According to Olivia Wilde’s Instagram bio, she calls herself a “miniature enthusiast”. Her psychological thriller film, Don’t Worry Darling, came in theaters last year, but it had plenty of drama on the way to the big screen.
The Florence Pugh and Harry Styles-starring film, directed by Olivia Wilde, has faced its fair share of difficulties along the way, in addition to dealing with many complications brought on by the pandemic.
But she has discovered that launching a project into the world inevitably involved giving up control. After almost 20 years in the industry, Wilde’s directorial debut, Booksmart, changed the way Hollywood viewed her. But in terms of column inches, it paled in comparison to Don’t Worry Darling, which has emerged as the year’s most talked-about film.
For the unversed, Black Widow actress, Florence Pugh joined the cast in April 2020. And Harry Styles was added in September to take Shia LaBeouf’s place after filming had already started.
Olivia Wilde on Directing Don’t Worry Darling
The director of Don’t Worry Darling, Olivia Wilde, agreed with the film’s lead actress, in a 2022 Elle interview after the film’s release regarding the media attention paid to the film’s s*x scenes. The scene in question involved Jack, played by Harry Styles, having oral s*x with Alice, played by Florence Pugh, and was featured prominently in the trailer.
The Tron: Legacy actress stated:
“I was interested in acknowledging female pleasure that doesn’t come from penetration. But it’s interesting because Florence very wisely pointed out that a lot of attention has been given to the s*x scenes. And I think she’s so right. I completely agree with her that it’s overshadowing everything else that the movie’s about, which is so interestingly ironic because one of the uses of s*x in Victory is as a tool of distraction. When Florence pointed out that this film is so much bigger and better than just the s*x scenes, I was so happy that she said that because I feel the same way.”
Unexpectedly, Pugh did not actively promote Don’t Worry Darling, a decision that was widely reported in the mainstream media. However, the actress did address the intense focus on the movie’s s*x scenes in an August interview with Harper’s Bazaar (2022).
Back then, Pugh said.
“When it’s reduced to your s*x scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry.”
In addition, the actress argued:
“Obviously, the nature of hiring the most famous pop star in the world, you’re going to have conversations like that. That’s just not what I’m going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that.”
Olivia Wilde Was ‘Upset’ About Don’t Worry Darling’s Trailer Cut
The first trailer for Olivia Wilde’s 2022 psychological thriller, Don’t Worry Darling, which starred Harry Styles (Jack) and Florence Pugh (Alice) as a married couple, sent fans into a frenzy. The viewers were particularly spellbound by a fleeting, graphic glimpse of Jack having oral s*x with Alice.
As its trailer was being edited because s*x scenes involving Styles and Pugh were deemed “too provocative,” director Olivia Wilde said she was “upset” about the decision.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Wilde claimed that the Motion Picture Association (MPA) removed “a lot” from her initial edit. In her words:
“There’s a lot that had to be taken out of the trailer. The MPA [Motion Picture Association] came down hard on me and the trailer at the last second and I had to cut some shots, which I was upset about because I thought they it took it up another notch.”
She further argued:
“But of course, we still live in a really puritanical society. I do think the lack of eroticism in American film is kind of new.”
Before the movie’s release, Wilde told Variety that she did not want to give anything away about it. She did, however, point out that s*x scenes typically favor the male perspective in most mainstream productions.
“Why are we more comfortable with female pleasure when it’s two women on film? In heteros*xual scenes in film, the focus on men as the recipients of pleasure is almost ubiquitous.”
Well, also note that critics gave Don’t Worry Darling mixed reviews, praising Pugh’s performance, the cinematography, and the production design while criticizing the script and direction. The film’s $35 million budget resulted in a $87 million profit.
Don’t Worry Darling is streaming on Max.
Source- Elle
