Earlier this month, Page Six got the ball rolling, reporting on the “beef” between Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh. Rumors of a beef had been circulating on social media for a while, as Florence’s fans kept noting that Pugh was not lifting a finger to promote Don’t Worry Darling, which Wilde directed and Pugh stars in. Pugh didn’t even bother “liking” any of the official social media posts when the trailers started coming out, nor did she repost anything. Page Six’s sources claimed that Florence didn’t like the messy way Olivia dumped Jason Sudeikis and started up an affair with Harry Styles on the set of Don’t Worry Darling. “Sources” later told Page Six that it wasn’t like Olivia and Harry flaunted their relationship anyway (which I doubt). Then Florence’s Harper’s Bazaar cover story came out and she barely talked about the film and she didn’t say one word about Olivia. I already felt like the beef rumors were probably true. Then Shia LaBeouf dropped his receipts on Friday and all hell broke loose. Olivia lied about firing Shia. Not only did she lie, she was still trying to get Shia to come back to the production (which he quit) with this video:
she wanted florence to make peace with an abuser you cannot make this up pic.twitter.com/T51dAYcElD
— kay (@harrymotif) August 26, 2022
“I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us. If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace…” Some sh-t went down and Florence didn’t want to work with Shia and instead of having Florence’s back, Olivia tried to get Shia to come back. “Miss Flo” needs to “really commit” huh? Yeah, this is a f–king disaster. The icing on the cake is that Florence Pugh has now told the studio that she will barely promote this f–king disaster now.
Florence Pugh has severely limited her promotional press for the upcoming feminist thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” fueling speculation that she and director and co-star Olivia Wilde have fallen out.
TheWrap spoke to three executives connected to the film, as well as an individual with knowledge of Pugh’s involvement, who all declined to confirm any further press plans for the actress beyond attending the Venice Film Festival for the film’s premiere and red carpet, flying in from the set of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two.”
Pugh has been in Budapest filming “Dune: Part Two” and filming Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” prior to that. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, she will be in Venice for the premiere direct from a night shoot in Budapest, and returning to filming afterwards. But the Venice Film Festival red carpet and press conference are expected to be the extent of Pugh’s traditional press duties on the film. “She’ll be doing greetings for us from the set of ‘Dune’ because she’s not doing press,” a studio executive said.
According to the exec, the studio knew that Pugh’s availability for the press tour on “Don’t Worry Darling” would be limited, considering “Dune 2” is also a Warner Bros. project, and planned for such. But the unusual lack of participation in promoting the film by its lead actor suggests there might be validity to speculation on a fallout between Pugh and the film’s director Olivia Wilde over Wilde’s relationship with co-star Harry Styles and an alleged affair on set.
I have a theory about all of this and I hope you guys want to hear it. I think Florence signed on to DWD and was committed to doing chemistry tests to find her leading man. She didn’t gel with Shia or some sh-t went down between them, and Florence was basically like “no, this won’t work.” Olivia then went behind Miss Flo’s back and tried to get Shia to come back. When that didn’t work, Olivia hired Harry Styles. Florence had to do all of these intimate scenes, directed by Olivia, with Harry, all while Olivia was throwing herself at Harry. While I’m sure Florence didn’t like the whole “Olivia dumped Jason Sudeikis for Harry” thing, what really bugged Florence was how unprofessional and messy everything was on set. You think Olivia didn’t wield her power to ingratiate herself with Harry, at the expense of Florence’s work? Come on. So after DWD wrapped, Florence just disengaged from the mess and decided that she wouldn’t let Olivia hang the disaster around her neck. That’s my take. And I honestly don’t blame Florence at all for just pretending that this movie doesn’t exist.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, cover courtesy of Variety, promotional images courtesy of Warner Bros.
