Shocking! At the Venice Film Festival, Florence Pugh misses the press conference for ‘Don’t Worry Darling’

According to the Los Angeles Times

Florence Pugh will not attend a press conference for “Don’t Worry Darling” at the Venice Film Festival on Monday due to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Olivia Wilde film.

The top-billed star of “Don’t Worry, Darling” is currently shooting the sequel to “Dune” in Budapest and will not arrive in Venice until Monday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Times.

But while she won’t be able to attend the “Don’t Worry, Darling” press conference at noon, Pugh will still walk the red carpet for the psychological thriller’s opening night later that day.

News of Pugh’s limited presence at Venice

Because of her “Dune” responsibilities, Pugh is unlikely to do any press for “Don’t Worry Darling” outside of the Venice Film Festival, according to The Wrap.

The news of Pugh’s reduced regional presence in Venice comes after a public spat between “Don’t Worry, Darling” director Martin Scorsese and actor Shia LaBeouf fueled rumors of conflict behind the scenes of the high-profile project.

LaBeouf tried to accuse Wilde of deceiving him about his dismissal from the film, which was presumed to star LaBeouf and Pugh as husband and wife Jack and Alice.

However, in a new interview with Variety, Wilde claimed that she fired LaBeouf (and replaced him with pop musician Harry Styles) because his creative process “was not amenable to the ethos” she expects from her films, prompting LaBeouf to defend himself.

In response to the Variety interview

LaBeouf dismissed Wilde’s story, claiming he “quit the film due to a lack of real-time implementation.” In an email to Wilde published by Variety, LaBeouf rejected the filmmaker’s comments as “alluring clickbait, as I am still persona non grata and may remain so for the rest of my life.”

(LaBeouf’s notoriety has recently suffered due to assault and abuse allegations leveled by his ex-girlfriend, singer FKA twigs.) Around the time LaBeouf spoke out, a video of Wilde trying to persuade him to leave “Don’t Worry Darling” was unearthed online, leading to speculation that the filmmaker was lying.

Also Read: Startling! Florence Pugh will walk the red carpet at the Venice press conference for ‘Don’t Worry Darling’

“I don’t feel like I’m ready to give up on this yet, and I, too, am heartbroken, and I want to figure this out,” Wilde quoted in the clip to LaBeouf. “I think this might be a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I’m wondering whether you’re willing to give it a shot with me, with us.”

What do you think if she did commit, if she truly puts her heart and soul into it at this point, and if you guys can make peace — and I regard your point of view, I regard her points of view — but if you guys can do it? Is there hope?”

Lakshmi Durga