Washington [US]: ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ director Olivia Wilde landed in Italy on Sunday separately from boyfriend Harry Styles ahead of the ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ movie premiere at the Venice Film Festival Monday night, where Florence Pugh will not be in attendance for the press conference post-screening.
According to Fox News, as she landed at the Italian airport wearing a cream-coloured suit, Wilde, who marks her second time in the director’s chair with the new thriller, appeared to be in good spirits. Before boarding a boat to take him to his hotel to await the highly awaited premiere of the film, the former member of ‘One Direction’, who plays Jack in the upcoming film, also donned his best flying costume and sported a maroon blazer.
Pugh is a cast member of the upcoming drama, but according to festival officials, she is “limiting her promotional activities at the festival” and won’t be attending the post-premiere press conference.
It is unknown if Wilde and Styles, who have been dating for more than a year after becoming public with their romance while holding hands at his agent’s wedding in January 2021, will walk the red carpet together on Monday night at the prestigious film event.
At the airport, no photos of the low-key pair were taken. After arriving in Italy, the “Booksmart” director–who was once in a committed relationship with Jason Sudeikis–took time out to sign autographs for eager admirers.
Pugh will reportedly be in attendance for the red carpet premiere on Monday night, but will “not be participating in the press conference for the film,” which is also scheduled tomorrow.
It’s unclear why Pugh will not be available to discuss her role in the film, but Wilde recently discussed a major controversy in having to fire Shia LaBeouf, who was initially cast as Jack.
“His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions,” she told 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.
“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.”
LaBeouf allegedly had scheduling issues, but his ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs claimed physical, mental, and emotional abuse in a lawsuit she filed in December 2020. The trial is scheduled for April 2023 in the continuing lawsuit.
“A lot came to light after this happened that really troubled me, in terms of his behavior… Particularly with a movie like this, 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,” Wilde said.
In a recent open letter to director Wilde, LaBeouf addressed rumours that he had been let go from “Don’t Worry Darling” and acknowledged that he had been clean for 627 days. Three days after starting his sobriety journey, on December 11, 2020, FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles.
LaBeouf, for his part, has signed on to star in “Megalopolis,” a new Francis Ford Coppola film, alongside Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, and Laurence Fishburne. He is currently in Venice for the premiere of his most recent film, “Padre Pio.”
