Don't Worry Darling

There was allegedly a “long negotiation process” between Warner Bros. and Pugh before she would agree to promote the film “in any way.”

[Pure Chaos](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/09/is-tiktok-turning-fashion-week-into-pure-chaos?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-091422)? (A source told [Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/09/cover-story-olivia-wilde-dont-worry-darling) that Wilde had decided to fire LaBeouf, but allowed him to believe he was quitting.) “Olivia is either a mad genius who figured out a way to make people more aware of the movie in a way that just drives up the box office,” a person close to the production told Vulture, “or she doesn’t have any self-awareness that she is fucking up her movie.” (Warner Bros. Don’t congregate,” she told crew members, according to Lee’s source, who added, “There were so many complaints from the crew saying, ‘How dare she tell us to shelter in place while we’re doing this movie? Matthew Libatique, Don’t Worry Darling’s cinematographer, supported Wilde when asked about the on-set atmosphere by VF. [Shia LaBeouf](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/08/shia-labeouf-denies-olivia-wilde-fired-him-from-dont-worry-darling-i-quit-your-film) quit or was fired from the production. That spread all around very quickly.” The reporter added that the anecdote was provided by “an unimpeachable source who has zero agenda against the film or anyone who worked on it.” She doesn’t want to support the movie. Of the “screaming argument” between Wilde and Pugh, Lee tweeted, “Florence would give input on how she thought the next scene should be shot when Olivia wasn’t there. Multiple sources told the outlet that the studio was dissatisfied with Wilde’s handling of the controversy. “Olivia and Harry [Styles] would just disappear,” the source said, with the conflict culminating in a “screaming match.” Discord between Wilde and Pugh reportedly caught the attention of Toby Emmerich, then Warner Bros.’ highest-ranking studio executive. (A Warner Bros.

Don't Worry Darling is the newest film from Booksmart director Olivia Wilde. It's been the focus of much behind-the-scenes drama and CBC's Eli Glasner says ...

More interesting is the Svengali in the polo shirt, Pine, as the dear leader Frank. Instead, as the scales fall from Alice's eyes, logic is sacrificed for superficial thrills and spills. But the question of what we see and the assumptions we readily believe are at the heart of her new film. Yes, we watch the young beautiful people doing adult things with and to each other. At best there's a tenaciousness to Pugh, a steely resolve that was first glimpsed in the fantastic 2016 film And where do the men drive to each day? Don't Worry Darling opens in a 1950s cul-de-sac in the desert. But love is more than being horny and there's little here to cement the relationship we've been sold. A hot script, A-list stars — what better way to build on the buzz from her hilarious feature film debut There's also more than a whiff of misogyny in the idea that Wilde's set was especially chaotic. In a perfectly synchronized suburban setting, all the wives make breakfasts for their husbands, then teeter onto the driveway in heels to kiss the menfolk goodbye. Harry did not spit on Chris, in fact.” -- @oliviawilde on #spitgate

More tonight on @CBS at 11:35/10:35c.

The film has its flaws, Johanna Schneller writes, but they aren't enough to justify the over-the-top critiques.

During the just-concluded Toronto International Film Festival, I saw a lot of movies made by women in which white men were the villains, enough to make me think, “This is precisely why the patriarchy didn’t make space for women to make movies. According to Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times, some of his counterparts are uncomfortable even with the undeniably artistically successful film Women Talking, written and directed by Sarah Polley, which details horrific sexual and physical abuse in a tight-knit Mennonite community. The men in The Stepford Wives are in a panic because they don’t want their wives to have independent lives. Part of the reason women are losing rights, I believe, is that too many good men are staying quiet. (We certainly see that in the sex scene that appears in the trailer, in which Jack pleasures Alice.) They insist they’re not controlling their wives, they’re rescuing them from unpleasantness. By contrast, the men in Don’t Worry Darling tell themselves they’re putting their wives first. Could it be that, because the twist involves male nefariousness, it gets less of a pass? Many complain that its third-act twist is a stretch, and it’s true, the storytelling is murkier than it should be. But it’s not as if the twists in, say, the critically beloved Fight Club and The Truman Show weren’t stretches; or as if the plot point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where billions of people return to Earth after a five-year absence makes perfect sense. Might it be because Wilde is a triple threat – intelligent, ambitious, beautiful – and that’s one too many gifts, especially for a woman who doesn’t seem interested in playing nice? First, there’s the gritstorm of gossip that clouded Don’t Worry Darling’s production and premiere. Then why are so many film critics – who, it must be said, are mostly men – treating this particular movie as if it’s an affront to their eyeballs, to cinema, to humankind?

