Never has a movie been surrounded by so much controversy. And drama. And gossip. And drama.
Did we mention the drama?
Don't Worry Darling is a film directed by Olivia Wilde, starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, and Gemma Chan. Over the past six months, the cast have generated countless headlines about feuds, firings, and wild allegations of public spitting.
A few days ago, there were allegations of a "screaming match" between Wilde and Pugh - which have subsequently been hosed down by the crew.
Now, two of the film's underutilised stars have poked fun at their scenes being left on the 'cutting room floor'.
The drama seemingly never ends.
At this point no one really cares whether the movie is good or not - we're lining up to see it just because we're invested in what's been happening behind the scenes.
You know what they say: "All publicity is good publicity."
Here's everything you need to know about all the Don't Worry Darling drama. (Well, you don't really NEED to know... but you probably want to).
Two stars call out the film for cutting most of their scenes.
On Instagram, actors Kiki Layne and Ari'el Stachel joked about being cut from most of the film.
They play a couple, and Kiki's character's arc in particular becomes the catalyst for Pugh's character Alice's entire journey in the film. But they have very limited screen time.
"The best thing about #DontWorryDarling is that I was lucky enough to meet @arielstachel," Layne wrote in an Instagram post.
"They cut us from most of the movie, but we thriving in real life."
She used hashtags #GotMyCheck #GotMyMan #EverythingHappensforaReason.
Gemma Chan, who also stars in the film, commented a heart under her post.
Stachel also joked about being cut in a TiKTok video.
40 crew and production team members dispute Don't Worry Darling on-set tensions.
Over the weekend, 40 members of the crew and production team on Don't Worry Darling hit back at media outlets for reporting tension and conflict on the set, particularly between Wilde and Pugh.
On Friday, Vulture reported that an unnamed insider who spent significant time on set witnessed a "screaming match" between the two A-listers. It was a "blowout argument" that apparently happened three-quarters of the way through filming, and was due to Wilde's "frequent, unexplained absences".
According to the insider, Wilde and her partner, Styles, who of course stars in the film, would "just disappear".
Following the reports of this latest drama, the crew from the film has released an exclusive statement to People.
"As a crew, we've avoided addressing the absurd gossip surrounding the movie we're so proud of, but feel the need to correct the anonymous 'sources' quoted in a recent article," the statement begins. "Any allegations about unprofessional behaviour on the set of Don't Worry Darling are completely false."
They then went on to call Wilde "an incredible leader and director who was present with and involved in every aspect of production" and said she "ran this set with class and respect for everyone involved."
"There was never a screaming match between our director and anyone, let alone a member of our cast. We are happy to put our names on this, as real people who worked on the film, and who have witnessed and benefitted from the collaborative and safe space Olivia creates as a director and leader," the statement continued.
"We're also thrilled that the movie is in theatres this weekend. We can't wait for you to see it on the big screen."
Miri Yoon, a producer for Don't Worry Darling, also told People, "Rumours of screaming matches between our director and leading lady on set are completely unfounded. We truly hope you enjoy the movie."
The film's Venice Film Festival premiere.
Don't Worry Darling premiered at the very glitzy Venice Film Festival on September 5, offering us our first glimpse at the entire cast together after MONTHS of speculation.
Firstly, just days earlier it was confirmed that Venice would be Pugh's only promotional engagement. That is an incredibly rare, and unusual, move by the lead actress of a project.
She had only done one magazine profile, for Harper's Bazaar, ahead of the festival and actually missed most of the press there too: she didn't make it to the cast press conference and photo call, with her flight landing in the afternoon only giving her time to get to the premiere later in the evening.
The official line is that she's busy filming Dune: Part Two in Budapest - in fact, she's expected to be back at work in Hungary tomorrow - but that also seems mighty convenient given, uh, all of... this.
At the press conference, Wilde said it was a "shame" Pugh couldn't make it.
"Can you just clear the air and address if there's been a falling out there and if so why? Because it's something that people are discussing," a reporter asked.
"Florence is a force, and we are so grateful that she's able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune," Wilde responded.
"I know, as a director, how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day, so I'm very grateful to her, to [Dune director] Denis Villeneuve for helping us. And we're really thrilled we'll get to celebrate her work tonight. I can't say enough how honoured I am to have her as our lead. She's amazing in the film.
"As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself," she continued. "I don't feel the need to contribute. It's sufficiently well nourished."
The next question then asked Wilde about the controversy surrounding Shia LaBeouf (more on that below), but was shut down by the panel's moderator.
Pugh eventually arrived for the red carpet, looking fantastic in Valentino. But over on Instagram, her stylist uploaded a series of pics, captioned... "Miss Flo", the name Wilde called her in a recently leaked video, which many saw as patronising. Eek.
After it all wrapped up, the world's least toxic place, Twitter, went through the footage with a fine-toothed comb, searching for any further drama.
AND THEY FOUND SOME.
Did Harry Styles SPIT on... Chris Pine?
So this allegation got blown out of proportion big time! Users were debating the below footage, and whether Harry Styles had SPAT on Chris Pine as he sat down in the theatre.
Neither Wilde nor Pugh has publicly commented on this supposed feud, and Wilde has continually heaped praise on the young actor.
There was also a report that Styles was paid more than three times the amount of Pugh, which Wilde denied.
"There has been a lot out there that I largely don’t pay attention to. But the absurdity of invented clickbait and subsequent reaction regarding a nonexistent pay disparity between our lead and supporting actors really upset me," she told Variety.
"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."
But it has become increasingly hard to ignore the validity of the 'feud' claims, even if we don't know all the details.
Besides the lack of social media support, the Venice Film Festival showing has only seemed to throw fuel on the fire, as there was little to no interaction between Pugh and Wilde despite this being their film's big night.
The only photos of them where in cast group shots, with the other actors placed between them. Instead, Pugh was noticeably having a good time and spending her time with co-stars Nick Kroll, Gemma Chan and Chris Pine. She was not seen greeting Wilde, nor Styles.
Reports from the theatre also stated Pugh and Wilde avoided eye contact throughout the standing ovation post-screening, and that Pugh left the theatre before the clapping.
So, to make the obvious joke, we're all really bloody worried, darling.
This article was originally published on August 25, 2022 and has since been updated with new information.
Feature image: Twitter.
Love watching TV and movies? Take our survey now to go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher.
Top Comments