A Complete Timeline of the Don’t Worry, Darling Drama

The post A Complete Timeline of the Don’t Worry, Darling Drama appeared first on Consequence.

Don’t Worry Darling has drummed up more headlines about alleged cast in-fighting than it has about its merit as a film, and as its less-than-stellar reviews roll in, it appears its 2022 real-world drama is more invigorating than its 1950s thriller storyline.

From director Olivia Wilde breaking up with longtime partner Jason Sudeikis to date star Harry Styles (who was only cast after embattled actor Shia LaBeouf left the project) to leading lady Florence Pugh distancing herself from the film altogether, we’re all wondering: What the hell happened on that set?

And that’s not even counting Spitgate.

Ahead of its release on September 23rd, we’ve rounded up all the Don’t Worry Darling drama that’s definitely got us worrying.

September 2020: Shia LaBeouf Exits the Film Due to Olivia Wilde’s “No Assholes Policy”

Shia LaBeouf was originally slated to star in Don’t Worry Darling alongside Florence Pugh, but he left the project in 2020. Deadline reported his exit was due to a scheduling conflict, but Variety reported that he “displayed poor behavior and his style clashed with the cast and crew, including Wilde, who ultimately fired him.” In February 2021, Wilde explained that she has a “no assholes policy” on her sets, noting that it “puts everyone on the same level” and creates a warmer workplace environment.

January 2021: Olivia Wilde Begins Dating Harry Styles, Shia LaBeouf’s Replacement

After Jason Sudeikis confirmed he and Wilde, his partner of nine years and fiancé of seven, broke up in November 2020, Wilde and Styles were seen holding hands in public. People reported that based on the actors’ behavior on the Don’t Worry Darling set, “Everyone saw it coming.”

April 2022: Jason Sudeikis Serves Olivia Wilde Child Custody Papers at CinemaCon

As the press tour for Don’t Worry Darling began to pick up speed, Wilde presented the trailer for her latest directorial effort at CinemaCon. In a strange turn of events, however, Wilde’s presentation was interrupted when an unidentified person approached the stage and slid her a manila envelope marked personal and confidential. Later, Deadline reported that the envelope contained legal documents from Sudeikis that were meant to establish jurisdiction relating to the couple’s children.

Understandably, Wilde was upset by the move, both due to its personal nature and the “huge breach in security” that allowed it to happen. A source close to Sudeikis later said the actor “had no prior knowledge of the time or place that the envelope would have been delivered as this would solely be up to the process service company involved and he would never condone her being served in such an inappropriate manner.”

Olivia Wilde at CinemaCon, photo by by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

July 2022: Florence Pugh Is Awfully Quiet About the Film on Instagram

Ridiculous or not, Instagram is an integral tool to marketing all things entertainment, so when a movie star fails to promote a project on the platform, people take notice. Especially when their director tags them in posts that they ignore.

Such was the case on July 21st, when Wilde posted a shot of herself watching Pugh act on Don’t Worry Darling with the caption, “Watching this woman work was such a fucking thrill! Cannot wait to show you more.” Pugh didn’t like or comment on the post. By that point, the trailer for the film had already been released, and Pugh hadn’t shared it on the platform either.

She did, however, advertise a different film of hers: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which doesn’t hit theaters until next year. She ultimately made her first post about Don’t Worry Darling on August 10th.

July 2022: More Details Emerge About Don’t Worry Darling’s Uncomfortable Set

On July 30th, Page Six ran a story asserting that Pugh had a falling out with Wilde over her relationship with Styles, which allegedly began as an affair. “I can tell you for a fact that Flo seeing Olivia and Harry all over each other on set did not go down well as Olivia was still with Jason when she first hooked up with Harry,” a source told the publication. “Jason and the kids visited Olivia on set at the beginning a few times, so I think this all made people feel a little uncomfortable,” they added.

August 16th, 2022: Florence Pugh Criticizes Olivia Wilde’s Sex Narrative

In December 2021, Wilde opined in a Vogue interview that there isn’t any “good sex” in film anymore, and pointed to Don’t Worry Darling — in which Styles’ Jack and Pugh’s Alice are all over each other — as a remedy. Later, in a Variety profile, she would tout the movie as a showcase of female pleasure, where “only women” come.

Pugh, on the other hand, shut down this narrative in her own interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it,” she said. “It’s not why I’m in this industry. Obviously, the nature of hiring the most famous pop star in the world, you’re going to have conversations like that. That’s just not what I’m going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that.”

August 26th, 2022: Shia LaBeouf Brings the Receipts: “I Quit Your Film”

In that fateful Variety interview, Wilde expanded on her reasoning for firing Shia LaBeouf, explaining that his “combative energy” clashed with her desire to create a “safe, trusting environment,” especially for Pugh, who she wanted to ensure felt “safe and supported.”

