Olivia Wilde On Her Roles In “Shitty Movies”: “I Did Those To Learn All The Cautionary Tales That Would Help Me Define Myself As A Director”

Well, the lead-up to the world premiere of Olivia Wilde‘s sophomore feature “Don’t Worry Darling” at the Venice Film Festival this year has been …dramatic so far. Speculation abounds as to why Florence Pugh‘s press for the upcoming film remains limited, as well as what may have happened between her and Wilde during production. And, of course, there’s the “he said/she said” dynamic between Wilde and Shia LaBeouf and the circumstances around why LaBeouf left the movie, with Harry Styles replacing him. So, the question remains: will there be any other drama before the film premieres on the Lido on September 5?

READ MORE: Shia LaBeouf Claims He Wasn’t Fired From ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ & Says He Quit Due To Lack Of Rehearsal Time

Indiewire reports that thanks to a new interview between Wilde and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Interview Magazine, there may indeed be more drama brewing. Granted, the Q&A between Wilde and Gyllenhaal happened before things around “Don’t Worry Darling” got so scandalous, but Wilde’s comments will surely stoke the fire further. So, what did Wilde say this time? Well, in short, she attributes her experience acting in “shitty movies” earlier in her career to teaching her how to direct a movie properly. And while Wilde doesn’t name any films she deems shitty explicitly, her comments may have further damn her in the eyes of the public.

“It helps me navigate any feelings about movies that I don’t think are great when I look back on them, and it helps me understand them within the context of my proxy film school experience,” Wilde told Gyllenhaal. “I’ve made like 5,000 times more shitty movies than you have.” Gyllenhaal directed her first feature film last year, “The Lost Daughter.” Wilde went on: “I’ve been in some really bad ones, and now I think, ‘I did those to learn all the cautionary tales that would help me define myself as a director: how I will never speak to a crew, how I will never speak to actors, how I will never schedule a movie.’ All of that comes from those bad experiences.”

So, on the one hand, fair enough. Experience is the best teacher, whether good or bad, and Wilde explains herself in a way a student of any artform will understand. At the same time, though, these comments are patronizing at best and supercilious at worst. And given LaBeouf’s response to Wilde’s comment about his departure from the film, Wilde may not indeed know the best ways to speak to actors and crew members. The same goes for Pugh distancing herself from the film. That may indeed be partially due to Pugh’s involvement in next “Dune” movie, but it’s clear Pugh also has other reasons for avoiding publicity for “Don’t Worry Darling.”

The other big question here is, what movies in Wilde’s previous acting performances does she think are “shitty”? Wilde made her big screen debut in 2004’s “The Girl Next Door,” and since then, she’s starred in several movies, including “Alpha Dog,” “Tron: Legacy,” “The Change-Up,” “In Time,” “Rush,” and many more. However, the only movie Wilde references in the interview is 2014’s “The Lazarus Effect,” directed by Mark Duplass, and her comments are hardly derogatory about the film or Duplass. So, it’s not entirely clear what films Wilde means when she mentions “shitty films.”

Wilde has other things to say about her upcoming movie during the interview, including the frustration of acting in a minor role in “Don’t Worry Darling” while also directing, how the different energies different actors bring to a movie set may “completely shift the energy” of a film (an interesting tangent due to Wilde’s ongoing feud with LaBeouf). She also spoke about how she pushed a “sexy, sexy, sexy” vibe for the new movie. “I wanted it to be a hot movie that’s a good time and that if later it leads to some conversations, that’s great,” Wilde told Gyllenhaal.  

Sure, but it also feels like Wilde and her recent comments have stoked a different kind of heat before “Don’t Worry Darling” premieres. Will Wilde stop putting her foot in her mouth before next week’s premiere? Whatever happens, this movie will remain the talk of the festival until it finally screens. After Venice, “Don’t Worry Darling” hits theaters on September 23.