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- LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – NOVEMBER 06: Actress Olivia Wilde wearing a Gucci dress arrives at the 10th Annual LACMA Art + Film Gala 2021 held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 6, 2021 in Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 642004404, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Olivia Wilde, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- Florence Pugh attends attends the Tiffany & Co. “Vision & Virtuosity” Brand Exhibition Opening Gala at Saatchi Gallery on June 09, 2022 in London,Image: 698526980, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Anamaria Wiggins / Avalon
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- Florence Pugh attends attends the Tiffany & Co. “Vision & Virtuosity” Brand Exhibition Opening Gala at Saatchi Gallery on June 09, 2022 in London,Image: 698527477, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Anamaria Wiggins / Avalon
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- Florence Pugh attends attends the Tiffany & Co. “Vision & Virtuosity” Brand Exhibition Opening Gala at Saatchi Gallery on June 09, 2022 in London,Image: 698527545, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Anamaria Wiggins / Avalon
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- Florence Pugh attends attends the Tiffany & Co. “Vision & Virtuosity” Brand Exhibition Opening Gala at Saatchi Gallery on June 09, 2022 in London,Image: 698527558, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Anamaria Wiggins / Avalon
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Florence Pugh seen arriving at the ‘Tiffany: Vision and Virtuosity Exhibition’ held in London. Pictured: Florence Pugh BACKGRID USA 9 JUNE 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Old Boy’s Club / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Before people jump on Florence for not doing more promo- Florence is currently shooting “Dune” in Budapest for the same studio that made “DWD” so it was not the plan for her to do a ton of in-person press for DWD even before this.
Yes, that’s in the article.
I doubt anyone will dunk on her, I think she’s shown extraordinary professionalism during this entire mess.
Um I think Kaiser just said that above? Or it’s in the quote I guess. But geesh I can see why it frustrates her that people comment without reading.
I love how Florence Pugh had completely disengaged from this nonsense, long before the worst unfolded. Olivia Wilde seems like one of those women other gals would do well to avoid.
I’m kind of confused why you’d read the post above and think Florence Pugh is the one we’d “dunk on.”
Sure she’s currently filming Dune…for the same studio. She’s also (if they stick to the book) playing a character who is important, but very much a supporting one. She will have gaps in filming, trust.
To be clear I am 100% on her side, but believe me any stories about how she can’t promote because “Dune”? Total spin!!
Yes, that’s in the article. Did you read it? Why would you think anyone would be “dunking” on Florence?
It’s kind of gross that all these rumours started with Larries – a QAnon type conspiracy that swarms people – and while it seem obvious Florence has issues with Olivia, she does not strike me as so ridiculous as to care about who is f*cking whom. I’m sure it was just a not great work experience for her overall (if Olivia was calling her Miss Flo behind her back, I’m sure she also treated her like a child on set) and she is totally justified in doing no more than her contractual obligations.
Sucks that this gives Shia and the larries something to grasp onto though, as though any of them are decent people.
Exactly, I’m sure the issues between these two women were/are work related, not about dating history! Especially given how much it bothered FP when people spoke negatively about her relationship!
@ ShazBot, I don’t give any weight or time to Q-Acrazy theories. They are all a bunch of white cis-men with issues regarding intimacy, relationship and truthfulness.
As for OW. I was on the fence about her breakup with Sudeikis and her unrelenting complaints about not cheating on him with Styles and the issue with being served. But the fact that OW publicly issued this hateful, underhanded and inappropriate statement directed at FP, she has lost ALL credibility in my book.
It is apparent that FP had an issue with OW’s handling of the cast, on-set ego, OW’s one-woman show of tooting her own horn, purposely disrespecting FP feelings regarding working with SL. FP doesn’t care who OW is f’ing, but she cares about how she/everyone is treated, respected and the air around the set. Furthermore, FP never came out and made any derogatory statements about OW, but OW is making this public? Why??
OW needs to shut the F up and not make this a public spectacle of trying to gaslight FP.
Sorry about my post as I did not sleep well for the last 2 nights and my brain isn’t functioning properly.
It’s not a matter of who’s sleeping with whom. My contention’s always been about on-set professionalism (or lack thereof) and favoritism. Frances probably saw or had to get caught in the middle of some messiness at work and was repulsed by it. Who knows? Maybe Olivia played favorites or threw her under the bus with Harry as she did Shia. Maybe Olivia asked her to lie to the press about what she saw and when in regards to Olivia’s unprofessional relationship with Harry during production. And Frances said to herself: Fine, not only won’t I discuss that, I’m not discussing this whole gross movie, full stop. That could be it. None of us knows. All we do is speculate and connect dots.
@Shazbot-
Agreed with what you and Kaiser said. Let’s be real, to say Flo is upset with her because of an affair is slut shaming. If the media can seem like Olivia is being slut shamed by a well respected actress, well then it’s ok, right?! I hate it. Let’s be fucking real. Pugh is not dictating her professional choices based on who is sleeping with who. I had been neutral on this whole thing but seeing how Olivia handled this Shia situation has left me with a baaad taste in my mouth.
Yeah, Florence doesn’t give a s*** about who’s doing who.
