As the world premiere of “Don’t Worry Darling” at the Venice International Film Festival approaches, rumors about the troubled production and alleged infighting between the cast continue to swirl. Many expected those rumors to either be definitively squashed or come to a head at the film’s premiere, where director Olivia Wilde would be in attendance with stars Harry Styles and Florence Pugh.
Pugh was always expected to make a rather brief appearance at the Venice premiere, flying in from Budapest (where she is currently filming “Dune: Part II”) for the occasion. But a new report from Variety revealed that while the actress is fulfilling her obligation to attend the event, she will not be attending the press conference to promote the film. IndieWire has reached out to Pugh’s representatives for comment.
The news is almost certain to pour gasoline on the rumor that Pugh and Wilde are in the midst of some sort of feud. Many suspected that the dispute stemmed from reports that Pugh was paid less than her co-star, Harry Styles, who soon began a romantic relationship with Wilde after being cast. The director, for her part, has adamantly denied that rumor.
“There has been a lot out there that I largely don’t pay attention to,” Wilde recently said. “But the absurdity of invented clickbait and subsequent reaction regarding a nonexistent pay disparity between our lead and supporting actors really upset me. I’m a woman who has been in this business for over 20 years, and it’s something that I have fought for myself and others, especially being a director. There is absolutely no validity to those claims.”
Those rumors were followed by conflicting stories about Shia LaBeouf’s exit from the film. LaBeouf was originally set to play Styles’ role, but Wilde claimed he was fired due to the abuse allegations surrounding him and the intimate nature of the scenes that he would have had to shoot with Pugh. But then LaBeouf released an email exchange between him and Wilde where he claimed that he quit the film, as well as a video of Wilde asking him to remain involved with the project.
Pugh has yet to make any official comments about the situation with LaBeouf or her current relationship with Wilde. Observers expecting to see their questions answered this weekend will have to keep waiting.
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