In A Simple Favor, a glitzy satire-noir thriller from Paul Feig, Blake Lively plays a woman of mystery. As Emily Nelson, she saunters around in tailored suits and lives in an icy modern mansion. Displayed proudly on her living room wall: a nude portrait that becomes the movie’s greatest gag. The image almost looks like it was taken from the angle of Lively’s thighs, looking up: The vagina is front and center, taking up most of the painting, her waist looks impossibly long, and her chest and face are nearly obscured in the background. It’s a surprising and hilarious image, one that leaves mommy blogger Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) a bit overwhelmed. Kendrick recently told Pride Source that the portrait was added in post-production (and didn’t say whether Lively actually posed for it), but that it was in fact Lively’s idea. So, can Blake explain her inspiration?
“The nude portrait was a very critical part of the film. The portrait itself, the execution of what said nude portrait would look like, was inspired by this iconic Helmut Newton photo,†Lively told Vulture at A Simple Favor’s premiere at MoMa Monday night. “I felt like it had to be over the top and funny, and what I loved about the Helmut Newton photo is that it was very graphic and abstract, like a wide lens but shot closely, so it distorted everything. It almost looked architectural, but it was unflattering. It was a lotta crotch. I thought it was so over the top and funny that I thought, We’ve gotta take this Helmut Newton photo and re-create that.†Lively clarifies that it was the execution of the portrait — with its sharp angles and crooked perspective — that was her idea. Lively playfully tapped Vulture’s arm: “You probably thought I was craaaazy!â€