It Ends With Us star and director Justin Baldoni knows just how closely fans of the original book guard it with their hearts, so he decided to pay homage to the tiny details they love the most in the film.
In a video posted to the It Ends With Us Instagram page, he revealed a series of easter eggs fans can spot in the film – as well as an infamous line from the book that was cut from the movie.
Watch the video above
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“I love finding a way to infuse little Easter eggs into the film because of course we can’t put everything from the book into the movie,” he said.
One of the major quirks of the book that was left out of the film was the quote “Just keep swimming”, which originally came from Finding Nemo.
It’s a somewhat infamous line which Lily (played by Blake Lively) and Atlas (played by Brandon Sklenar) regularly exchange in the book as a nod to Lily’s diary entries addressed to Ellen DeGeneres, who famously played Dory in the Disney classic.
Though it didn’t make it into the film, Baldoni, who also plays Ryle Kincaid, realised the importance of the motif to fans and included references to it in multiple places.
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”If you watch the movie, look in Lily’s bedroom on her wall, there’s a poster. I’m not gonna say what it’s [a poster] of, but you’ll see a little homage to maybe the movie or the saying, if you will,” he shared.
“There’s also a stuffed animal that if you blink, you might miss, but I think you’ll get it.
“And then when Lily reconnects with Atlas for the first time at Root restaurant, right by the bathroom, if you look in between them, there is a frame on the wall with a very similar saying to [just keep swimming].”
Fans of the Booktok famous novel were originally not thrilled that Baldoni would be taking on the role of Ryle.
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The actor says he wasn’t his own first choice for the role, but author Colleen Hoover asked him to consider playing the character.
“Colleen [Hoover] had actually emailed me just before we had closed on our option agreement, and asked if I had ever considered acting in the movie and suggested that I consider playing Ryle,” Baldoni told a group of international journalists, including 9Honey Celebrity via Zoom.
“It was her thinking that I could do it that actually gave me the confidence and the freedom to explore it for myself.”
It Ends With Us is currently in the middle of behind-the-scenes turmoil, with a rumoured feud between Baldoni and Lively. Read all about it here.
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