Earlier this year in January it was announced that Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel It Ends With Us would be adapted into a film with Blake Lively as the lead character, Lily Bloom. A few months later in May, following the birth of her fourth child, production kicked off and Blake began filming in New Jersey.
As on-set paparazzi pictures started filtering through social media sites, something quite intense started unfolding online. Fans of Colleen Hoover's books started reacting with fervent anger. In short: they were not at all happy with what they were seeing.
A simple search on TikTok, Twitter or Instagram will bring up thousands of comments with the exact same sentiment. So why is everyone in such a tizz? I mean, it's just a movie after all, right? Well, that might be downplaying the scope of Colleen Hoover's work and how she has quickly become the most prolific and popular novelists in the romance genre over the past decade.
Since releasing her self-published first novel Slammed in 2012, the Texas-native has gone on to release another 24 books and novellas with 11 of them making it into the New York Times bestsellers list. Some 20 million book sales later, she's now outselling The Bible - so, it's safe to say her reach stretches far and wide. Across the globe you'll find millions of 'CoHorts' (Colleen's fan base) singing the praises of their beloved author with fan accounts, blogs and newsletters dedicated to the characters brought to life in her books. Hoovermania is well and truly among us.
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It Ends With Us is arguably Hoover's most popular book. Released in 2016 the novel follows the story of a young aspiring entrepreneur (Lily Bloom) who starts a fresh life in Boston after losing her father. While beginning her new journey she starts up a new relationship with a doctor named Ryle, at the same time she starts unpacking trauma from her past. The novel was an instant number one bestseller and with it came legions of fans. 'CoHorts' and romance novel aficionados alike became instantly attached to the character of Lily.
The casting of Lively to play her didn't sit well with fans. While Lily Bloom is 23 in the book, Lively is now 35 and a mother-of-four, which isn't in line with the depiction of the young graduate/florist fans have grown to love.
With Lively so high profile and glamorous, fans struggled to see her as the quirky, naive Bloom.
Then, when on-set pictures were released of Lively wearing various garments that didn't seem to match the looks described in the book, the strong reaction of disdain was loud and disagreeable. In a way, fans felt like they were being let down. The book that they had become so tethered to wasn't living up to their standards.
I get it. Sometimes when characters are written so perfectly, you feel such a strong sense of connection that they feel real. Whether they remind you of someone or they help you develop a better understanding of your own experiences, well-developed characters can embed themselves in your heart. Given that Hoover's novel It Ends With Us deals with themes of trauma, abuse, grief, love and control, it is no surprise that it has struck such a cord with readers.
On the other hand, everyone could be getting all hot and bothered for no reason. In fact, the release of these on-set pictures could be a marketing tactic or a way to preserve the integrity of the finished product.
You might remember something similar happening in the lead up to the release of And Just Like That. With such heavy anticipation for the wardrobe of the lead characters, the show runner threw fans off the scent by releasing on-set images of the cast in more lacklustre looks. Of course outrage ensued but when the show premiered, viewers were pleasantly surprised by seeing their favourites in fierce outfits. What's to say a similar strategy isn't being enlisted here?
Time will tell. And with filming now put on an indefinite hiatus due to the Hollywood writer's strike, we might be waiting a while.
Feature Image: Getty/Entertainment Tonight/Mamamia.