Blake Lively attends SXSW premiere of ‘Another Simple Favor,’ speaks publicly for first time since Justin Baldoni scandal erupted
Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, and filmmaker Paul Feig came out to support their new film, Another Simple Favor, at its premiere at the South by Southwest Film & Television Festival on Friday night.
Lively received a warm welcome at the screening, where she spoke publicly for the first time since her legal battle with It Ends With Us star and director Justin Baldoni became tabloid fodder over the last several months. Appearing under heavy security, Lively kept her remarks strictly business. “I love this character so much. It’s probably my favorite character I’ve ever been fortunate enough to play,” she said after the screening as the cast gathered onstage. “So when Paul asked us to come back, I was so excited.”
More from GoldDerby
Lively has kept a low profile amid the legal drama. Her only previous public appearance of note came last month for the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special. (During the SNL50 special, Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, joked about the couple’s recent media infatuation.) Lively did not speak with journalists during her appearance on the red carpet but did chat with the Amazon Prime Video social team and SXSW house media, according to The Hollywood Reporter. According to Variety, a lone pro-Baldoni protester was at the event, wearing a shirt that read "Blake Lied." Inside, Lively greeted fans and admirers before the screening, pausing for photos with attendees.
Directed by Feig, Another Simple Favor is a sequel to the popular Lionsgate thriller A Simple Favor, based on Darcey Bell's novel. The new project is an original idea by Feig and A Simple Favor writer Jessica Sharzer. Before its debut, Feig stressed that the movie would appeal to fans of the original, which had grossed $90 million worldwide before becoming a streaming hit on Netflix and other services. “I was seeing what people were writing about, how excited they were, and what they thought the movie’s going to be,” Feig said in an interview with Decider last year before revealing he and Sharzer had scrapped their original screenplay for something more aligned with the expectations of the audience. “I’m just like, ‘I think what we have isn’t going to be what they are hoping for.’ Not that I want to try to match expectations, but I also don’t want to subvert expectations. I don’t like when movies do that. ‘Oh, you like that? Well, screw you, you’re going to get this!’ So, we threw out about 70 percent of that script and, during the [writers’] strike, rewrote it.”
In the new film, Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) “reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.”
Early reviews and responses after the SXSW premiere suggest fans of the original film will be satisfied with the sequel. "A day might soon come when there’s no meat left on the bone of Emily and Stephanie’s relationship, but for now, the Simple Favor series is the closest thing moviegoers have to a true daytime soap opera," wrote Indiewire (complimentary).
Lively, Kendrick, Andrew Rannells, and Henry Golding return from A Simple Favor alongside newcomers Allison Janey and Elizabeth Perkins. Another Simple Favor premieres on May 1 on Amazon Prime Video.
Best of GoldDerby
Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