“His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions,” Wilde said. “He has a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances. I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job.” She added: “I knew that I was going to be asking Florence to be in very vulnerable situations, and my priority was making her feel safe and making her feel supported.”

Two days later, LaBeouf — who had stepped out of the spotlight after his ex-girlfriend FKA twigs accused him of “relentless abuse” — resurfaced to challenge Wilde’s version of events. “You and I both know the reasons for my exit,” he allegedly wrote in a letter to Wilde that he shared with the public. “I quit your film because your actors & I couldn’t find time to rehearse.” To prove his point, he shared text messages he claimed to have received from Wilde that show her attempting to keep him on the project.

The biggest bombshell out of LaBeouf’s claim was a video from Wilde he said he received on August 19th, 2020, two days after he quit Don’t Worry Darling. In the clip, the director says  “I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I too am heartbroken and I want to figure this out. You know, 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 — and I respect your point of view, I respect hers — but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope? Will you let me know?”

From the condescending “Miss Flo” to the proof that Wilde did not fire LaBeouf in order to protect her star, it became easier to imagine beef between the two actresses.

August 26th, 2022: Florence Pugh Limits Don’t Worry Darling Press

The same day that LaBeouf challenged Wilde’s narrative, “Miss Flo” limited the amount of press she would agree to do to promote the film. The Wrap confirmed that the actress would attend Don’t Worry Darling‘s red carpet premiere, but a studio executive said “She’ll be doing greetings for us from the set of Dune because she’s not doing press.”

Days later, it was announced that Pugh would skip the Venice Film Festival press conference because her flight from the Dune set wouldn’t get in until after it had occurred. However, Timothée Chalamet, the star of Dune, managed to make it to Venice in time to promote his project Bones and All in full.

September 5th, 2022: Florence Pugh Strolls Into Venice… Late

As promised, Florence Pugh skipped the Venice Film Festival’s Don’t Worry Darling press conference, leaving Wilde, Styles, Chris Pine, and Gemma Chan to promote the film themselves. It was a pretty awkward affair: Wilde dodged questions about tensions between herself and Pugh, instead referring to the actress as “a force” and thanking her for getting away from her Dune shoot at all. When a journalist asked the director about LaBeouf, a moderator shut down the question. Styles appeared to be completely immune to press training, describing the film as “a movie that feels like a movie” and revealing that he has “no idea what I’m doing” while Chris Pine looked miserable beside him.

For her part, Pugh strolled into Venice with a drink in her hand, posting only her second photo related to the film on Instagram with the simple caption, “I’m here.” On the red carpet, she warmly embraced Pine and Nick Kroll, but avoided Wilde and Styles completely. After the film’s premiere, she refused to make eye contact with either of them during their standing ovation, and left while the audience was still applauding.

It’s also worth noting that Wilde and Styles kept their distance in Venice as well. Just as different cast members provided a buffer between Pugh and Wilde, Wilde and Styles never stood or sat next to each other at the event. Whether this was a PR move meant to minimize attention brought to their highly publicized relationship or a sign of a fractured relationship has yet to be revealed.

September 5th, 2022: Harry Styles (Maybe) Spits on Chris Pine??

If the reported beef between Wilde and Pugh wasn’t enough, the Internet began worrying even more when a video of Styles appearing to spit on Pine surfaced on Twitter. In the clip, Styles takes his seat next to Pine — who was seated between Styles and Wilde, fueling rumors that the two broke up — at the screening when he’s seen pursing his lips in a spitting manner.

While it’s difficult to see anything leave his mouth, Pine stops clapping right after that moment and looks down at his lap with an incredulous look on his face, furthering the idea that something awkward has just happened. Other angles of the interaction seem to disprove the spitting theory, however,  as it grows even more impossible to see anything leave Styles’ mouth, and a rep for Pine dismissed the rumors as “a complete fabrication.” Still, the theory seemed just crazy enough to fit a movie with a behind-the-scenes story that only seems to get worse by the second.

September 5th, 2022: Florence Pugh Opts Out of Q&A at New York Premiere

Pugh kept her appearance at Venice to the bare minimum, and so far, it looks like she’ll do the same as Don’t Worry Darling comes stateside. Variety reported that she won’t be attending the Q&A at the film’s premiere in New York City on September 19th.

In addition to a screening of the film, Wilde and stars Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll, Sydney Chandler, Kate Berlant, Asif Ali, and Douglas Smith will all participate in a fan Q&A at the AMC Lincoln Square Imax Theatre. For those who can’t make it, it’ll also be livestreamed at participating Imax theaters across North America, just in case more drama unfolds.

A Complete Timeline of the Don’t Worry, Darling Drama
Carys Anderson

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