For Colleen Hoover, seeing her story written nearly a decade ago come to life on the big screen was more than she could have imagined.
The Justin Baldoni-directed film, starring Blake Lively as Lily, Baldoni as Ryle and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas, is based on her 2016 best-seller that later became a TikTok sensation. It follows Lily who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life. However, once she gets romantically involved with neurosurgeon Ryle, she sees sides of him that remind her of her parents’ abusive relationship and must learn to rely on her own strength to move forward.
When it came to developing the novel into a film, Hoover admits that why it was “overwhelming” at times, seeing the final product was “surreal.” There were even several scenes that left her emotional as the author.
“I think it’s all of the emotions,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in an interivew earlier this month, before rumors of a rift between Baldoni and Lively were made public. “I’m able to separate it in the sense that I see the book and the film as two completely separate things. But at the same time, I think they did such a good job condensing this book into a film that I’m very happy with this adaptation.”
The book and the film faced some criticism, including for its depiction of domestic violence, as well as for the characters being aged up for the movie.
But Hoover notes she actually believes the film allowed her to correct something from the book, as when she wrote it, she felt pressure to focus on characters in their 20s, as that was the trend at the time.
“I felt like the film was a way to correct that mistake that I felt like I made in the book,” said Hoover. “Especially with having them as their teenage selves compared to their adult selves, you need more space in between and more time to mature. So I think it plays much better on film.”
Below, Hoover talks with THR about her reaction to the fan discourse surrounding the film, what it was like working with Lively and Baldoni, the scenes that got her the most emotional and what she hopes audiences take away from the big-screen adaptation.
When you look back, do you have a favorite moment on set that first comes to mind?
The first day I was on set, just walking on to set and seeing the amount of people involved and making this into a movie, that was really overwhelming to me. Everyone had their own job to do and they were all rushing around, like 200 people. ] I don’t think I realized what a big undertaking it was until I was able to see it in real life.
I know there was a lot of discourse online regarding who fans thought should play the characters. How involved were you in the casting process?
I’m not going to take credit from anyone. I wasn’t that involved in casting. They actually came to me and told me that Blake was gonna play Lily and I was stoked. I’m a huge Blake lively fan first and foremost. So I kind of just stopped myself from getting excited because I was like, well, what if it doesn’t happen? Then seeing everyone else’s reactions, you know, on the one hand on Facebook, I think most of my readers are my age and they were all stoked for Blake Lively. And then you have Gen Z who wanted someone in their early twenties. So there was a lot of back and forth with that.
I previously read that you wanted to age up their characters as you felt you made a mistake in the book with their ages. How did it feel knowing you got to correct that for the adaptation?
I was very happy to be able to have a hand in that. When I wrote the book, new adult was a huge genre and their characters were in their early 20s, college age. And that’s what I was contracted to write. And so all of the books I wrote in that time period, everyone was in their early, mid, late twenties. So even when I was writing this book, I kind of felt off a little bit about their ages. And I was like, man, I wish I would have made them a little bit older, but I never was able to go back and change that. So I felt like the film was a way to correct that mistake that I felt like I made in the book. Especially with having them as their teenage selves compared to their adult selves, you need more space in between and more time to mature. So I think it plays much better on film.
As the author, after seeing your story depicted for a new medium, did you have any new revelations?
I don’t know. I’ve just really enjoyed this process and been surprised the whole way through with. I think I went into it thinking I would feel more uncomfortable with the changes and that I would be more protective of the book, but I feel like it was such a collaborative process that I understood everything that had to change and I agreed with the changes that had to be made. So if anything, I am surprised by how much I enjoyed it and how little pushback I had for anything.
What conversations did you have with Lively to help her bring Lily off the page in the most authentic way?
I honestly did not have a conversation with her before she started filming and it was after that, that we got to know each other and I feel like she just has such talent and capabilities. I don’t know that there was any advice I could have given her that would have made her portray Lily’s character any better than she did. She did such a phenomenal job.
How much were you communicating with Baldoni throughout the filming process, especially with him as the director and portraying Ryle?
We were pretty communicative. He was very good at keeping me like up to date with everything going on with the schedule and shooting and everything that was happening. And then when they got the script, wanting to involve readers. I think was probably the best decision he made, getting that reader feedback because there’s no one we want to love this movie more than the readers who made the book what it is. And so the whole process has been so great and I’m just so grateful to everyone who put their heart and soul into this.
How do you navigate that criticism surrounding its depiction of domestic violence while also promoting the project, and do you have a response to those critics?
I don’t really. I try to let readers feel how they want to feel about books that they read. I don’t wanna get too involved in that. It’s a tough subject and if you don’t like reading about those kind of things, then it’s probably not the book and not the film for you. I personally think that just seeing the way that the book has taken off and the support behind it, like that’s what I focus on, the readers that love it and want to see this film do it justice, I give my energy to that.
Once you finally watched the movie, were there any specific moments that touched you personally that you didn’t think would?
I think Alyssa and Lily’s relationship. I loved it in the book, but I just love Jenny Slate so much and I think that her and Blake did such a good job bringing those two characters to life that I feel like you feel their love for each other on film. So I got really emotional during their scene together where they were both crying.
From your perspective as the author, what is it like seeing something you wrote, and a story that has been with you for so long, on a visual screen?
It’s very surreal. I think it’s all of the emotions. I’m able to separate it in the sense that I see the book and the film as two completely separate things. But at the same time, I think they did such a good job condensing this book into a film that I’m very happy with this adaptation and I’m so excited for readers to be able to see it.
I know there was also a lot of online fan commentary surrounding Lively’s costumes for Lily, and I actually spoke with costume designer Eric Daman a few weeks ago, but I also wanted to get your reaction to all the clothing discourse.
I honestly enjoyed it because to me, it was kind of a compliment that people were so passionate about the book. I don’t even think I’ve described what she wore in the book. I’m just not a descriptive writer and so those kind of details don’t matter to me when I read. And so it was kind of funny to me that so many people were like, “That’s not what Lily would wear.” I’m like, I don’t know even know what she would wear and I created her. So I love the passion behind it, but I also kind of got a kick out of it because I knew Blake is a fashion icon and she knew what she was doing. It was like when you see those costumes on set and the clothes that she wore, I think it brings more life to the character and I think it just came out perfect.
Flowers have been such a key element in the film’s promotion, as Lily’s floral boutique is a huge part of the book and film. What has it been like for you to see it all come to life?
Every time I show up to something that they have scheduled, I’m like, “When did y’all have time to do this?” It’s been insane. Like never in a million years did I think… even in theaters when I’ve gone to watch other movies, I see these floral props for my film and I’m honestly blown away by it. I think the props department has gone above and beyond and the marketing for this movie has just been insane. I’m just grateful all around to everyone who’s put so much work and energy into this.
And was Lily’s floral boutique in the film what you pictured when you wrote the book?
So much better than I imagined. I think it helps when you have several minds in the pros department and their imaginations, adding, breathing even more life into what I wrote into the book. Like I said earlier, I’m not a very descriptive writer, so being able to see other people’s imagination as well come to life. I just thought it was phenomenal and that’s another time I teared up on set because it was so overwhelming to see in real life.
As for your book fans and potentially new fans once they see the movie, what do you hope they take away from the film adaptation?
I hope they walk away feeling hopeful, honestly. I hope this movie helps people in the same way the book helped people. I received so many positive messages for people who were able to make positive decisions in their life after reading the book. So I’m hoping that same impact happens with the film.
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It Ends With Us is currently playing in theaters.
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