Florence Pugh Skips “Don’t Worry Baby” Premiere in New York – Rolling Stone

Burbank, we have problem.

After the release of the series, which is full of drama, Olivia Wilde‘s do not worry my love At the Venice Film Festival, Warner Bros. strives to avoid any further collisions between director Wilde and its star, Florence Boge. We still have 16 days before the film opens on September 23, the age of a campaign that has sparked a media frenzy that fuels everything from Harry StilesSputum (alleged) in contact with Pew’s eye, or lack thereof, is dissected.

But the studio won’t have to put up with another tense and heavily scrutinized press event in the coming weeks. That’s because there’s only one on the calendar — the movie’s red carpet premiere in New York on September 19 — and Pugh won’t be attending, according to two insiders.

(Following the publication of this story, Warner Bros. confirmed in a press release that Pugh will not participate in a question-and-answer session with the film’s crew in New York.)

The official reason for Pugh’s absence is that the actress is busy with filming Dune: Part Two In Budapest and director Denis Villeneuve can’t get her out of the press event for another film. (I’ve already left Dune Select one time to attend do not worry my loveWorld premiere in Venice but skipped the press conference.)

“From what I understand, there is friction, but I don’t know why,” one of the sources on do not worry my love group says rolling rock, He talks about Wilde and Pugh. “She obviously chose not to be a part of PR,” she said of Pugh. “It is clearly not beneficial for Olivia not to be a part of PR. It should be Florence’s decision.”

Two additional sources involved in the film say that tension between Wilde and Pugh began during production in 2020 around the time that Wilde and Styles, the film’s lead man, became a couple and the relationship with Pugh was not good. Wilde, who broke up with partner Jason Sudeikis around the same time, has been going strong with Styles ever since. Although Wilde isn’t the first director to date her lead role – Steven Spielberg started dating future wife Kate Capshaw while filming Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomLet’s take one example among many – the practice has become more disaffected in recent years due to the subordinate-leader dynamic and the possibility of favoritism in the group. “If she betrayed her [partner] With Harry Styles, and Florence knowing about it, I could see that something,” said the first source.

But another source disputed this idea. “Do I think she and Flo hate each other? Of course not. Was it fun and interesting on set? Absolutely. They were. [Wilde and Styles overtly] Romantic or preferred? no. “She was very professional,” the source said. rolling rock. This and other sources blamed sexism for the heavy scrutiny Wilde faces. Another said, “No one would talk about this if it was a male director.”

At the Venice premiere, Wilde and Poe sat on opposite sides of a row with the actor Chris Pine He sits between Styles and Wilde. The pair sat strategically apart from each other as their relationship threatened to overpower the movie itself. A representative for Wilde did not respond to a request for comment for this story. A Pew rep declined to comment.

Although the psychological thriller set for the awards season campaign, do not worry my love You won’t have a pre-opening press junk set and have a few posts planned, none involving Wild and Bug in the same place at the same time. Based on the reviews — the movie has a rating of 41 percent on RottenTomatoes — Pugh appears to be the best at finding awards season appeal.

Not all headaches surround do not worry my love Involving Wilde and Bug. In April, Warner Bros. She promotes the film at CinemaCon in Las Vegas when Wilde receives custody papers from Sudekis on stage, an unprecedented moment at the studio’s annual screening of upcoming films.

This was just a taste of what was to come. in diverse In an interview, Wilde noted that she shot the original Shia LaBeoufs and replaced it with Styles because LaBeouf’s process “wasn’t conducive to the spirit that I claim in my productions.” LaBeouf then responded that he left the film due to lack of training time. (He also shared a video of Wilde appearing to lean on LaBeouf’s side amid his feud with Pugh when she said, “I think this might be a wake-up call to Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’d be open to giving this shot with me,” With us “.

By the time of the Venice premiere, reporters at the festival were analyzing body language and interacting. Variety reported that Pugh and Wilde avoided eye contact during the four-minute clapping. (An insider scoffed at this characterization, noting that it’s harder to make eye contact when standing in line rather than face-to-face.) Then a video of Styles that appears, most likely, to spit on Pine as the pop singer sat in his seat at the premiere Spread widely.

Pine’s representative dropped the idea of ​​spitting Styles in a statement submitted to rolling rock. “This is a ridiculous story…a complete fabrication and the result of a bizarre illusion online that is clearly deceptive and allows for foolish speculation. Just to clarify, Harry Styles hasn’t spit on Chris Pine……there is nothing but respect between these two men and any suggestion otherwise It is a blatant attempt to create a drama that simply does not exist.”

Even every talk of the drama can have the effect of creating real tension. One of the sources who worked on the film said: rolling rock That any Wilde-Pugh friction “wasn’t there on set. It was really fun. It’s shocking to me that all of this happens… I’ve never really noticed tension on this set. Not a single second.”

However, the same source understands the tabloid craze surrounding the film. “I think Shia LaBeouf is one thing. I guess [Wilde] And Flo is something else. I think she and Harry are something. I believe her and [Sudekis] Something, the way he served his attorney’s papers. “It’s just a salad of good chatter,” the source said.

Despite all the controversy surrounding it do not worry my loveThe studio does not expect this to negatively affect his performance at the box office or the reception he will receive from Styles’ fan legion.

Update 12:31 PM: This story has been updated with confirmation from Warner Bros. that Pugh will not participate in a publicity event for the film in New York.