Blake Lively's 'tiger comes out' when playing manipulative character, says Another Simple Favor director

Daily Mail​

01-05-2025

Blake Lively left director, Paul Feig, astonished by her ability to slip into character as Emily Nelson, the seductive, murderous con-artist, in their film Another Simple Favor.
While reflecting on watching the actress, 37, effortlessly reprise her villainous role, Feig, 62, marveled at how easily Lively can portray someone so different than herself.
'Blake just embodies Emily in a way that's hilarious because Blake in real life is nothing like Emily,' he explained to Entertainment Tonight.
Despite her many controversies, Feig insisted the Gossip Girl star - who has compared herself to Khaleesi from Games of Thrones - is 'very sweet.'
'This tiger comes out when she gets into Emily,' Feig said in awe.
Feig has worked with Lively on both Another Simple Favor, which was released on Amazon Prime Video on May 1, and its predecessor, A Simple Favor, back in 2018.
At the SXSW Film & TV Festival in March, he told USA Today that off-screen 'Blake is just the sweetest kind of Earth Mother.'
But when the cameras are rolling, he praised her skill at transforming into 'into this character and just be so biting and asserting and scary but funny at the same time.'
Feig also admitted he couldn't see anyone beside Lively and her costar, Anna Kendrick, tackling their dynamic parts.
'Their chemistry is so through the roof it's crazy' he told People earlier this year.
Lively previously said the role of Emily is her 'favorite character' that she has 'ever been fortunate enough to play.'
Feig has stuck up for Lively multiple times amid her legal war with Justin Baldoni.
In February, he said Lively did not exercise any editorial control of their upcoming film Another Simple Favor.
After Prime Video released a promotional post for Another Simple Favor, a number of commenters implicated that Lively might have tried to assert her influence over Feig and their movie, which he shut down.
Amid Baldoni's claims that Lively and her inner circle used their considerable clout to commandeer changes to the script - even enlisting Taylor Swift to lean on him at one point - and re-cut the motion picture, a user asked in the comment section, 'Is it Paul Feig's cut or Blake's cut?'
Feig - whose other cinematic credits include 2011's Bridesmaids, 2016's Ghostbusters and 2024's Jackpot! - made clear he had full creative control over the film, replying, 'It's my cut. There is no other cut ... just wanted to clear that up.'
Feig in his reply heaped massive praise on Lively, who he previously worked with on 2018's A Simple Favor.
'Blake has been nothing but supportive and a dream to work with,' said the Emmy-nominated director, who has directed shows such as Arrested Development, The Office and Nurse Jackie. 'She is the best and an amazing collaborator and I'm her biggest fan.'
A number of the director's fans criticized his defense of Lively, amid the allegations Baldoni made in court filings and on the website.
'Paul, I know you're gonna wanna shake off these comments as coming from a bunch of loons, but Blake and Ryan really did use their star power to bulldoze Justin,' said one user. 'It makes me really sad, and I hope you remember when you were starting off in this business.'
Others told Feig that his stellar reputation as a feted industry veteran insulated him from the strong-arming and meddling Lively allegedly subjected Baldoni to in regard to It Ends with Us's screenplay, wardrobe and editing.
'You've been in the directing game for so long, so of course Blake isn't going to attempt to step on your toes,' said one user. 'She just goes for the directors that are starting off and tries to use her husband to bully them and take over.
'She'd never have the balls to do that to someone like you so of course she's "amazing, great, kind, etc."'
Said another user: 'You're making things worse by defending Blake, you know. This just reaffirms that Blake treats powerful directors like you nicely and targets those she considers less than.'
Another echoed, 'You're probably a good guy but you're extremely lucky that you got your cut [because] Blake knew not to bully you and put you in the basement. She thought highly of you [because] you're not a nobody. But good luck with this show. It's dead in the water.'
Multiple commenters referenced on Feig's post Baldoni's claim made in court filings that Lively arranged for his presence to be minimized at the It Ends with Us premiere.
'Be careful you might end up in the basement in the premiere,' one user said, while another responded, 'Be careful Paul she may put you in the basement come premiere day.'
Lively filed an 80-page civil rights complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni December 20, before officially filing a federal lawsuit on December 31.
In December, Lively sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture. In her lawsuit, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways - including body shaming her - and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.
Baldoni and his reps have said in response to the lawsuit that Lively twisted the meaning of text messages and mislead the public about their interactions while making the motion picture.
In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni's collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio's CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.
'I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,' Lively told The New York Times the day after she filed the complaint.
Baldoni subsequently sued the newspaper for $250 million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story titled '"We Can Bury Anyone": Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine;' the newspaper has denied the allegations.
Baldoni on January 16 filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging defamation and extortion. Baldoni told the court the trio had concocted 'false accusations of sexual harassment' against him.
Since Lively's complaint was filed, Baldoni has faced a number of professional consequences, including a lawsuit from a former publicist; and being dropped by the agency WME, which also reps Lively and Reynolds.
WME has denied claims that Lively and Reynolds leaned on them to release Baldoni from their client roster, according to Variety.
Lawyers for both parties were in accordance with a plan to compound both federal cases filed into one moving forward.
It Ends with Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences. The film, adapted from the 2016 Colleen Hoover novel, earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.
Lively broke out with the 2005 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants opposite Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera. That led to her high-profile role on the TV show Gossip Girl, which she starred on from 2007-2012, playing lead character Serena van der Woodsen.
She has also appeared in movies such as 2010's The Town, 2016's The Shallows, 2018's A Simple Favor and 2020's The Rhythm Section.
Prior to It Ends with Us, Baldoni was best known for playing the role of Rafael Solano on the TV show Jane the Virgin from 2014–2019. He also has directed films including 2019's Five Feet Apart and 2020's Clouds, and penned the 2021 book Man Enough, which tackled misconceptions of contemporary masculinity.