Justin Baldoni is just like Us! The actor and director’s recent surprise visit to an It Ends With Us screening started off rocky.
“You guys want to know something really funny? We just got stuck in an elevator,” Baldoni, 40, said during the AMC Century City event in Los Angeles, which he shared via Instagram on Friday, August 23.
Justin’s video then cut to footage from the elevator situation, in which wife Emily Baldoni appeared anxious alongside him and approximately six other individuals.
“She’s trying not to freak out,” Justin whispered, pointing at his spouse.
Justin Baldoni and Wife Emily Heat Up ‘It Ends With Us’ Red Carpet
Justin, Emily and the rest of their crew waited in the stalled elevator as one of their cohorts tried turning the main control switch off and back on.
“The AMC Century City is gonna love this,” Baldoni quipped after the elevator started moving again. “Hilarious!”
Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios produced It Ends With Us, which was adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel of the same name. Baldoni, who directed and starred in the project as Ryle Kincaid, has been making surprise cinema visits to meet and hear fan takes on the film.
“Thank you to everyone who has seen @itendswithusmovie. These theater surprises have been one of my favorite experiences, and meeting you all in person and hearing your stories means more to me than you could ever know,” he captioned his Friday Instagram post. “And thank you to the amazing teams at @amctheatres for being so gracious and for getting us out of the elevator 
.”
What’s Justin Baldoni Doing Next After ‘It Ends With Us’ Drama?
He added, “I hope you continue to share your stories and help us spread awareness and hope for the survivors and victims of DV. Please go to @nomoreorg (link in bio) if you need help or resources.”
It Ends With Us chronicles the abusive relationship between Ryle and Lily Bloom (played by Blake Lively). Throughout the production, Baldoni tried to handle the subject matter with care.
“There were a lot of times where I would have to go privately into a room and just cry or shake it out and try to get him out of me and that energy out of me,” Baldoni told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month. “Because it’s too real. There are too many people that are the real-life Lily Blooms of the world that have to deal with that every single day, and I wanted it to be as real as possible and yet it was very hard to shoot those scenes.”
Baldwin’s take on It Ends With Us reportedly caused friction with Lively’s vision for the project.
“There were two camps on the film — team Blake and team Justin,” a source exclusively told Us in August. “This creative struggle set the tone for the negative experience behind the scenes and grew into them not speaking anymore.”
According to the insider, Baldoni felt “hurt and sidelined” that Lively allegedly changed moments in the script and her wardrobe without consultation. A second source, however, told Us that Lively’s changes were made to “create the best film possible and honor the book.”
It Ends With Us is currently in theaters.
If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
