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Blake Lively on being thrown an 'uncomfortable' curveball by 'Another Simple Favor'

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Blake Lively on being thrown an 'uncomfortable' curveball by 'Another Simple Favor'

Any concerns that the recent legal wrangling involving star Blake Lively might overtake the world premiere of “Another Simple Favor” at SXSW were tucked away well before the film began on Friday. Lively bounded into the Paramount Theatre and greeted friends in the aisle and posed for pictures with fans, a security guard kneeling behind her to stay out of the shots. Lively then took her seat among the rest of the film’s cast and crew, with co-star Anna Kendrick sitting a row in front of her.

The film is a sequel to “A Simple Favor,” which was a modest hit when it was released in 2018 but has grown in popularity since due to its availability on streaming platforms. In the original film, directed by Paul Feig from a screenplay by Jessica Sharzer, Kendrick played Stephanie Smothers, a widowed mother who strikes up a friendship with glamorous Emily Nelson, who draws them both into a tale of intrigue, murder, cocktails, false identities, increasingly complicated backstories and fantastic hair.

In introducing “Another Simple Favor,” Feig said: “I don’t normally make sequels because I’m terrified of them, because most sequels aren’t great. And it was really scary, but we just kind of thought, ‘I just love these characters so much.’”

Feig, dressed in an elaborate western-themed outfit, complete with boots, hat and fringed jacket, added: “It just felt like there’s something more to be done with these characters. But if you don’t want to repeat the first movie, what can we do? Well, let’s take them to Italy. And so that’s what’s going to happen with this film. So I think you’ll have a great time. We had so much fun making it.”

From a screenplay credited to Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis, the new film opens with Kendrick’s Stephanie under house arrest in Capri, accused of murdering the new husband of Lively’s Emily. The film then flashes back to show Emily, apparently freed from prison, reinserting herself into Stephanie‘s life and ready to jet off to a glamorous wedding in Italy to a mysterious, handsome and wealthy suitor Dante (Michele Morrone).

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With Stephanie once again uncertain of Emily’s true motives, she takes in the gorgeous surroundings and finds the mystery deepening when she meets Emily’s mother (Elizabeth Perkins) and aunt (Allison Janney). When Dante ends up dead barely an hour after marrying Emily (and having impulsively set his prenup on fire), somehow Stephanie is blamed for the murder. And things only get more complicated from there.

After the screening, Feig came back onstage with Kendrick and Lively, along with Perkins, Morrone and fellow cast members Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin and Alex Newell.

Lively said: “I love this character so much. It’s probably my favorite character I’ve ever been fortunate enough to play. And so when Paul asked us to come back, I was so excited. I was really nervous on the first one because we didn’t know if we were making a drama or a comedy. And when we asked Paul, he said ‘Yes,’ which is not really an answer to the question. But it worked out. So I was like, ‘OK, no nerves. I know what I’m doing this time.’ And then right before shooting he said, ‘I have a little bit of a curveball idea.’”

Without giving away one of the film’s big twists, Lively added: “It definitely upped the ante. It was very uncomfortable to watch in the theater with you guys.”

On returning to her character, Kendrick added: “Stephanie is, as the kids say, addicted to not serving. So I was like, ‘Can I just be not very well dressed but comfortable?’ I was really excited to play Stephanie, but in sneakers.”

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Kendrick spoke about how she had recently rewatched “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” before shooting and based some of her performance on the blasé attitude to murder and mayhem of Robert Downey Jr.’s character. As she noted, “I think on this one I was like, ‘OK, if I’m going with her into certain peril, I think maybe I start out just not taking any of it that seriously.’”

Throughout the Q&A Kendrick and Lively were cautious about explicitly talking about some of the story’s bigger twists. When Feig pointed out that the audience had just seen the movie, Kendrick countered that there were countless cameras in the audience.

“There’s this thing called the internet, Paul,” Kendrick said to a great laugh from the crowd.

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Lucas Museum to give free annual passes to South L.A. neighbors, host community preview day

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Lucas Museum to give free annual passes to South L.A. neighbors, host community preview day

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is moving at light speed toward its Sept. 22 opening, announced Thursday that it will give free annual passes to its South L.A. neighbors living in the 90037 ZIP Code. The 300,000-square-foot, $1-billion museum located in Exposition Park will also host a special community preview day on Sept. 13, more than a week before the general public gets to step inside.

The 90037 ZIP Code has a population of more than 65,000 and is bordered roughly by the 110 Freeway to the west, Slauson Avenue to the south, Central Avenue to the east and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north. Residents can register for passes at lucasmuseum.org/lm37 and will be alerted in August when the program launches. Pass holders can reserve tickets for themselves and one guest.

Tickets for non-pass holders go on sale July 21. They cost $25 for adults and $21 for seniors. Kids 17 and under are free.

“Storytelling has the power to bring people together and create a sense of community,” said Lucas Museum Chief Executive Tracey Bates in a news release about the program. “Through LM37, we are inviting our South Los Angeles neighbors to make the museum part of their lives and take their own path of discovery through the art, programs and experiences that will help shape this new cultural hub for Los Angeles.”

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The community preview day is designed to give local business owners, community partners, civic leaders and registered LM37 pass holders a sneak peak of the 10,000 square feet of exhibition space, as well as the expansive gardens with 11 acres of park space.