She care a lot about her image and what people say about her, so I think her choice to do as little as possible is because the whole production was and is a s***show. And you, because Miss Oli probably treated her shady and lied to her..
I’m sorry for Florence because the movie actually does look like something I’m interested in watching and I really like her as an actress.
As for her working on Dune, I’m not sure she is at this point in Budapest. That is a huge cast and I don’t know how big her role is in this one. I know she already filmed in Italy.
However, promo these days does not have to be in person. Social media and video platforms like zoom allow for things to happen from anywhere in the world. Her not lifting a finger is very telling and it sucks. I really wanted this movie to be good and do well.
This is in the article-
Pugh has been in Budapest filming “Dune: Part Two” and filming Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” prior to that. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, she will be in Venice for the premiere direct from a night shoot in Budapest, and returning to filming afterwards. But the Venice Film Festival red carpet and press conference are expected to be the extent of Pugh’s traditional press duties on the film. “She’ll be doing greetings for us from the set of ‘Dune’ because she’s not doing press,” a studio executive said.
She is in Budapest and is doing some stuff by video.
Her participation in the promo was probably worked out well before the Shia video came out.
Can I just point out how big of an asshole Olivia is for tagging her in a bunch of photos on her IG to try to force her to acknowledge Olivia and make it look like they are friendly? Serious gas-lighting issue there.
Oops, serves me right for not reading the whole thing first.
Still, its a mess and I don’t blame her for disengaging a bit from it all.
my favorite part about that Variety article was her publicist being like “she’s in Budapest filming so declined to be interviewed” but then they quote an email Harry sent. like emails don’t exist in Budapest. 😂
I also had high hopes for this movie, as a fan of Florence Pugh and championing female directors. Olivia Wilde was completely unprofessional, though. I know we tend to hold women to a higher standard than men (ie: Male directors have relationships with their stars all the time), but I side eye any director who does this. It would create a biased and uncomfortable environment on set and behind the scenes for all involved. Especially the star of the movie. Florence has been so classy about all of this, I just came out of it liking her more without even seeing the movie.
Also, I have always had a bit of a ‘feeling’ about Olivia Wilde. She is gorgeous and I can see why she is sought after personally and professionally, but her interviews always seem so self serving – even for an actor! I also don’t love how she seemed to be okay with Jason doing the regular day to day parenting while she was on tour with Harry, to only try to get full custody for herself and move them to London. (As far as I know, Jason is done shooting Lasso, so he is now based back in the US)
Pugh and Chris Pine were my main draws to what looked like a Hitchcock style flick. Now, I’m probably going to avoid it.
Chris Pine appears to be ghosting the film as well.
This whole situation is wild.
Why was Shia hired in the first place? He’s had a terrible reputation for years.
Why did Olivia say anything about Shia at all? If she hadn’t, we’d all just understood that working with him must have been a pain and that they were better off with just about anyone else.
“Miss Flo” is right up there with the most condescending things I’ve heard in a minute. For that to come from a woman is doubly disturbing. Olivia can kiss her “feminist” rep goodbye. And I just know she’ll excuse / explain it with being a woman in a male dominated field and “unconsciously” taking on their characteristics. ugh.
Worst of all, this is giving Shia the social currency he needs right now, while he’s on his redemption tour.
A mess all around.
Yeah, Olivia is never going to live down “Miss Flo.” And rightfully so, imo. It was grossly condescending and unprofessional.
My jaw actually hit the floor with her gaslighting of FP and the constant “Miss Flo” this and “Miss Flo” that….
FFS, grow up and call her like an adult would!! Don’t start casting blame all over SM so that you can try to embarrass or humiliate FP.
My first reaction to all of this is that Olivia uses the rhetoric of feminism for social currency as a new director but doesn’t actually practice feminism. Her condescending tone, her begging the problematic actor to return, and even her asking a cast and crew to have to work with an absuive man sounds pretty anti-feminist to me! Not to mention that this sounds like any other older generation of director who wouldn’t prioritize women’s safety on set! Really disappointing and gross.
It’s been speculated that the studio pushed for Shia as the No. 2 option after they couldn’t make Styles’ schedule work the first time around. Wilde probably didn’t want to push back too hard and risk the project getting shelved (and she seems like just the kind of egomaniac to believe she is the one to tame the savage Shia).
I think Wilde badmouthed Shia primarily because she thought she could get away with it. Shia’s reputation is in tatters (and deservedly so), and if he defended himself without the receipts no one would believe him. She’s just delusional for not thinking Shia wouldn’t save that stuff, especially the video.
