Olivia Wilde admits media storm surrounding ‘Don’t Worry Darling” “hurt the film”
Olivia Wilde has addressed the media controversy surrounding Don’t Worry Darling, which she says “hurt the film”.
Wilde has returned to the director’s chair for the first time in four years for her new film, The Invite, and has now reflected on the saga that followed her last movie in 2022.
The director and actor found her personal life being spoken about more than the film itself due to her divorce from Jason Sudeikis, as well as her relationship with Don’t Worry Darling star Harry Styles.
Additionally, there was a report that claimed Wilde and Florence Pugh clashed on set, which the director categorically denied last month, stating, “I’ve never had a screaming match on my set. I was never not available on set. I wanted to be like, ‘None of this is true.’”
Furthermore, footage from the Venice Film Festival sent social media into a frenzy when people alleged that Styles spat on his co-star, Chris Pine, which, despite everyone involved in the incident debunking it, still added to the conversation surrounding the film rather than about the film.
Now, in the latest episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast, Wilde admitted, “I think it did hurt the film for sure because we didn’t get to have the conversations about what the film was trying to say, which was a shame because so many people worked so hard to make that film in the depths of Covid.”
She added of the immense work that went into the movie that was ultimately overshadowed by scandal, “We made the film for $30 million. I think it looks like a much more expensive film because of the work,” of people involved in the movie who turned up “every day testing for Covid, wearing masks, wearing shields, working together, living in this bubble, showing up to tell a story that everyone felt really passionate about.”
However, she said the story “was relevant and significant enough to, to show up in these uncertain times.”
Wilde conceded, “But we never got to talk about that, so I think it hurt the film. It hurt me for sure, because I was so naive up until that point about the grinder, the garbage disposal that the internet can be.”
She has come out of the other end with a newfound perspective; however, adding, “I have enough of a perspective on it and that allows me to experience it as a fascinating time. It is interesting to witness a tornado from the inside. But now I look back and I think, oh, the people were being given headlines without context, and it’s a natural instinct to start trying to fill those in.”
When asked by Theroux if she has “PTSD” from the experience, she admitted that she was fearful that the press cycle for The Invite would “feel quite traumatising”, but instead, Wilde has been able to have “wonderfully interesting” conversations about the film and has found it to be “kind of healing because I understand that it’s not always a garbage disposal”.
The Invite is in cinemas now.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.