JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Justin Baldoni Reveals Replacing THIS Popular It Ends With Us Book Moment With an Easter Egg
Did you know It Ends With Us director and star Justin Baldoni loved finding ways to infuse clever Easter eggs into the film? Discover how his creativity added hidden gems for fans to enjoy!
When treasured books make that inevitable screen transition, some dear elements inevitably get left behind. For Justin Baldoni, who directed and starred in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's It Ends with Us, this challenge was quite real too.
Hoover herself quoted in the book, "And as hard as this choice is, we break the pattern before the pattern breaks us."
Fans of the novel were understandably disappointed to learn that the beloved phrase “just keep swimming,” a recurring and meaningful motif in the book, didn’t make it into the movie’s script. However, Baldoni, sensitive to the emotional weight of this phrase, found a creative way to pay homage to it through subtle Easter eggs carefully placed throughout the film.
Baldoni hasn’t shied away from discussing his directorial struggles. In an interview with CinemaBlend, he mentioned, "Directing this movie was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my career. Bringing Colleen Hoover's beloved book to life on screen was a huge responsibility that I didn't take lightly."
Additionally, he was also self-aware of the fact that audiences would be watching him with a critical eye, saying, "The It Ends with Us fandom is so devoted and vocal. I knew they would be watching every frame with a critical eye. That added a layer of stress, for sure."
In a promotional video shared on the official It Ends With Us Instagram page, Baldoni revealed his efforts to infuse the film with homages to the book’s iconic moments.
“Something that I know so many fans love from the book that didn’t make it into the movie was the phrase ‘just keep swimming," Baldoni shared. Part of the much-loved string woven through the bond of Lily and Atlas, this line held a favorite status among readers. Realizing the hurdles of making a book into a movie, Baldoni expressed his empathy with the disappointment the fans were feeling, yet assured them that their most beloved parts hadn't been entirely glossed over.
He then went on to hint that a poster in Lily’s bedroom serves as a visual homage to the beloved phrase, offering fans a subtle tribute to a significant element missing from the film’s dialogue.
It is through these nuanced references that Baldoni can display his deep admiration for Hoover's work and how it impacts him as a reader. “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,” Baldoni said, acknowledging the inherent limitations of adapting a beloved novel into a feature film.
Baldoni says in the video that the movie is full of Easter eggs and strategic details that really thrive on the message of "just keep swimming" without needing to say that explicitly. Those range from the most subtle, a soft toy that appears to be designed as the clownfish from Finding Nemo, to the most direct, which appears in the restaurant scene where Lily and Atlas finally reconnect, where there's a sketch of a fish accompanied by a quote about swimming forward.
ALSO READ: Nicole Eggert's Battle With Breast Cancer While Producing Baywatch Kept Her Motivated; KNOW More
In the end, it's understandable that directing a movie, especially an adaptation of a book with such a passionate fanbase, comes with its own critics and a heavy responsibility. There's no doubt that Baldoni tried to replicate the essence of the book, even if it was in subtle and indirect ways.
ALSO READ: Who Are Hailey Bieber's Parents? All We Know As She Welcomes First Child With Justin Bieber
Latest Articles
