Who needs to see Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling” when the dish from behind the scenes just gets more and more entertaining?
The latest reports come courtesy of Vulture, which on Friday published a story assessing the film’s odds of scoring at the box office this weekend. The outlet’s sources stayed anonymous, most likely because of the fireballs they were throwing.
A source who reportedly spent a good chunk of time on the “Darling” set confirmed to the outlet that a blowout argument — nay, a “screaming match” — took place between director Wilde and star Florence Pugh in January 2021, about three-quarters of the way through filming.
Representatives for Wilde and Pugh did not respond immediately Friday to The Times’ requests for comment.
Pugh was reportedly frustrated with the “Booksmart” director’s allegedly frequent absences from the set, which apparently involved co-star Harry Styles as well. Wilde and Styles started dating shortly after production began in fall 2020. (She and ex-fiancé Jason Sudeikis split up that November after dating since 2011 and getting engaged in 2013. They share a son and daughter.)
“Olivia and Harry would just disappear,” the source told Vulture.
Wilde talked around questions about a feud with Pugh during an appearance this week on Stephen Colbert’s late-night show, pivoting to a nonanswer about whether Styles actually spit on co-star Chris Pine (she says he didn’t).
She told Colbert she had “nothing but respect for Florence’s talent” and held “nothing against her for any reason.”
In comparison, an earlier mention about Styles was much more effusive.
“I did a little victory dance when we heard that we officially had Harry in the film,” Wilde told Vogue in late 2020 after Styles had officially replaced Shia LaBeouf, “because we knew that he has a real appreciation for fashion and style. And this movie is incredibly stylistic. It’s very heightened and opulent, and I’m really grateful that he is so enthusiastic about that element of the process — some actors just don’t care.”
But Pugh apparently cared, at least about having all enthusiastic actors and directors available while people were working.
Her disagreement with Wilde allegedly rose to the top brass at Warner Bros., according to Vulture, with Toby Emmerich, then the top-ranking Warner Bros. executive, forced to referee a “long negotiation process” to keep Pugh on the team throughout the movie’s process.
Promotion of the film has been scant by Pugh , who showed up at its Venice Film Festival premiere but skipped the attendant press conference.
An anonymous executive told Vulture that the studio wasn’t happy with how Wilde had handled her own promotional responsibilities, including how she’s talked about LaBeouf’s split with the “Don’t Worry Darling” team.
“Olivia is either a mad genius who figured out a way to make people more aware of the movie in a way that just drives up the box office,” another source close to the production told the outlet, “or she doesn’t have any self-awareness that she is f— up her movie.”
“Don’t Worry Darling” is showing in theaters now.
