Sophia Michaels
Olivia Wilde and (some of) her Don’t Worry Darling cast appeared at a pre-premiere press conference at the Venice Film Festival, where the director sidestepped — and the moderator shut down — questions pertaining to the controversies surrounding the upcoming film.
While Harry Styles, Chris Pine and Gemma Chan were in attendance for the press conference, notably absent was star Florence Pugh, who has done little in terms of promoting Don’t Worry Darling amid rumors she was unhappy with Wilde and Styles’ on-set relationship, as well as the revelation of the true nature of Shia LaBeouf’s exit from the film; Pugh — who is currently shooting Dune: Part 2, will reportedly attend tonight’s Don’t Worry Darling red carpet event.
When asked about Pugh’s absence from the press conference, Wilde responded (via The Hollywood Reporter), “Florence is a force. We are so grateful she’s able to make it tonight [for the red carpet]. I’m grateful to her, and to [Dune director Denis Villeneuve] for helping us. I can’t say how honored I am to have her as our lead.”
The director continued, “As for all the endless tabloid gossip out there, the Internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute. I think it’s sufficiently well nourished.”
The Hollywood Reporter then attempted to ask about LaBeouf’s departure — he was initially cast in the Styles’ role, but was either fired (as Wilde claimed) or quit (as LaBeouf proved) — the panel’s moderator shut down the question, saying Wilde “already answered that” when addressing the “internet noise.”
Styles — who wrote a key piece of music for the psychological drama — fielded a question about the self-feeding Internet and social media, noting that “There’s a lot of negative sides, they’re pretty obvious for anyone to see. But it’s always important to remember there are positive things happening in the world because of it as well.”
Following its Venice premiere tonight, Don’t Worry Darling will open Sept. 23 in theaters nationwide.
