Alex Newell, who stars alongside Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in “Another Simple Favor,” shared his positive experience filming the sequel, premiering at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. Newell expressed excitement about working with iconic co-stars and director Paul Feig, highlighting the joy of filming in Italy. The movie, a follow-up to 2018’s “A Simple Favor,” sees Kendrick’s character revealing dark secrets as she searches for Lively’s Emily. Despite Lively’s ongoing legal issues with Justin Baldoni, she appreciated fan support at SXSW. Kendrick humorously downplayed the impact of current events on the film’s reception.
Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick‘s co-star Alex Newell had an incredible experience while filming Another Simple Favor.
At 32, Newell shared with Us Weekly exclusively, just weeks after the sequel to A Simple Favor premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival, “I thoroughly enjoyed my time.” The Tony winner remarked, “I read the script and was still surprised [by the movie].”
Making their feature film debut alongside such renowned talents as Kendrick, 39, Lively, 37, alongside Allison Janney and Elizabeth Perkins, was a delightful bonus.
“Filming in Italy with these amazing people and Paul Feig, our fearless leader and director, who crafted such a beautiful piece of work and gave us the freedom to express ourselves, while ensuring we had fun during the filming process, made it a truly enjoyable experience,” Newell continued. “It was a fantastic time.”
Feig, 62, also directed the original A Simple Favor released in 2018, where widowed single mom Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) befriends the glamorous Emily Nelson (Lively) before her mysterious vanishing. As Stephanie digs deeper into Emily’s disappearance, hidden secrets come to light.
Lively and Kendrick reprise their roles in the sequel, joined by original costars Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, and Bashir Salahuddin. For Newell, joining a cast with already established relationships is nothing new.
“I’ve had a crash course in jumping into pre-established environments. I joined Glee in season 3,” the actor shared with Us. “There’s always that feeling of being the newcomer, while also needing to excel in your role. You quickly learn how to engage with the team and become fast friends and excellent colleagues.”
The camaraderie among the cast and crew developed rapidly. “Paul took us on a boat to reach a restaurant on our day off, and we had a blast,” Newell beamed.
Another Simple Favor was already generating significant buzz, further intensified by Lively’s ongoing legal situation with her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni. After months of speculation regarding tensions between the two, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in December 2024, claiming he fostered a toxic work environment and harassed her during production. Baldoni refuted the allegations before countersuing twice: once against The New York Times, which published Lively’s complaint, and again against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds. (Lively’s publicist, initially included in the lawsuit, requested to be dismissed last month.)
Lively and Reynolds, 48, have denied Baldoni’s allegations and filed motions to dismiss his lawsuit. A trial is set for March 2026.
At SXSW, Lively expressed her gratitude to fans for their support of her latest film. “Watching @asimplefavor premiere night @sxsw felt like a rock concert. … Making this movie was already a gift, every part of it,” she shared on Instagram on March 11. “To share it with you all and feel the love in return was the best experience. Thank you for having us Austin.”
While Lively did not comment on her legal troubles during the festival, Kendrick was asked how Another Simple Favor was being influenced by current events.
“What happened? I did ayahuasca and the last year of my life disappeared,” she jokingly replied to Variety. “But I hear the movie is fantastic.”