Is the Don’t Worry Darling drama part of an elaborate publicity campaign?

Cockburn loves a little drama, but it’s proving difficult to work out who the real villain is amid the continued theatrics of the Don’t Worry Darling cast.

The film concerns a 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community. Don’t Worry Darling (Cockburn feels compelled to ask why there is no comma) was directed by Olivia Wilde, and started filming what seems like decades ago

One thing is certain: the crew saved their best performances for the movie’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival instead of the actual thing. The film has been branded a disappointment by critics, who claim that Harry Styles, Wilde’s boyfriend who plays a lead role, is “charisma-free.“

In the lead-up to the release, there’s purportedly been a love triangle, a sacking, a custody battle and some spit. Ah, Hollywood is back, baby!

It all started when, while filming, director Olivia Wilde split with her longtime partner Jason Sudeikis. This in itself wasn’t exciting but things spiced up when she then began dating Harry Styles, where it was rumored that the affair started on set.

Sudeikis’s lawyers then served Wilde custody papers during a promotional stop for the movie. But all publicity is good publicity, right?

Florence Pugh has been another thorn in Wilde’s side. Pugh seems less than impressed to star in the film, particularly because she feels like her performance has been reduced to sex scenes. Rumors have also been flying about Pugh’s disdain for Wilde and Styles’s relationship.

And what’s a good old fashioned scandal without Shia LaBeouf? In August, Wilde told Variety that she had fired LaBeouf because she felt that she “could not create a safe, trusting environment” with him there.

In rebuttal, LaBeouf shared screenshots of text messages and a video from Wilde with Variety that he claims are proof that he quit and that Wilde actually wanted him to continue with the project. In the video, it was reported that Wilde made an allusion to LaBeouf and Pugh feuding, and seemed to take LaBeouf’s side.

Since then the LaBeouf-Pugh spat has been a “he said, she said” situation, but the Venice film premiere did nothing but exacerbate the rumors, as Pugh seemed unable to look Wilde and Styles in the eye. There was also a bizarre moment in which Styles appeared to spit on Chris Pine. Pine’s people have denied that any such spitting occurred, calling it a “result of an odd online illusion.” Cockburn remains suspicious.

go on watch it again pic.twitter.com/m8GdaeY480

— maya (@cherryvoicenote) September 6, 2022

Cockburn wonders if the uproar signals the resurgence of Old Hollywood. In the good old days, before HR tyrants and the condemnation of anything fun, co-stars would have fistfights on set, or a juicy, sordid affair.

But some are more cynical. One film industry insider, who was in Venice for the premiere told Cockburn: “This is a black-and-white publicity stunt. It’s been trending all over social media and the film itself is mediocre at best. A great PR ploy, in fairness.”

He added: “It’s a shame that it tanked because the cast itself is very good, but it’s the gossip that has ratcheted up interest in this release more than anything.”

Whether the histrionics are part of a genius PR campaign or the result of throwing several difficult Hollywood celebs in a confined area, one thing is for certain: the cast of Don’t Worry Darling are unlikely to be keeping in touch after the press tour.