Will she, won’t she? Social media is abuzz with intrigue over whether Florence Pugh will be in Venice tomorrow as her film Don’t Worry Darling makes its World Premiere. This is a thing, because of rampant speculation there might be fireworks at the press conference, as inquiring minds ask director/co-writer and co-star Olivia Wilde to clarify comments she made about her New Line/Warner Bros movie, the circumstances of Shia La Beouf’s withdrawal, and the rumors that Pugh wasn’t happy when Wilde and La Beouf’s replacement Harry Styles reportedly began dating after they met on the set, and might have been distracted.
So here’s what we’ve heard. Pugh won’t be at the press conference at 12:15 pm, but that is because her flight from the Budapest set of the Dune sequel doesn’t land until 1:30 or 2 PM, sparing her whatever press scrutiny will be directed toward her director and costar. Pugh will walk the red carpet, do the photo call, and watch the movie with her cohorts including Wilde and Styles. She will then jump right back on a plane because director Denis Villenueve expects her to get right back to work Tuesday morning. This was always the plan, and attention is being paid only after a candid and provocative cover story on Wilde by our sibling publication Variety, followed by La Beouf’s social media refutation of Wilde’s assertion she fired him. Warner Bros inadvertently fanned the smoke by only today confirming its press conference attendee list without Pugh’s name. But we’re told Pugh is following a script written weeks ago, before all this dust kicked up. Pugh did a Harpers Bazaar cover to promote the movie but isn’t doing anything else, but she has the excuse of being rooted to Budapest until Dune 2 wraps the first week of October. Of course,
Now, Timothee Chalamet was given ample time to do the red carpet and press conference for Bones and All, and he is the star of the Dune franchise. And both Don’t Worry Darling and Dune are Warner Bros films while Chalamet’s Bones and All is MGM/United Artists Releasing. So go figure. It would be somewhat understandable if she chose not to field questions when she was a bystander on whatever predicament this film faces. Let’s see if all this helps the movie by boosting awareness, or is a hurtful distraction. We’ll soon know tomorrow from the first reviews whether the film is a worthy follow to Wilde’s Book Smart, or something more Pugh-trid. Wow, it is late here in Venice.