I’m also wondering why they would hire him in the first place but how many problematic abusive make actors get chance after chance after chance.
Also I was looking at all of these twitter threads that people were tweeting about how excited Florence was at the beginning of this project when she was hired and she definitely seems to be excited about working with Shia when the cast was initially announced. So I don’t think it was a matter of Olivia alone trying to force Shia into the cast. I think everyone was ok with it at first or else they wouldn’t have signed on but obviously something happened and FP ended up not wanting to work with him which is absolutely her right and it looks like Olivia didn’t support her in that for whatever reason and has made this whole this whole thing into a clusterfuck.
With how few women directors we have I keep hearing Tyra Banks “We we’re all routing for you!” about this mess.
I am honestly bummed. In this situation, Olivia looks like part of the problem and not part of a feminist wave in directing. As director, she should be competent enough to cast and retain quality people and under no circumstance think it’s a good idea to retain Shia. She should also not be speaking so unprofessionally about her co-star/coworker via video and think it couldn’t be made public. So much of this screams arrogance and condescension.
I didn’t realize this is supposed to be a “feminist thriller”. Starring Chris Pine and Florence and it’s a feminist thriller? I would have loved this but, behind the scenes sounds completely opposite of feminism. Very Old Hollywood bs.
It’s satisfying that people have her back on this, executive types I mean, because her director sure abused & threw her under this bus.
I always think the director/actor relationship is sacrosanct. Without trust the actor is so completely vulnerable.
It was abuse Florence suffered, with intimate scenes & a director who didn’t respect her from the start.
“Miss Flo” indeed.
Wilde really ballsed her movie up from the jump, huh? She’s proven herself to be unprofessional and a liar at every turn. I can imagine that even if Pugh didn’t have a problem with any of her costars she’d have a problem with the way Wilde was running the shoot.
She made Flo life hell with the intimate scenes.. I’m guessing OW couldn’t separate her personal from director when directing Pugh. She was psycho. OW probably leaked the Flo didn’t like her breakup with Sudeikis story to NYPost too, to get sympathy.
I kind of wonder about that, Olivia pointing to something that is tertiary to the real problem, which is a stunning lack of professionalism on Olivia’s part, would be very on brand for her.
@ Cava 24, I guess Miss Oli is going to play the victim card again whenever she is faced with criticism.
OW has just sealed her future with actors in the future as a director. The fallout of this entire situation will end badly for OW, which was created by her own actions and no one else’s.
@ Chic & @Cava 24 – I now actually believe Wilde twisting the narrative is entirely plausible.
The origins of all the Pugh / Wilde gossip was about Pugh’s issues with what she deemed Wilde’s unprofessionalism on set. And sure, likely part of that unprofessionalism stemmed from the dynamics between Wilde & Styles and those dynamics impacted the production.
Now I can see how that was later spun into Pugh having issue with the affair itself and that she sided with Sudeikis. That take benefits Wilde because it means she’s being judged and shamed by Pugh.
Florence is truly a professional and I salute how she handles this situation. I’d be so pissed and barely able not to publicly lash out if my director would say publicly that she fired my co-star for my sake and to protect me from him when in reality she didn’t fire him, begged him to stay and probably went to Florence and told her to get it together.
Olivia Wilde saw the opportunity to make herself look like a feminist hero when the public turned on LaBoeuf and used it for her own sake. It’s disgusting to use what happened to FKA Twigs to make yourself look like a protector of women. Because that’s what she did.
People should revisit that whole thing because it is sort of obvious that she totally used the FKA Twigs thing to further her personal brand. It was kind of obvious even then.
Welp. Never liked OW and looks like she really f’d up her image badly here. Can’t say I’m sorry she showed her true colors.
She sure does give off dubious/shady AF vibes, especially now.
I think Florence was upset that Olivia hired Shia to be the male lead and she didn’t like the unprofessional behaviour of Olivia on set. I mean Harry and Olivia could have waited until the film wrapped to start their relationship.
Hahahaha, from what I hear NOBODY in Hollywood holds off on that.
Olivia is a type. If she apologizes, I bet she somehow defences her self as a victim, “under strain”, and drags the Jason Sudeikis divorce situation into the apology. (Can you tell I’m learning more about people who always refuse accountability and center themselves in every situation in my personal life?)
@ Eowyn, indeed!! OW is the perpetual victim in every public situation that she comes out looking tremendously horrible. OW has created and established herself as a director unsupporting, unhealthy and unprofessional behaviour.