The opening programming, curated by co-founder George Lucas, features 20 inaugural exhibitions across more than 30 galleries, including one titled “Star Wars in Motion,” containing vehicle designs, high-speed racers, flying vessels, props, costumes and illustrations from the first six films in the beloved franchise.

More than 1,200 objects will be on display from Lucas’ personal collection of narrative art. Highlights include work by Norman Rockwell and Dorothea Lange, as well as a variety of manga, children’s book illustrations and comics.

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Movie review: Supergirl is a blast

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Movie review: Supergirl is a blast

Last year’s “Superman” ended with Iggy Pop singing “Because I’m a punk rocker, yes I am” — an ironic coda for a superlatively square hero. But it rings straightforwardly true for Superman’s cousin.

Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El, or Supergirl, sports not a spandex suit but a Blondie T-shirt. When we meet her in Craig Gillespie’s “Supergirl,” she’s been on an interstellar bender for days. She’s more Courtney Love than Clark Kent.

Nonchalant and sarcastic, Kara is also a little Han Solo-ish, you might say, given that she moves capriciously through the galaxy in her junky spaceship while getting in fights in extraterrestrial bars. She’s a welcome, jagged riff on more buttoned-up superheroes, and Alcock is terrific in the role. If only “Supergirl” was as good as she is.

While the latest DC release, and second under James Gunn’s stewardship, has its moments, “Supergirl” struggles to match Kara’s punk-rock energy with an equally spirited supporting cast and story.

Skepticism seems to have gathered for “Supergirl” ahead of its release. Many fans have argued it wasn’t the right next step for DC Universe. But I’m not so sure. Alcock’s breezy cameo in “Superman” was one of that movie’s highlights. Handing the follow-up to her, and her faithful floating dog Krypto, strikes me as an extremely natural next step. When in doubt, follow the dog.

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And much of “Supergirl” is winning. It resides almost entirely in space, touching down only momentarily on Earth. In its consistently creative production design, clever needle drops and underdog story arc, “Supergirl” resides a little closer to Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies than other DC entries. Its outer space is filled with cosmic detritus, mean characters and cute critters. Seth Rogen as the voice of a tiny alien co-piloting a space bus is an inspired concoction, as is a shabbier sci-fi realm with rest stops along the intergalactic highway.

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Justin Baldoni and wife break silence after ‘It Ends With Us’ legal battle with Blake Lively

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Justin Baldoni and wife break silence after ‘It Ends With Us’ legal battle with Blake Lively

Justin Baldoni has broken his silence after reaching a settlement in a lengthy and highly publicized legal dispute with Blake Lively.

Baldoni and his wife, Emily Baldoni, presented a united front in an Instagram video the couple shared Wednesday that began, “So we have not spoken publicly for the better part of the last two years, and it’s not because we haven’t had anything to say, because Lord knows we have.”

The “It Ends With Us” actor and director said that although they’d wanted to address the debacle that involved dueling lawsuits with Lively, nearly two years of tit-for-tat fodder and culminated in a confidential settlement, “something was telling us not to.”

The couple said they prayed about when to make a public statement. “This feels like the moment,” Emily said.

“What does feel important,” she continued, “is that we can genuinely say that we are sitting here today feeling immense gratitude for so many things and so many people and so many things that have happened to us.”

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“Gratitude has saved us,” Justin added.

“I also feel that it’s important as we say that — in that gratitude — it doesn’t negate the injustice and the pain that we have also felt in the last few years, and we’ve had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand so many things,” Emily said. “How could something like this even happen? Let alone disguised as a fight for women. So much to unpack. And the truth is, reality is, is that there’s been a lot of trauma for us to move through as a family, which also makes it hard to speak.”

“We don’t even know this is the right thing to say, but we just know we need to share something,” Justin said. “What I will say is that there have been so many painful things that have been spoken into existence — “

“Untruthful,” Emily broke in.

“We didn’t want to add to the noise, so we just wanted to let the justice system run its course,” he said.

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“And the truth and the facts have spoken for themselves,” Emily said.

The couple’s statement comes a year and a half after Lively filed a bombshell lawsuit against Baldoni alleging sexual harassment, retaliation and several other charges on the heels of a messy “It Ends With Us” summer release and press tour that fueled rumors of on-set turmoil.

Less than a month after the allegations against Baldoni rallied Hollywood against him, he countersued Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for $400 million in damages, claiming they’d smeared his name in the press and wrestled away his control of the film. His suit was later dismissed.

In May, two weeks ahead of the trial, Lively and Baldoni reached an agreement to resolve their legal dispute, bringing an abrupt end to the contentious battle.

“The parties in the Blake Lively and Wayfarer Studios litigation have reached an agreement to resolve the matters,” lawyers for both sides said in a joint statement.

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“The end product — the movie ‘It Ends With Us’ — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind. We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.”

In June, a federal judge ordered Baldoni and his production company to pay Lively’s attorney fees related to his unsuccessful defamation lawsuit against her, but rejected her bid for additional damages.

“So, how are we doing?” the filmmaker said in the Instagram video. “We are healing, and if you’ve ever been through something traumatic, you know that healing isn’t linear. It lives different every day, and we have had to rethink for ourselves what is real. What matters, and it’s this. It’s our family. It’s our friends. It’s our community. It’s our faith.”

Times staff writer Josh Rottenberg contributed to this report.

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