{"id":1367,"date":"2026-05-09T21:07:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T21:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/2026\/05\/09\/where-blake-lively-justin-baldonis-careers-go-next-who-wants-to-work-with-people-that-go-this-far\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T21:07:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T21:07:00","slug":"where-blake-lively-justin-baldonis-careers-go-next-who-wants-to-work-with-people-that-go-this-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/2026\/05\/09\/where-blake-lively-justin-baldonis-careers-go-next-who-wants-to-work-with-people-that-go-this-far\/","title":{"rendered":"\u30d6\u30ec\u30a4\u30af\u30fb\u30e9\u30a4\u30d6\u30ea\u30fc\u3068\u30b8\u30e3\u30b9\u30c6\u30a3\u30f3\u30fb\u30d0\u30eb\u30c9\u30fc\u30cb\u306e\u4eca\u5f8c\u306e\u30ad\u30e3\u30ea\u30a2\u306f\uff1f\u300c\u3053\u3053\u307e\u3067\u6210\u529f\u3057\u305f\u4eba\u305f\u3061\u3068\u8ab0\u304c\u4e00\u7dd2\u306b\u4ed5\u4e8b\u3092\u3057\u305f\u3044\u3068\u601d\u3046\u3060\u308d\u3046\u304b\uff1f\u300d\u201c"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\tBlake Lively<\/a> and Justin Baldoni<\/a> averted a legal battle royale with the surprise settlement<\/a> of Lively\u2019s\u00a0It Ends With Us\u00a0<\/em>sexual harassment suit against him earlier this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tBut even\u00a0avoiding an ugly trial and now dealing with legal and punitive damages<\/a>, the actress and actor-director now face a trial of a different sort. Namely that of rebuilding their Hollywood careers.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey\u2019re in in jail. Both of them,\u201d says one high ranking studio executive.<\/p>\n

\tIt was a sentiment echoed over and over again by many agents, producers, studio executives and casting directors informally surveyed by\u00a0The<\/em>\u00a0Hollywood Reporter<\/em>\u00a0over the question of what was next for the two\u2019s careers. It should be noted that the insights expressed did not diminish the talent of either, which can be seen in their body of work, but did assess the damage both have suffered from a protracted legal and public relations fight in which pyrrhic victories were the best outcomes.<\/p>\n

\tLively led and produced 2024\u2019s\u00a0It Ends With Us<\/em>, a drama that Baldoni directed, produced and also starred in. The movie was money-making hit, grossing $351 million globally on a budget of $25 million.\u00a0The fight between the two wasn\u2019t over profits or credits, but\u00a0the shooting and public relations machinations behind\u00a0the movie, among them accusations of sexual harassment and smear campaigns, with both sides lobbing lawsuits and countersuits.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWho wants to work with people that go this far?\u201d says the high ranking studio executive.<\/p>\n

\tAnd notes casting director Matthew Barry, known for such features as The Notebook<\/em> and Rush Hour<\/em>: \u201cThey\u2019re both in for a tough time.\u201d Barry points out that negative headlines around their contentious split led to a lengthy hiatus from studio work for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, although the former stars in Paramount\u2019s forthcoming Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol<\/em>, marking his first major studio film since 2018.<\/p>\n

\tMost sources\u00a0THR\u00a0<\/em>surveyed agree that a good chunk of Hollywood will be reticent to work with Lively and Baldoni, although most concede that Lively will have an easier way back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tMany believe that Lively should take a break from the public eye and \u201cbe thoughtful about what part she chooses next,\u201d says another executive who has worked with controversy-mired talent before.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIf I were her, I would do a villain role and lean into the baggage,\u201d quips one producer.<\/p>\n

\tRegardless of any comeback, Lively\u2019s brand has taken a hit. One studio exec believes the actress could have garnered $12 million paydays post\u00a0It Ends With Us<\/em>. \u201cToday, she\u2019s worth $3 million,\u201d this person says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tThat estimation falls in line with court filings in which Lively\u00a0estimated the reputational fallout as a result of the alleged smear campaign to have cost her over $100 million. And she noted she was on track to secure roles in movies that would have included paydays between $10 million to $15 million each.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tMost agree that Baldoni, meanwhile, faces a tougher road back.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe allegations of an unsafe set, it\u2019s hard to imagine he could cast a movie,\u201d says one of the studio executives.<\/p>\n

\tOne casting director predicts that rather than direct, Baldoni could return to his roots as a TV player, where he came up as a romantic interest on The CW\u2019s\u00a0Jane the Virgin<\/em>. This person does not believe he will direct any time soon.<\/p>\n

\tAnother casting director, Jen Rudin, believes that Baldoni will work again, but that being associated with running a contentious set could present a mark against him, at least in the short term.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe\u2019re at risk with anybody that we hire for anything,\u201d says Rudlin, author of HarperCollins\u2019\u00a0Confessions of a Casting Director<\/em>, of any casting process. She adds about her general hiring philosophy: \u201cI just want to work with great people, on and off set. Now more than ever, we really need to just be good, kind human beings to each other.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tStill, Baldoni\u2019s return path may be eased thanks his company Wayfarer, which has the backing of billionaire Steve Sarowitz, meaning perhaps he could self-finance his own movies. \u201cHe could bring his own career back, but no one will hire him right now,\u201d says a studio executive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tAnd one agent notes that Hollywood is harder on women than men in these situations, pointing to Depp\u2019s return in\u00a0Ebenezer<\/em>: A Christmas Carol <\/em>after his acrimonious divorce from Heard. \u201cYou don\u2019t ever hear Amber\u2019s name,\u201d when people discuss that movie, this agent notes. \u201cIt\u2019s easier for men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThen there is the Ryan Reynolds<\/a> question. Reynolds, who is married to Lively, was named in Baldoni\u2019s now-dismissed countersuit and has hovered over the proceedings as he supported his partner. Along the way, his reputation has also taken a hit as collateral damage. Several sources say Apple hesitated in dating the Ryan Reynolds action comedy\u00a0Mayday\u00a0<\/em>for several months before finally committing to a Sept. 4 date in early February.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tReynolds, one of the highest-paid actors in town, could be staring down a pay cut for the immediate future, although a new outing as Deadpool would be an asterisk. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\tOne agency partner notes that Reynolds could regain good will and cred by doing something leaner and scrappier as his next movie rather than a big studio production.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHe should do a Van Wilder movie for scale and regain his coolness,\u201d says the agency partner, only half-jokingly.<\/p>\n

\t\u2014Ryan Gajewski, Mia Galuppo and Aaron Couch contributed reporting. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni averted a legal battle royale with the surprise settlement of Lively\u2019s\u00a0It Ends With Us\u00a0sexual harassment suit against him earlier this week.\u00a0 But even\u00a0avoiding an ugly trial and now dealing with legal and punitive damages, the actress and actor-director now face a trial of a different sort. Namely that of rebuilding their Hollywood careers. \u201cThey\u2019re in in jail. Both of them,\u201d says one high ranking studio executive. It was a sentiment echoed over and over again by many agents, producers, studio executives and casting directors informally surveyed by\u00a0The\u00a0Hollywood Reporter\u00a0over the question of what was next for the two\u2019s careers. It should be noted that the insights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[606,2,607,164,60,540],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blake-lively","category-hollywood","category-justin-baldoni","category-movie-features","category-movies","category-ryan-reynolds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}