By: Caitlyn Bailey | Treasurer
“If a movie’s bad, it is the director’s fault,” declared Don’t Worry Darling’s director, Olivia Wilde, on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show. With the movie settling in with a lowly 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, one wonders if she’s living to regret her own words. Wilde’s film has opened itself up to continuous controversy– from casting global pop star Harry Styles to alleged verbal disputes on set involving lead star Florence Pugh, there has been no shortage of drama both on-set and off.
With all of the negative press surrounding the film, Olivia Wilde’s leadership easily comes into question. At the beginning of the list of the movie’s questionable issues is Shia LaBoeuf. An actor with no shortage of controversy of his own, he was first cast and then replaced in the film. Thrilling fangirls around the world, LaBoeuf’s replacement was music sensation Harry Styles, who seemingly decided to join the acting world after all of his chart-topping hits. Reports state that Olivia Wilde has been engaging in a love affair with star Harry Styles after meeting on set in January 2021, shortly after a messy and publicized divorce with American actor Jason Sudeiki.
Florence Pugh, rumored friend to Wilde’s ex-husband, became unhappy by the relationship between Styles and Wilde on-set. Cast and crew observed the two love-birds disappearing together during working hours, causing tensions to rise between Pugh and her director. This is where the verbal disputes began– Pugh angered by Olivia Wilde’s unprofessionalism within the production of her film. Later, it was revealed that Shia LaBoeuf was not fired, like Wilde claimed, but instead left due to scheduling conflicts. When a video surfaces on Twitter of Wilde begging LaBoeuf to return to the project, her usage of the nickname “Miss Flo”, in reference to Florence Pugh, feels particularly disrespectful, potentially highlighting the aforementioned reports of bad blood between actress and director. Within the last few weeks before the movie’s official release, Pugh did little press, seemingly taking action by weaponizing inaction.
With all of these issues only scratching the surface of the movie’s controversy, it is interesting to note that all of it could be detrimental to the movie’s reception as a whole. With an unprofessional love-affair, a lead actress who wants nothing to do with the project, and a director giving different stories to different platforms, the question is raised: would the movie have been received any better without all of this drama? Instead of worrying about the drama surrounding her character and relationships, perhaps director Olivia Wilde should have been worrying about the state of her movie.
Photo Credit: “Popcorn Food Carton” by dbreen on pixabay.com
