Don't Worry Darling is turning heads. Olivia Wilde's highly-anticipated follow-up to Booksmart has quickly become one of the most-talked about movies on the internet, and not just because heartthrob Harry Styles is in the cast. There has been controversy abound ever since Shia LaBeouf dropped out of the project – and that talking point has come under the microscope in recent weeks, even dragging the movie's leading actor Florence Pugh into the discussion.
Some background: LaBeouf was originally cast in Styles' role in Don't Worry Darling, but he ended up dropping out for, at the time, unknown reasons, though they appeared to be linked to allegations made against him by partner FKA Twigs. More recently, Wilde said that she fired LaBeouf from the production, the filmmaker saying: "His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions." LaBeouf refuted her version of events and released a video of Wilde seemingly asking him to return to the production.
"This might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I wanna know if you're open to giving this a shot with me," she says in the video. "If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace – and I respect her point of view and I respect yours – what do you think? Is there hope?"
The comments imply that there were tensions with Pugh, and internet rumors have long been claiming that the Midsommar actor and Wilde have not seen eye-to-eye. Following the video's release, Wilde was asked about her relationship with Pugh.
"Florence is a force," she said during a Venice Films Festival press conference which Pugh was unable to attend. "We are just so grateful that she is able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune. I know how disruptive as a director it can be to lose an actor... We're really thrilled to celebrate her work... As for all the endless tabloid nonsense and gossip out there and noise out there, the internet feeds itself. I don't really need to contribute, I feel it's significantly well nourished."
Pugh has not spoken about her experience on the set of Don't Worry Darling yet in relation to the new video released by LaBeouf, but no doubt the question will one day be asked. Meanwhile, also at the press conference, a journalist from The Hollywood Reporter was shut down by the Don't Worry Darling panel's moderator after trying to ask a question about LaBeouf. It appears this is a story that may not go away for some time.
Also at Venice Film Festival, Brendan Fraser has been mounting a comeback with The Whale, his new movie that looks set to thrust the actor into awards contention.