Is it true they didn’t have an intimacy coordinator on set? Because that is so unprofessional and ridiculous for a post Me Too, current production. Intimacy coordinators should be as normalized a workplace safety requirement on set as wearing harnesses for flying stunts or railing on catwalks. Bonus for preventing a director in a relationship with a star from making a grossly inappropriate ass of herself.
Olivia was probably the intimacy coordinator. 😂☠️ Jk.
If you think about it a bit, it’s actually really gross that Olivia would be giving directions to the two of them for what the sex scenes would look like.
Would like to take this opportunity to point out that Olivia and Harry hooking up clandestinely massively increased Florence’s COVID risk. Rapid Covid tests are garbage, on set testing would not be that helpful. If Florence’s understanding was that Harry was essentially living alone and not dating during the period they were filming the sex scenes, how upsetting would it be to find out you had been exposed to the director, her kids, her ex (via the kids), her nanny etc?
It seems like Wilde, consciously or unconsciously, is jealous of Pugh – of her talent, her career, of the respect she’s gained at a young age. So she wanted to attach herself to Pugh’s star.
@ CC, no she isn’t jealous. OW is taking her to the mat publicly for having done absolutely nothing except being exposed by the mags that she distanced herself from OW and she is pissed!!! As for OW, it seems that it’s her terms or no terms.
Really? I’ve literally NEVER heard of Florence Pugh. Is this OW giving her a big break? She definitely doesn’t have a “typical” actress body and I’m a little surprised she’s been cast in these other films as well.
Florence is legit the next big thing. She’s been in a few films the last 5 years, and this is maybe her second or 3rd lead role but she is just spectacular to watch.
She also recently made an excellent Instagram post about the foul commentary she’s received on her body, well worth a read.
Florence Pugh is a huge rising star. From Midsomer to Black Widow to her upcoming role in Dune. Her career is going places fast.
I loved her in Black Widow!
I mean, she’s pretty young, but she was nominated for an Academy Award. Keep up!!! lol
I don’t have strong opinions about her work, but she’s kind of Ryan Gosling-like in that her performances are sometimes blank-slate and inscrutable and kind of compelling in that way. As a female protagonist she’s very interesting to watch.
Oh…so female actors have to have a certain type of body to get hired? Let me educate you on some women with non-typical (read thin, fake boobs, fake nose, lipo-suctioned) bodies who have made it big:
Cathy Bates
Mindy Kaling
America Ferrera
Christina Hendricks
Nia Vardalos
Amy Schumer
Emma Thompson
Melissa McCarthy
Rebel Wilson
Queen Latifah
Viola Davis
You’re surprised she’s been hired for other films because she doesn’t have a perfect Hollywood body? Why don’t you consider her obvious acting skills.
You mean one of the most talented and in demand stars of the last 5 years? Academy award nominated? She also has had lead roles in a few major projects and a a few critically beloved indie/film circuit gems like Lady Macbeth while also being attached to Marvel and in at least two of their properties? She also starred in one of A24’s more recent hits. Like if you follow film, you know who she is. Yeah, I am sure she is struggling to find work(all the sarcasm). DWD isn’t even her most promising project this festival season.
OW didn’t give Florence her big break. All the lols.
@jaded. Most of the women you listed are either women of color, older or comedians. I am apparently very out of the loop. I saw her in Black Widow and liked the more realistic body type casting for that film but thought she was Hayden Panittierre. Same with Little Women. Inspired me to watch Midsommar and wasn’t impressed. Certainly won’t be watching anything she’s in again
Florence was initially excited to work with Shia. It was in her Insta when she was first hired. Take that as you will. But something changed once they met or started working together.
She was also so excited to work with Olivia Wilde. I think she called her an idol or a hero. She was so happy about it and then Olivia went and Miss Flo’ed her. How disappointing and crushing.
I don’t know how far back to scroll. When did she post that or rather, when did casting start? Was it before the worst of Shia came out? If it was after, I‘m putting everyone involved on my shitlist.
I know it’s not right but I kinda don’t hate that Tom Hardy slapped him oe whatever.
This is messy and unprofessional on Miss Olivia‘s part. Jesus, can you be more of a dick trying to get a young female actor in line? Also, wake up call regarding what exactly?
In April of 2020 she posted excitement (lots of exclamation points) about working with Olivia, Shia and Chris Pine and talked about digging in to the script, so I guess that would mean it was after she was hired but before any actual work or filming began.
