Tag: shia-labeouf

Shia LaBeouf had already planned to come out of hiding late last week. He gave an interview about how he has converted to Catholicism, he’s speaking about his sobriety (he’s been sober/dry for the better part two years), he credits FKA Twigs’ lawsuit as a wakeup call to get help and he claims to be committed to making things right with all of the people he’s wronged. You can choose to believe what you want of all of that – I find it all very convenient and manipulative, but I hope for the sake of his infant daughter that he’s no longer the abusive monster FKA Twigs described.

So all of that was part of Shia’s planned redemption arc. Then Olivia Wilde addressed the fact that Shia left/was fired from Don’t Worry Darling just before the production began. Olivia told Variety that she fired Shia because “his process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions” and that he requires “a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances.” She said, repeatedly, that it was her responsibility to “protect” Florence and support her, so that’s why Olivia fired Shia. Except Olivia Wilde was lying her ass off. You can believe what you want about Shia’s redemption or his new manipulation, but honey, that man came with receipts. Shia provided those receipts to Variety, and he also provided them with a copy of an email he sent to Olivia right after her Variety cover dropped.

Shia LaBeouf has come forward to dispute the assertion that he was fired from “Don’t Worry Darling” by director Olivia Wilde just as production was starting in 2020. LaBeouf asserts that he chose to leave the production because he didn’t feel the actors were given adequate time to rehearse. In the Aug. 24 cover story with Variety, Wilde opened up for the first time about LaBeouf’s departure from her film.

LaBeouf’s representatives declined Variety‘s request for comment on the matter when contacted prior to the story’s publication. But in email messages sent to Variety on Thursday, LaBeouf denied he was fired, instead claiming he “quit the film due to lack of rehearsal time” on Aug. 17, 2020. The actor forwarded two emails he claims to have sent to Wilde on Wednesday and Thursday after the Variety cover story was published. In the emails, LaBeouf wrote, “You and I both know the reasons for my exit. I quit your film because your actors and I couldn’t find time to rehearse.”

LaBeouf sent Variety screenshots of text messages he sent to Wilde in August 2020, where he told Wilde he’d have to back out of “Don’t Worry Darling.” According to the texts, LaBeouf and Wilde met in person in Los Angeles to discuss his exit from the film on Aug. 16, 2020. Later that night, Wilde texted him, “Thanks for letting me in on your thought process. I know that isn’t fun. Doesn’t feel good to say no to someone, and I respect your honesty. I’m honored you were willing to go there with me, for me to tell a story with you. I’m gutted because it could have been something special. I want to make clear how much it means to me that you trust me. That’s a gift I’ll take with me.”

Variety has learned that the texts were sent before the production learned what Shia’s immersive method entailed. LaBeouf claims he “officially” quit “Don’t Worry Darling” the next day on Aug. 17, 2020, according to the email he sent to Wilde on Thursday morning.

In his email to Variety, he included a video that Wilde allegedly sent him on Aug. 19, 2020, two days after he claimed he quit. In the video, Wilde is driving a car and says she is “not ready to give up on this yet.” She also alludes to tension between LaBeouf and Florence Pugh, who stars in the film as Alice, the wife of LaBeouf and Styles’ character Jack.

“I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I, too, am heartbroken and I want to figure this out,” she says in the video. “You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us. If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace — and I respect your point of view, I respect hers — but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope? Will you let me know?”

In another message sent at an unspecified time between Aug. 16 and Aug. 20, Wilde texted LaBeouf, “You don’t have to be in my movies but don’t ever doubt me. We pinky promised. That means something in my house.”

[From Variety]

You can read Shia’s full email in all of its passive aggressive glory over at Variety – I will say again, I have no doubt that Shia is still a piece of sh-t, and his woe-is-me tone combined with his passive-aggression leaves me cold. But again, he kept the receipts and they prove his side of things. In this narrow issue, Shia has credibility and he outed Olivia as a complete f–king liar. It was an ongoing conversation for a week between Olivia and Shia about rehearsing and his method and I believe it was clear to everyone that Shia was not a good fit. But the video message Olivia sent him after he quit is… shocking. The reference to “Miss Flo” needing a “wake-up call” and the reference to the idea that Shia and Florence Pugh had already fallen out? And Olivia suggesting that Florence isn’t really “committed”? Oh, NO. Worry, Darling. And for Olivia to f–king lie so blatantly to a trade paper? Wow.

she wanted florence to make peace with an abuser you cannot make this up pic.twitter.com/T51dAYcElD

— kay (@harrymotif) August 26, 2022

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, cover courtesy of Variety.

Olivia Wilde covers the latest issue of Variety, as we discussed yesterday. The piece was full of melodrama, shade, weird framing and gossip. I didn’t even excerpt any of the stuff about Shia LaBeouf, so let’s devote a post to that mess. When Wilde was putting Don’t Worry Darling together, Shia was one of the first actors she hired after Florence Pugh. She hired Shia for the main husband, the role played by Harry Styles now. She ended up firing Shia, at least according to her, in pre-production and hiring Harry Styles last minute. Then the FKA Twigs lawsuit/abuse story broke and it all looked connected. Here’s what Olivia said about it to Variety:

With her key actor in place, Wilde teamed up with Pugh to find their Jack. Wilde liked Styles’ work in “Dunkirk,” and had heard from producers on the film that the musician was “an absolute dream, and went above and beyond in terms of being prepared.” Pugh was also enthusiastic about the idea of Styles joining the film, Wilde says — but he was touring and unavailable. Eventually, Shia LaBeouf landed the part.

But in 2020, as production was just starting, Wilde made the decision to fire LaBeouf. The studio cited a scheduling conflict. Now, for the first time, Wilde speaks about the situation: “I say this as someone who is such an admirer of his work. His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions. He has a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances. I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job.”

A few months after LaBeouf’s exit from “Don’t Worry Darling,” his ex-girlfriend and “Honey Boy” co-star, FKA Twigs, sued him for sexual battery. (The lawsuit goes to trial in April.) The next month, LaBeouf split from his agency, CAA, and entered an inpatient facility.

“A lot came to light after this happened that really troubled me, in terms of his behavior,” Wilde says. “I find myself just really wishing him health and evolution because I believe in restorative justice. But for our film, what we really needed was an energy that was incredibly supportive. Particularly with a movie like this, I knew that I was going to be asking Florence to be in very vulnerable situations, and my priority was making her feel safe and making her feel supported.”

[From Variety]

Apparently, Shia is currently disputing some of this version now. I absolutely believe that Olivia habitually frames situations so that she’s both the heroine and the victim, so I could see her fudging some of this story. But I think the broad strokes are correct – there was something “off” about Shia and the vibe was wrong. He has always been a Method actor and he has a reputation as a giant douche as a coworker, even beyond FKA Twigs’ #MeToo story.

Now, all that being said, I don’t think Harry Styles is really going to get it done in this role. It’s funny that the Variety piece was all “there’s Oscar buzz” and Olivia is all “Harry is amazing, he’s a true actor!” The movie hasn’t even premiered in Venice yet. And I have serious doubts about how the critics will respond. This is one of the clips which was just released this week. It’s… so bad. It’s not just Harry’s completely dodgy accent work, it’s Florence’s bored line reading when it’s time for Harry’s closeup. A big YIKES.

Repost from @RollingStone via Instagram | See a never-before-seen clip from #DontWorryDarling, in theaters September 23, starring Harry Styles and Florence Pugh. pic.twitter.com/evjwMTOsM5

— Don’t Worry Darling (@dontworrydarlin) August 24, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, ‘Don’t Worry Darling’.