Blake Lively says Woody Allen empowered her as an actress

28-year-old Blake Lively has had a busy schedule lately. She recently showed off her baby belly at the Cannes Film Festival and her recent film, The Shallows, is out in theaters now.

The expecting mother recently talked about working under the acclaimed director while filming Cafe Society.

In an interview with Hamptons magazine, she said, “It’s really cool to work with a director who’s done so much, because he knows exactly what he wants. He also is really encouraging as to why he cast you. He’s very empowering. So he’ll say, ‘Say the dialogue that’s written and then you can improvise for a while’. And his dialogue is so specific, and it’s speaking in a 1930s dialect and [with period] references, so it’s intimidating to think, ‘Oh, let me just improvise there and hope that my words blend seamlessly alongside Woody Allen’s.’ Which they clearly wouldn’t and don’t.”

She continued by adding, “[Woody] creates a very pleasant set where everybody’s just happy to be there and happy to be making a movie, and happy to be a part of film history. For him to have that confidence in you almost gives you the confidence in yourself to just go with the flow.”

The movie also stars Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg. Café Society initially premiered the Cannes Film Festival.

Meanwhile, The Shallows was released on June 24 in the United States to favorable reviews. It has so far earned over $21 million out of an estimated $17 million budget. Lively will also appear in All I See is You, a psychological thriller to be released later this year.