Yeah. Also before we knew about Twigs. In late 2019 this blog also posted something super positive about him. I used to like him a lot as well!
If Pugh wanted to do promo for this movie, she could have. But she doesn’t and for completely justifiable reasons. The video confirms a toxic relationship from the director who was clearly condescending toward Pugh and more interested in keeping Shia happy than her female lead.
It also seems likely that once Harry was cast it wasn’t much better for Pugh seeing as how the male leads both seem to get preferential treatment.
This!! I bet she felt unsupported the whole time! She went from one male lead needing all kinds of attention and support for his “method” to another male lead that the director had the hots for!
I bet Olivia let Florence think that Olivia “solved the problem” around Shia by firing him and taking a hit for it and let Florence feel guilty about having to recast that role. And then she tried to promote herself as someone who protects her cast in the Variety article. After making it obvious Florence was having nothing to do with her by tagging Florence in recent posts on her IG which Florence didn’t engage with thereby sending Harry’s fans who think they need to defend Olivia (yes, they exist) into a frenzy of attacks on Florence.
Yeah I think the fact that she’s not doing promo for this tells us pretty much everything we need to know. Sure, there are valid reasons for it that have nothing to do with Wilde (filming a huge project like Dune 2) but even with that, if Pugh wanted to promote this movie more, she would. She doesn’t and that tells us a lot about the toxic atmosphere on the set.
I feel bad for Florence, all this tabloid drama is overshadowing her career even though none of it is her fault.
I think it will overshadow this film but Florence has other films coming out. Hopefully no one will be doing a “but what about DWD?” when those come out. There’s no reason to feed that beast.
I don’t think DWD will be her defining role either. This seems like temporary gossip especially since Florence isn’t adding any fuel to the fire.
I recently and superficially like HS as a musical performer. I know nothing of his boy band background other than it exists. I liked OW in previous work so I’ve never had a problem with the OW HS relationship.
The Miss Flo thing is bad. I don’t blame Florence at all for her silence. I respect her more for it.
And I’m annoyed that Shia may get a redemption arc out of this.
Early word is the movie is messy and a bit of a stinker. Given the events that have transpired if the movie is in fact a failure, that failure is going to stick to Wilde and Styles and slide right off of Pugh.
@Dutch … What early word? I haven’t read anything derogatory about the film, just reviews of the intriguing premise. Where did you read it’s a mess?
Florence will be the next Black Widow. She’s got critical acclaim from Little Women. Her career will be fine. This is a blip that won’t negatively define her. Olivia, on the other hand, can probably kiss any Marvel movie goodbye.
She’s the first version of Amy in Little Women adaptation I didn’t actively dislike.
I’ve got a few questions:
Were FP and SLB contracts different? He seemed able to walk away whenever he chose. Was she able to if she was uncomfortable? I think it’s more likely she was the consummate professional unlike OW.
What was the point of OW lying like this? Why was she so desperate to kiss SLB ass? She sounds pathetic. I wonder if he was her original choice for messing around with.
Why wouldn’t you protect your female co star? OW knows exactly how hard it is for women in these situations.
This isn’t in defense of OW, because I think she behaved unprofessionally and she’s getting the negative attention she deserves .. but I’m sure she has people whose butts she has to kiss above her. I wouldn’t be surprised if a higher up at WB told her she had better get Shia to stay on the project, make him feel he’s wanted, etc. Keep your star happy, or you won’t be on this movie either … I’m sure there are a lot of people in the business trying to help Shia get back on track so Shia may have more power than it seems he does. She didn’t want to lose this job either. She was gaslighting those above her and below her for sure.
Absolutely!! Far from being a master manipulator, her behavior reeks of covering her own butt. I think it’s the sheer singlemindedness of her “adrift, not competent, and covering my own butt” that people are sensing and reacting to. Holding space for others and making sure everyone feels seen and heard on-set is well and good but, at the end of the day, what OW cares about is her own butt, and it shows
FP is a professional, there’s no way she gives two sh*ts about the OW/HS/ JS affair but likely did have an awful experience on set. Rather than talking, she’s distancing herself from the film. Smart woman, super talented.
I definitely get the cool-girl vibe from Olivia. She’s a feminist when around women but “one of the boys” when she’s around men.
After seeing the trailer for the movie, I have to believe that Florence was mortified that Olivia let Harry’s accent and acting pass. She likely knew the movie would be bad. OW clearly needed Harry to like her more than she needed to get a good performance from him.
