A Simple Favor director Paul Feig has shut down online rumors that a feud between the movie’s stars, Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, has indefinitely shelved the forthcoming sequel.
On Friday (January 10), an X/Twitter user named @Oflululemon claimed that Feig’s highly anticipated sequel to his 2018 crime thriller had been “derailed” by “growing tensions.”
“Despite glowing test screenings, Blake Lively’s refusal to promote — amid her messy legal battle with Justin Baldoni — and growing tensions with Anna Kendrick have derailed the sequel,” the post read. “Anna is furious. Paul Feig is disappointed. Hollywood is in shock.”
“This isn’t just a movie — it’s an implosion,” it continued, alleging the claims were based on “publicly available information, insider accounts, and research.”
Feig, however, has since responded to the post, calling it “total BS.”
“Sorry. The movie is finished and coming out soon. Don’t believe anything you read on social media these days,” the Bridesmaids director warned.
In a later comment, @Oflululemoncould responded to Feig, writing: “If my story is ‘false,’ could you clarify why Amazon hasn’t set a release date for a film that wrapped in April 2024? Why are there no promo plans yet? Saying ‘coming out soon’ doesn’t really address the delays or the concerns. Would love to hear more!”
The Heat director again replied, explaining: “My friend, it’s called post production, which generally takes over half a year at least when you factor in editing, scoring, special effects, sound mixing, close captioning and all the technical quality control that has to be done. Our post schedule always had us finishing everything by mid-January.
“Movies don’t come out the second they’re finished because the studio spends the previous year deciding the best date to release it. We’ve always planned on something in the spring/summer of this year. That’s how movies work. I hope this helps,” he added.
The online falsities come amid Lively’s lawsuit against her It Ends with Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni, who she’s accused of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign to “destroy” her career after she complained about on-set misconduct.
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Several celebrities and former collaborators have come out in support of Lively, including Feig, who described the Gossip Girl alum as “one of the most professional, creative, collaborative, talented and kind people I’ve ever worked with.”
“She truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her. I think it’s awful she was put through this,” he tweeted last month.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has denied Lively’s allegations, calling them “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.”
The Jane the Virgin actor has filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times over its reporting of Lively’s sexual harassment allegations against him, and according to Freedman, intends to file a countersuit against Lively.
