There is a rumor going around that Jennifer Lopez and director Robert Zemeckis have been clashing over the editing process of their new movie, The Last Mrs. Parrish, which will be available with a Netflix subscription sometime on the 2027 movie schedule (we think). One report has even compared it to the Justin Baldoni/Blake Lively situation on It Ends With Us. Could this book-to-screen adaptation end up playing out the same way that one did? I’m not so sure.
According to a source, Page Six Hollywood is claiming that things have been tense in the editing process of the movie. The source is quoted as saying of Lopez:
She’s tried to take it over. She fancies herself a filmmaker. It’s been testing terrible. Lopez panicked and has been in the editing room. Behind the scenes, everyone’s saying it’s a Blake Lively [situation].
A “Blake Lively Situation” would obviously be bad, as the legal battle over It Ends With Us that played out over months was a mess for everyone involved. Still, another PageSix source claimed that Lopez, who is obviously no stranger to gossip columns, has been basically forced to take over the editing process, claiming:
She’s taking over… But she’s just trying to salvage the movie.
That said, Netflix, Lopez, and Zemeckis issued a joint statement to PageSix over the claim, making it clear that The Last Mrs. Parrish is not in the same boat, and that everyone is working well together:
As we have said to Page Six, this reporting is categorically false. Any suggestion that the filmmakers are not working in unison is without merit.
The statement also addressed the claim that the film wasn’t working for test audiences, adding:
The film tested well, particularly with fans of Jennifer.
This story comes at a particularly tough time, as Netflix has been going through a massive reorganization in recent weeks, with layoffs of around 1000 employees, including the former head of content Bela Bajaria and Dan Lin, who ran the film arm of the streaming service. The Last Mrs. Parrish has, according to PageSix, cost $100 million to produce, which obviously puts a lot of pressure on it, especially given what’s going on.
Could this be another It Ends With Us? Anything is possible, but given the strong statement from everyone involved, I tend to doubt it’s going to reach the level that situation got to. Everyone has a lot on the line, so that may have led to some tense moments, but there is, at least so far, no indication that it will end in lawsuits.
Now, what this all means for the movie is anyone’s guess. The Last Mrs. Parrish co-stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Debi Mazer, and Isabel May. It’s based on a hit book by Liv Constantine, but none of that guarantees success for Netflix. We’ll just have to wait and see when it comes out!