Also, OW seems like the type to talk to FP about her relationship with ZB and share her concerns about the age difference and then leave her husband for a younger man. LOL.
I don’t know that there was time for him to work on his accent given he was cast in early September 2020 and they started filming in the latter part of October and Covid was happening. His fans complain that his accent is all over the place from living in America much of the time. They may have just decided his character came to the US as a late teen and his accent was eroding. I know people who have weird accents from living somewhere for a few years and not being around other expats.
Nothing takes me out of a story faster than a wandering accent or an accent ‘slip’. Doesn’t matter how interested I am in what is happening, I will be pulled right out of the film and it will bother me.
I just finished watching Under the Banner of Heaven, which was compelling and horrifying and brilliant, and I kept getting sucked out of the story by Sam Worthington messing up his accent. Andrew Garfield did it once too.
(They both put in absolutely amazing performances, it was just a few little bits that bugged me)
It remains to be seen whether Harry’s role is supposed to be American or something British/American hybrid. If indeed he is American, there is absolutely no excuse for him not getting at least, a modicum of on-set diction training. Until the movie is released, we will not know. But, if he is American in the film, then his accent in this movie is bad and there is no excuse for letting it pass.
@Sudie exactly! Having enough time to nail down an accent seems like an actor/director problem, not something that should show up in the character if they’re not meant to sound like that.
Also, in all these accent talks, I haven’t seen the fact that Florence is an English actor, herself, be brought up that much…? I can imagine that if Harry’s character is supposed to be American** like Florence’s, having to work opposite his nonexistent attempt to sound anything remotely west of the Atlantic, when she knows exactly the kind of work it takes, would be the cherry on top of a shart cake. Like how obvious would it be, then, to this hugely talented and professional actor, that the reason her co-star was plopped into the musty vacant space left by the previous creepy situation (to say the least) was primarily because the director wanted to flirt with him at craft services in between takes? Because it’s not his acting chops that got him top-billing after Florence Pugh.
And yeah, obviously, Florence has way more experience than Harry in acting, including accents, but so what? Him getting the role was supposed to be proof enough that he was taking acting seriously and ready to act opposite her, in a leading role. And if he’s meant to be American, act in a leading role that’s a big stretch for him, technique-wise. Hasn’t that been OW’s angle since they came out as a couple? Hasn’t she been gassing his performance up this whole promo period? That’s aiming a lot of criticism at a pretty flimsy target (if his monologue clips are anything to go by…he seems fine at music video acting?).
**I doubt that Shia was hired to do an English accent (waaaaay too many legit British actors could have filled the role otherwise, pre-Shia). My guess is that some script changes were made to quickly address Harry’s fluctuating accent and we’re just not supposed to think too hard about it.
I’m surprised it took this controversy to question Wilde’s honesty and performative feminism. The deal was sealed for me when I watched her handle the controversy about her character in the Richard Jewell movie. Claiming you spoke to everyone who knew Scruggs and having the family saying they never heard of you screams insincerity.
I didn’t need LaBeouf to learn she’s a liar.
Yes people play this game of women need to support women and it’s a blind spot. We need to stop believing all women good, all men bad, it’s silly to believe situations and people are that simple. Olivia has a solid track record of problematic things she’s said. And no it’s not because she’s white either.
People aren’t actually dumb enough to need to be taught that all women aren’t good and that all men aren’t bad- that’s just a lazy incel dog whistle with no basis in reality. What Olivia did was dirty. Unfortunately, plenty of women have proven before her that you can be a crappy person no matter what your gender or race is- and have found more dangerous ways to do it.
I had forgotten about her role in that movie. People from the paper, AJC, were not happy about her portrayal of their former colleague. Skruggs’ friends were especially disgusted with how the film made Skruggs out to be a woman who used sex to get a story. OW did herself no favors by leaning into that narrative in interviews.
She should work with Scarlett Johansson!
Shia LeBeouf is a sick f*ck but he’s protected by the male Hollywood movie industry bigwigs and gets consistently hired into violent, ugly roles, some of which feature women as victims. And I’m sick of people saying “Oh he’s just so method” when, in fact, he’s an abusive, demented POS. In Shia’s mixed up head, there’s a thin line between acting in a movie and real life. He comes from an abusive background and has a history of abusive behaviour, and that continues to almost be rewarded in his film roles, it’s reinforcing negative behavior as positive. OW should NEVER have hired Shia for this movie given his awful history, nor should she have gone behind FP’s back to try and lure him back. No wonder FP is refusing to do all but the least amount of press because OW tried to throw her under the bus. Team Florence.
