When no one could have predicted youthere amount of drama this don’t worry darling was going to provide us, the first signs that all was not well behind the scenes came before filming even began in 2020.
The psychological thriller is Olivia Wilde’s second directing venture, and she originally cast Florence Pugh and Shia LaBeouf as the film’s leads. However, Shia mysteriously left the project during pre-production and was replaced by Harry Styles.
Olivia has repeatedly suggested that she fired the actor due to tensions between him and Florence. In February, she said she had a strict “politics without assholeson her film sets, and she talked about it during an interview with Variety last month.
Discussing Shia’s exit from the film, Olivia said he had a “fighting energy” and she made the decision to let him go in order to “protect” Florence and make her feel “safe”.
“His process was not conducive to the ethics that I demand in my productions,” she said. claims. “He has a process that in some ways seems to require combative energy, and I personally don’t think that’s conducive to the best performance.”
“I believe that creating a safe and trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and the actors to protect them. It was my job,” Olivia continued.
Referring directly to Florence, she added: “For our film, what we really needed was an incredibly supportive energy. Particularly with a movie like this, I knew I was going to ask Florence to be in very vulnerable situations, and my priority was for her to feel safe and to feel supported.
But a few days later, Shia rebuked that account when he sent the publication a series of emails, texts and even a video of Olivia which painted a very different picture.
In a text chat between Shia and Olivia in August 2020, it was suggested that they met in person to discuss his exit from the project as he was concerned that he wouldn’t have enough time to rehearse.
After the meeting, Olivia texted him, “Thank you for sharing your thought process with me. I know it’s not fun. It doesn’t feel good to say no to someone, and I respect your honesty. I’m honored that you agreed to go with me, to tell a story with you. I’m disgusted because it could have been something special. I want to make it clear how much it means to me that you trust me. It is a gift that I will take with me.
Shia told Variety he had “officially” quit don’t worry darling the next day, which was August 17, 2020. Two days later, he received a video of Olivia begging him to reconsider.
Video later online leakand Olivia can be seen telling the actor, “I feel like I’m not ready to let go of this yet, and I too am heartbroken and want to figure this out.”
“You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re ready to give it a shot with me, with us,” she added. “If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you can make peace – and I respect your point of view, I respect hers – but if you can do that, what do you think? Is there hope? Do you want to let me know? »
Following Olivia’s comments in her Variety interview, Shia also emailed her to privately tell her what she had said about him. When she didn’t respond, he went public with them and can be seen telling the director he’s “a bit confused about the story” that he was “fired”.
“You and I both know the reasons for my exit,” the email continues. “I left your film because your actors and I didn’t have time to rehearse. I’ve included as a reminder the screenshots of our text exchange that day, and my text to Tobey.
Shia went on to accuse Olivia of claiming she fired him because he was “attractive clickbait” and said, “Getting me fired never happened, Olivia. And although I completely understand the appeal of pushing this story because of the current social landscape, the social currency it brings in. That’s not the truth.
Olivia has not publicly responded to the shocking exposeand when a journalist tried to ask him the question Don’t Worry Darling’s press conference at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, they were awkwardly closed by the moderator.
On Thursday – three days after the conference – a new profile on Olivia was published by vanity lounge. In the interview, which took place before Shia released the receipts, Olivia doubled down on her claims that she fired him for Florence’s sake.
The article reads: “During pre-production, Wilde tells me in London, Pugh told her she was uncomfortable with LaBeouf’s behavior. Wilde says she called LaBeouf herself and fired him.”
“My responsibility was to her. I am like a mother wolf. Making the call was tricky, but somehow he got it,” Olivia told the publication. “I don’t think it would have been a process he would have enjoyed. He approaches his work with an intensity that can be combative. It was not the ethos that I required in my productions. I want him to recover and evolve because I think it’s a big loss for the film industry when someone so talented is unable to work.
After Shia appeared to publicly refute Olivia’s account, the reporter followed up on her via email. But Olivia claimed the text screenshots he provided were taken out of context and made no mention of the leaked video.
“This issue is so much more nuanced than can be explained in private texts taken out of context,” she insisted. “All I will say is that he was substituted and there was no future with him. I wish him the best in his recovery.
A source went on to claim that Shia asked Olivia to choose between him and Florence, and Vanity Fair reported that Olivia let Shia “believe what he wanted to believe: that he quit” in order to spare his ego. .
However, this is not reflected in the texts, emails and videos provided by Shia.
Elsewhere in her interview with Vanity Fair, Olivia called speculation that there was a rift between her and Florence “baseless gossip.”
In recent weeks, the rumor has been fueled by revealing interviews with Florence, as well as her incredibly sharp social media activity. She shared it publicly disapproval the way don’t worry darling is marketed, which is objectively at variance with Olivia’s point of view.
Florence also has ignored repeated Instagram posts that Olivia has made about her, despite her interactions with similar posts from her co-stars in the film, and her promotion of don’t worry darling on his usually active Instagram page has been kept at just the minimum.
After Olivia’s video referencing her leading lady as “Miss Flo” leaked online, it was revealed that Florence’s only press commitment for the film would be to attend its Venice premiere on Monday.
At the press conference earlier today, Olivia suggested which Florence was unable to attend as she was unable to get away in time from her filming commitments in Budapest.
However, this was almost instantly debunked when Florence was filmed walking around Venice with a Aperol Spritz in hand while the press conference was still in progress.
Before making her red carpet debut at the premiere, the Florence stylist shared some behind-the-scenes photos where she referenced Olivia’s infamous jibe captioning it Publishwhich Florence liked, “Miss Flo”.
Once on the carpet, Florence enthusiastically greeted each of her co-stars except Olivia and Olivia’s boyfriend, Harry Styles. In fact, the supporting actors were treated like human tampons during awkward photo calls, standing between Olivia, Harry and Florence throughout.
In his only press interviewFlorence seemed reference his discomfort backstage during don’t worry darlingwhen she said, “I think it’s very, very inspiring to see a woman step back and say ‘no’ and question everything, and it’s very exciting to see a woman do that [on] and off camera. I’m so lucky to be able to do that, especially in this role.
She then abruptly left the movie theater just three minutes in don’t worry darlingreceived a standing ovation and further raised eyebrows when she made six Instagram grid posts about the Venice Film Festival, but only mentioned the film Oncein a hashtag, and didn’t mention Olivia at all.
Despite this, Olivia insisted there was no validity to the breakup claims, telling Vanity Fair, “Florence’s performance in this film is stunning. It’s just baffling to me that the media instead focuses on baseless rumors and gossip, overshadowing his deep talent. She deserves more than that. Just like the movie and everyone who worked so hard on it.
“She lived up to every expectation I had of her. That’s all that matters to me,” she added.
After all the fury that surrounds don’t worry darlinghe met a lukewarm response from critics, but they all praised Florence’s performance – which Vanity Fair called “a testament to [Olivia].”