldoni’s name be removed. Given this is a contractual right that Baldoni negotiated, Sony needed Baldoni to put in writing that he was waiving his right to “a film by” credit. Further belittling the Studios and director’s well deserved position in the movie. - Exhibit A, pages 85-86
(I AM DISGUSTED AT THIS POINT! ARE YOU?)
On the same day that Baldoni waives his “Film by” credit, Wayfarer was met with another demand of writing a letter on Blake's behalf, recommending her for the PGA accreditation. Given Lively’s contributions to the Film, it was collectively agreed among the producers that she had not earned the distinction of the PGA mark. She was originally credited only as a nominal executive producer. While stating that “they would not be advocating for her getting the PGA Mark as that is not applicable.” Wayfarers somehow find themselves, yet again, in the position of no longer having any power to oppose Lively's requests/demands. So they concede.
- Exhibit A pages 90-92
On April 14, 2023:
in a text message to Baldoni, explaining why Ryan and Taylor had spoken on her behalf during their meeting in her apartment, Lively is praising herself in a way that is completely contradicted by her actions during post-production, especially during the PGA Mark topic. (girl, at lease get your own story staight)
Lively: "... They have watched me be hired as a writer and paid a significant fee for it but on the condition hat I never ask for credit, which I could give a shit about, it’s more the principle of the dynamics at play." - Exhibit A. page 13
Now you may say that, well she did so much work in post production, she deserves the mark, I would like to respectfully disagree. She forced herself to post-production, she had to put Baldoni and Wayfarer editors' cut back in, Wayfarer had funded the movie etc. She was not asked to do any of those, she FORCED herself into that role, against the studio's will.
NOW… THIS IS WHERE THIS CASE GETS REALLY INTERESTING!
(please remember this, as it's one of the key pieces of evidence in the lawsuit that directly supports my theory.)
June 26-27, 2024:
After many conversations and once again feeling trapped, Baldoni and Heath write a letter of recommendation to the PGA on behalf of Lively and send a copy to Lively to submit to the PGA. Heath simultaneously wrote a letter to his attorneys deriding the extortion by Lively - Exhibit A, page 93
July 1, 2024:
Baldoni is not allowed to give feedback on the final cut of the movie as a DIRECTOR but only as studio’s notes…. Exhibit A, page 95
July 2, 2024:
On a Zoom video conference between Wayfarer and Sony Marketing, Wayfarer learned that Sony had been dealing with extensive notes and revisions to the marketing plan as a result of the content shoot. Because Sony ended up hiring Reynolds’ company, Maximum Effort, to produce the promotional content for the Film, the cost for the shoot significantly increased due to their fee being higher than what Sony had originally budgeted. Notably, this charge was despite Lively’s claim in a January 2023 text to Baldoni that Maximum Effort would “work free for the family” as shown below. Despite ultimately approving this, Wayfarer was told that Sony was not allowed direct access to the footage (which they had paid for). As noted in the email, “Sony did not have much opportunity to be involved” in the shoot.
- Exhibit A page 96-93
July 30, 2024:
Sony informs Lively had demanded for Justin to promote the movie in a different junket.- Exhibit A, page 108
August 5, 2024:
Unbeknownst to Baldoni and Wayfarer, Lively holds a screening of THEIR movie, with the rest of the cast. - Exhibit A, page 112-113
If you're not familiar with Ryan Reynolds' career, both before and after Deadpool, this is the perfect place to dive in. I explore the parallels between his successful career trajectory and Blake Lively’s, highlighting the similarities in their paths and why I think and believe Blake was aggressively trying to take over It Ends With Us.
Blake Lively seizes power behind the scenes by leveraging her status and making aggressive demands, forcing her way into the editing process, controlling marketing materials, and sidelining both the director and the studio. Through strategic manipulation, she pressures Wayfarer and Sony into conceding to her demands, ensuring her version of the film takes precedence and weakening Baldoni’s role in the project.
Was there a smear campaign? I do a deep dive into the events between July and August 2024, when both PR teams faced a difficult challenge of managing the public image of the film, Lively and Baldoni. This is a very crucial timeline to understand, in order to make sense of what we are all witnessing now.
If you’re already familiar with the intricate details leading up to August 21, 2024, let’s dive straight into the Anita's (my) theory and why I think we are witnessing the unexpected legal drama unfold in front of us; my POV on grave miscalculations of Blake Lively camp and Bryan Freedman's legal strategy, as I have observed it so far.
LES TWO DRAGONS PHASE aka PRE-PRODUCTION