Florence and Olivia will still be doing the Venice press conference which may turn into a shit show unless they screen questions beforehand. Oh what mess.
Yes! If there’s one thing I’ve learned from F1, it’s that Europeans will not attempt to avoid drama/awkwardness at a press conference!
Olivia is coming across as a narcissist in all this. Having worked with two narcs who were romantically involved where one individual was in a leadership role, yeah it’s an absolute nightmare for everyone. I feel bad for Pugh but it seems her career is still on track thanks to Dune.
I’m bizarrely fascinated by this even though I’m not really into most of the people involved. Go Florence for politely keeping her mouth shut (if you can’t say something nice…) on this topic, and I wish people would back off on nitpicking everything she doesn’t say under the circumstances.
Olivia sounds like a walking soap opera drama. She looks so dubious.
Don’t forget that Olivia Wilde is not only the director, but also _ACTS_ in DWD. Originally OW was supposed to play the lead roll, Alice, which went to Florence Pugh instead. FP was supposed to play the (best?) friend, Bunny, but OW chose to make the lead couple younger and take on the role of Bunny herself.
So, when did that happen? Since FP was originally hired for a different role, did that impact her feelings on acting in DWD? FP and OW are not on the same page with the sex scenes in this film—I have yet to read that there was an intimacy coordinator on set. I don’t know if there was/n’t, but lately intimacy coordinators have gotten a lot of love from (female) actors. Also, New Line Cinema belongs to Warner Brothers. They were just in the news recently because the WB studio decided NOT to bring out Batgirl (they’re destroying the movie so they can get a tax write off!). Clearly New Line’s parent company is in financial trouble—was that the reason OW sent her infamous video to SLB?
I don’t know if I want to see the movie, but I would love to know exactly what happened from start to finish as it was being made.
Timothee Chalamet, leading actor of Dune, also has a movie coming out at Venice: Bones and All. If he does promote his movie more than Florence then I’ll take there’s more about this drama we don’t know.
Now, if he doesn’t promote it much either then it could be a mix of Florence not being comfortable and schedule incompability, I mean, I doubt the studio wants DWD to flop. Unless they believe Harry will be enough for the audience?
Bones and All is being shown in competition, DWD is not and the director of Bones and All is Italian so I am not sure they would play out the same way.
Pugh radiates “done-ness,” and no one can fault her. I also got the sense — and another commenter posted something that seemed to support this reading — that OW may have over-relied on Pugh to shepherd her through the process of making a film. Pugh probably indulged OW in order to get the movie made, but she doesn’t owe anything more to anyone. Put the misery in the past where it belongs, right 😬
I think Florence was excited. Then I think something happened, either between herself and Shia or she found out some horrific details about how Shia treated women before the public did and didn’t want to risk her physical or emotional safety. What we are missing is what Olivia said to Florence about how she had to work with Shia. I imagine it was full of gaslighting and anger. Then Florence had to read all of Olivia’s bs when she knew the opposite of it being about her own safety was true. That all happened before filming and what went down on that set even began. I think that Florence has so much she could have said that would have felt satisfying to get off her chest, but she’s taken the harder road of staying mum and letting it all come out in the wash. She’s going to come out of this unscathed with her professionalism and reputation intact. I am really impressed by her.
Too bad there was no documentarian on and around the DWD set. I’d lay odds the documentary about making the movie would generate more revenue than actual movie, despite OW’s obsessive focus on the gratuitous sex scenes between OW’s BF and Miss Flo. With the stuff OW has said about “female hunger” (blah blah), you’d be forgiven for thinking the porn industry doesn’t exist.
I don’t think Florence Pugh gives a flying crap about Olivia Wilde breaking up with Jason Sudekis or her picking up with Harry Styles. Who care about their co-workers personal lives line that? You only care when their personal messiness disrupts work. So I think Olivia wasn’t entirely professional and she made filming unpleasant. The end.
I’m glad the studio is supportive of Florence. She is an incredible actress and a rising star, so they aren’t doing it out of the goodness of their cold hearts. Olivia underestimated both FP and SL, and overestimated herself. Surprised that HS would get caught up in this mess.
I don’t know, because there is a past instagram post by Florence that mentions how excited she is to be working on the film and it mentions Shia, so she knew he was in the movie from the beginning.