Florence Pugh

The cast of "Don't Worry Darling," minus Pugh, arrived in Italy for the Venice Film Festival.

"A lot came to light after this happened that really troubled me, in terms of his behavior," Wilde said to Variety about LaBeouf. "I can't say enough how honored I am to have her as our lead," she said. "They're pretty obvious for anyone to see. I don't feel the need to contribute, I think it's sufficiently well nourished." "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," she said. [decided to fire LaBeouf from Don't Worry Darling](https://www.newsweek.com/olivia-wilde-reveals-why-shia-labeouf-fired-dont-worry-darling-1736678), telling Variety: "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."

Florence Pugh wowed in a star-print black Valentino gown at the premiere of her movie "Don't Worry Darling" at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.

“As for all the endless tabloid gossip and noise out there, the internet feeds itself,” Wilde added. She wore a platinum and diamond collar necklace, two pairs of diamond earrings and rings in aquamarine and blue spinel, according to a press release from the brand. [only seem to care about her sex scenes](https://pagesix.com/2022/08/16/florence-pugh-slams-fans-who-focus-on-harry-styles-sex-scenes/) with Harry Styles in the movie — added some serious sparkle with plenty of Tiffany & Co.

At the press conference for the movie, at which Wilde was present alongside Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, and Chris Pine, the director skillfully dodged a question ...

It didn’t need to be answered, the moderator said, because “it’s on the internet” and Wilde had “already answered that.” Wilde had retroactively claimed in a Variety cover story that she’d fired LaBeouf over his “combative energy” and to keep Pugh “safe.” [The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan](https://twitter.com/kylebuchanan/status/1566747101291225093?s=20&t=8i4QvibYixpoe3tEaGDQpA) claimed she was photographed arriving just five minutes after the press conference. [Shia LaBeouf](https://www.indiewire.com/t/shia-labeouf/) sent journalists a video of Wilde trying to lure him back to the shoot two days after he claims he quit, with the director seemingly frustrated about Pugh. I think it’s sufficiently well nourished.” I can’t say how honored I am to have her as our lead.

After the brilliance of 'Booksmart,' Olivia Wilde has a sophomore slump with her thriller 'Don't Worry Darling,' starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles.

Starring [Florence Pugh](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/08/16/florence-pugh-zach-braff-breakup-harpers-bazaar-interview/10336112002/) and pop star [Harry Styles](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/02/15/olivia-wilde-praises-harry-styles-joining-dont-worry-darling/6757784002/), Wilde's follow-up film (★★½ out of four; rated R; in theaters Sept. Said director [reportedly dating one of her stars](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/01/05/harry-styles-olivia-wilde-what-we-know-dont-worry-darling/4138628001/) and maybe [feuding with the other](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/08/olivia-wilde-dont-worry-darling-florence-pugh-feud-pay-rumors-1234755154/). A [purportedly fired actor](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/08/25/shia-labeouf-converted-catholicism-padre-pio-movie/7898058001/) hitting back at the filmmaker. The director getting hit with [legal papers onstage at CinemaCon](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/04/27/olivia-wilde-served-children-custody-docs-jason-sudeikis-onstage-cinemacon/9564096002/). (If you're paying attention, it’s not that hard to figure out what exactly is happening.) The lack of chemistry between Pugh and Styles is another disconnect – her dynamic with Pine, albeit antagonistic, is far more effective and not explored nearly enough. [Olivia Wilde](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/08/24/olivia-wilde-jason-sudeikis-custody-papers-harry-styles-romance/7889432001/) pulled off a fantastic debut with the excellent coming-of-age film [“Booksmart”](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/05/20/review-olivia-wilde-booksmart-redefines-teen-comedy/3738572002/) but "Don't Worry Darling," her second outing with writer Katie Silberman, doesn’t have the same spark. Unfortunately, the same can be said of “Darling,” an ambitious meal with some key ingredients that just feels undercooked. Alice (Pugh) and Jack (pop star Harry Styles) live a regular, mostly vanilla life. She takes Alice from ever-doting to paranoid conspiracy theorist and back again, making both happiness and terror feel impressively authentic in a waxwork world. There’s also a great chase with vintage cars that lends a “Mad Max”-meets-“North by Northwest” flair to the mind-bending narrative. [“Don’t Worry Darling”](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/04/26/olivia-wilde-calls-harry-styles-revelation-dont-worry-darling/9548319002/) has certainly been central to a litany of drama before its release. But the overly attentive Alice begins to wonder if the Victory existence is all it’s cracked up to be – and not just because she breaks eggs that weirdly have nothing inside them.