Forget all the press hoopla, the Harry Styles spitting on Chris Pine rumours, the internet drama of it all. Director Olivia Wilde's Stepford Wives-meets-Mad Men ...

It’s a standout among early-00s hidden-camera shows, now arriving on streaming. Two weeks after its Venice premiere, the Marilyn Monroe quasi-biopic arrives, starring Ana de Armas (above) as the iconic Hollywood blonde, and trailing clouds of controversy. Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is on board for this dance reimagining of Tommy Shelby and his gang’s exploits, which Knight says is for “people who don’t usually watch dance”. Off the back of a warmly received Edinburgh run, the Yorkshire comic – bursting with positivity at the return of in-person standup – takes to the road with new show Buzzed. Need a bit of sparkle in your September? South Korea’s global prominence in pop culture is celebrated with a blockbuster show that also aspires to put Squid Game and Gangnam Style into some kind of historical perspective. The great South African artist (work above) is a rugged humanist and cosmic speculator, graphic artist and film-maker, a protean talent with a relentless nagging sense of history. This nine-date tour is both a celebration of Digga D’s recent successes, as well as solidifying drill’s position in UK rap. It is also one of the most ambitious, taking in 4.5bn years of Earth’s history, as two choruses and two soloists tell the story of life on this planet, and humanity’s impact upon it. This contemplative story of sisters reconnecting will be catnip to those in tune with the South Korean auteur’s improvisational rhythms. If you know and love the work of director Hong Sang-soo, you’re in for a treat. In addition, it showcases Bella Ramsey as a talent to watch.

The disastrous "Don't Worry Darling" press tour with Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles and Florence Pugh got everyone talking. But what is the movie itself trying ...

It is only fitting that “Don’t Worry Darling” was released after a promotional tour inadvertently drawing attention to a web of alleged feuds between the director and her actors, whether over casting decisions or on-set behavior. Were “Don’t Worry Darling” truly interested in interrogating the structures that perpetuate misogyny, it might have pondered the role of complicit women, like Shelley, who steadfastly betray their own. But after a single viewing of “ [Don’t Worry Darling](https://www.washingtonpost.com/movies/2022/09/20/dont-worry-darling-movie-review/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5)” — an actual film released Friday, not just a vehicle for [star-studded scandals](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/09/06/dont-worry-darling-press-tour/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5) — it would be hard to maintain this ignorance. Does Jack trust Frank (Chris Pine), the Peterson-esque head of the company who runs the town with his wife, Shelley (Gemma Chan)? The central depiction of domestic bliss is brought to us by actors Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, who play young married couple Alice and Jack Chambers. The women are brainwashed into believing this is reality, while the men remain aware of its artificiality.

The sultry thriller is stuffed with dazzling stars like Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Kate Berlant, and Wilde herself, all ...

This time, she's racing to reality with no Jack on the other side to drop her back in, but lots of men in red jumpsuits on her tail. Alone in an apartment with the corpse of her partner, what is she to do? A knowing Bunny proclaims, "If a man dies here, he dies in the real world." Has she essentially awakened and overheard just enough of her husband's communications with the pursuing men that she realizes killing him will be the death of Victory? Other uses of red in the film suggest that the plane was a warning. Or maybe Bunny was hip to Frank's podcast in the real world, and she was the one to initiate the "move" to Victory. Hard to say, as her reveal — and all the world-building that comes after — are done in a mad dash to a climax. Like Alice's visions of hollow eggshells and the house closing in on her, the red plane crashing into the mountain seems to be her brain trying to alert her to danger. The first sighting of a red plane is the toy one that a mournful Margaret (KiKi Layne) holds. As Jack and Alice live in an apartment that seems on the less-spectacular side, perhaps the rattle is a nearby elevated train? When the men of Victory presumably go to work on the mysterious Victory Project, they're actually just going to whatever real-world job they need to support this lifestyle. However, this picture-perfect world begins to fracture when Alice experiences horrid visions, urging her to question not only what the Victory Project is but also the authority of its founder, a smirking bossman called Frank (Chris Pine).

"This film was such an epic story on such a large scale to shoot, all while during peak Covid times. For that I will always be grateful."

Any suggestion of conflict between the studio and Olivia is simply not true." “We are so proud of the work that Olivia Wilde has done making this incredibly beautiful and entertaining film and look forward to collaborating with her again," they wrote. It’s crazy to think that each set up and scene takes a large portion of a day to execute, and on this one...there was a lot to execute!" To all of you who helped make this, your dedication and love was seen daily — thank you." "This film was such an epic story on such a large scale to shoot, all while during peak Covid times. Amid this uptick in ~drama,~ Flo finally posted about the darn movie on her Instagram.