Olivia Wilde has responded to rumours that she and Florence Pugh did not get along during the production of Don't Worry Darling.
The movie tells the story of a young couple played by Pugh and Harry Styles who live in an idealistic town in 1950s America. The town is inhabited by residents all working for the same company run by a mysterious figurehead played by Chris Pine.
Wilde directed the movie, and towards the end of production, speculation mounted online that Pugh became uncomfortable on the set due to the real-life romance emerging between Wilde and Styles.
Don't Worry Darling premiered at the Venice Film Festival this week and Pugh was conspicuous by her absence in the pre-screening press conferences, though she did appear as the movie was played later that evening.
Wilde has suggested that Pugh could not commit to the press conferences due to her work on the second Dune movie, while brushing off the rumours of a falling out with her actor.
“Florence is a force and we are so grateful that she is able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune," she said.
I know as a director how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day so I’m very grateful to her and Denis Villeneuve for helping us – we’re really thrilled we’ll get to celebrate her work tonight.
“I can’t say enough how honoured I am to have her as our lead. She’s amazing in the film and as for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself.
"I don’t feel the need to contribute, I think it’s sufficiently well nourished.”
Don't Worry Darling controversies
The production and release of Don't Worry Darling has been marred by controversy.
Prior to the premiere, Wilde conducted an interview with Variety in a series of emails in which she detailed how she fired Shia LaBeouf from the movie.
He was originally in place as the character eventually played by Styles.
However, LaBeouf would deny these rumours and actually presented evidence for himself - emails exchanged between him and Wilde about his amicable departure from the movie.
Styles, meanwhile, has received criticism for his accent in Don't Worry Darling, while many fans have questioned the body language of the actors and director involved during the promotion of the movie in Venice.
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