'Don't Worry Darling' premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, Sept. 5, amid rumors of a feud between its star, Florence Pugh, and director Olivia ...

[Venice press conference](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/05/movies/olivia-wilde-florence-pugh-harry-styles-dont-worry-darling.html?referringSource=articleShare) and premiere — reportedly her only public obligations to the film — but abruptly canceled her appearance at the press conference the day before, citing scheduling conflicts with her Dune Part II shooting schedule. [Florence Pugh](https://www.thecut.com/2022/08/florence-pugh-and-zach-braff-have-broken-up.html) arrived in Venice for the premiere of Don’t Worry Darling, amidst growing rumors of a feud between the actor and the film’s director, [Olivia Wilde](https://www.thecut.com/2022/08/olivia-wilde-jason-sudeikis-and-cinemacon.html). “As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself,” she added. [Wilde and Pugh](https://people.com/movies/dont-worry-darling-drama-timeline/) is quickly becoming the Hollywood story of 2022. Wilde hasn’t addressed the rumors directly, but she did recently tell [Variety ](https://variety.com/2022/film/features/olivia-wilde-harry-styles-sex-scenes-dont-worry-darling-1235347929/)that “tabloid media is a tool to pit women against one another and to shame them.” She breezed in wearing a purple Valentino ensemble just as Wilde and the rest of the cast — [Harry Styles](https://www.thecut.com/2022/05/harry-styles-howard-stern-interview.html), Chris Pine, and Gemma Chan — were dodging questions at the film’s press conference.

Olivia addressed the elephant in the room Monday at a press conference for the movie she directed, "Don't Worry Darling," throwing cold water on the notion ...

only fueling the rumors of simmering beef ... For his part, Harry is fresh off a concert in NYC. Olivia Wilde Shoots Down Rumored Feud With Florence Pugh Olivia Wilde Shoots Down Rumored Feud with Florence Pugh

Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles and Florence Pugh touched down at the Venice Film Festival.

“Don’t Worry Darling” premiered out of competition. As the “As It Was” singer was busy signing autographs up and down the red carpet, Pugh made her spectacular entrance in an off-the-shoulder, sparkly bodysuit, grinning for the cameras and lapping up attention from enthusiastic fans. I don’t feel the need to contribute; I think it’s sufficiently well-nourished.” “Don’t Worry Darling” marks Wilde’s second feature directorial effort and her follow-up to breakthrough “Booksmart.” Pugh and Styles play a newlywed couple living in the quaint, experimental utopia called Victory. When the audience at Venice erupted into a 4-minute standing ovation for the film, a teary-eyed Pugh — who was sitting several seats away from Wilde — turned away completely from her director, as she instead faced (and danced with) her co-star Nick Kroll. Wilde was first down the red carpet, followed by Styles and finally Pugh.

Warner Bros. Popular on Variety. There's no denying Olivia Wilde can direct the hell out of a movie. And with her ...

The end product is a smorgasbord of high octane thrillers, similar to “Gone Girl” (2014), which landed a single nom for its leading actress Rosamund Pike. At the very least, it’s a film that will continue to generate plenty of chatter (there’s already a ton of pre-release headlines being made, some of them even about the movie itself). There’s no denying Olivia Wilde can direct the hell out of a movie.