Cracking Spitgate: A recap of all the "Don’t Worry Darling" Venice drama
September 6, 2022 10:05 AM Subscribe
Ha, I was wondering if this would show up here. Pretty slow news day I guess? Well, for my part — having only just learned of this extremely tedious tempest in a teapot — I’ll only say this about Mr. Pine’s reactions:
- his “thousand yard stares” at the press conference could easily be a person with jet lag who is also trying to listen with translation headphones on, the faraway looks could be a simple side effect of a person doing something he’s not used to doing all that often.
- or he could be genuinely annoyed at Mr. Styles’s really quite boorish responses. I know I would have a hard time not rolling my eyes at some of those answers
- On the spitting reaction, it just looks like odd timing to me. Without the (mostly hearsay and speculative) context, it kinda looks like Pine just saw a spicy update on his smartphone and is trying not to crack up
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:59 AM on September 6, 2022
- his “thousand yard stares” at the press conference could easily be a person with jet lag who is also trying to listen with translation headphones on, the faraway looks could be a simple side effect of a person doing something he’s not used to doing all that often.
- or he could be genuinely annoyed at Mr. Styles’s really quite boorish responses. I know I would have a hard time not rolling my eyes at some of those answers
- On the spitting reaction, it just looks like odd timing to me. Without the (mostly hearsay and speculative) context, it kinda looks like Pine just saw a spicy update on his smartphone and is trying not to crack up
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:59 AM on September 6, 2022
It would be great if we could have a flag for links to gawker media (or whatever ex-gawker media is called in 2022) thanks to the new owners union busting, running sites down, and generally being terrible people. Happy to read about these other terrible people if there are alternate links.
posted by The River Ivel at 11:05 AM on September 6, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by The River Ivel at 11:05 AM on September 6, 2022 [7 favorites]
All of this feels like some good old-school Hollywood gossip DRAMA and I'm so deeply into it. There's really nothing at stake here and that's part of why it's so much fun.
Florence Pugh is a delight and I think she's having a good time pointedly staying out of all of it.
I also love that Don't Worry Darling (a movie I will see once it hits VOD) is getting mixed reviews. That just adds to the drama of it all. I think we'll remember all of this behind-the-scenes stuff more than we'll ever remember the movie.
posted by edencosmic at 11:11 AM on September 6, 2022 [8 favorites]
Florence Pugh is a delight and I think she's having a good time pointedly staying out of all of it.
I also love that Don't Worry Darling (a movie I will see once it hits VOD) is getting mixed reviews. That just adds to the drama of it all. I think we'll remember all of this behind-the-scenes stuff more than we'll ever remember the movie.
posted by edencosmic at 11:11 AM on September 6, 2022 [8 favorites]
I'm loving how, by staying out of it, Florence Pugh is basically giving the whole endeavor a big smiling middle finger, meanwhile the reviews are all "this thing sucks but hey, Florence Pugh is as good as ever."
posted by Navelgazer at 11:17 AM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 11:17 AM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
All of this feels like some good old-school Hollywood gossip DRAMA and I'm so deeply into it. There's really nothing at stake here and that's part of why it's so much fun.
Agreed! It instantly reminded me of the well-documented rivalry between Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen during production of The Magnificent Seven: https://tudorscribe.medium.com/the-intense-rivalries-of-the-magnificent-seven-7ab7ed638a65
posted by Doleful Creature at 11:24 AM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Agreed! It instantly reminded me of the well-documented rivalry between Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen during production of The Magnificent Seven: https://tudorscribe.medium.com/the-intense-rivalries-of-the-magnificent-seven-7ab7ed638a65
posted by Doleful Creature at 11:24 AM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Additional summaries of the drama can be found at Marie Claire, The Hollywood Reporter, and probably anywhere else celebrity gossip is served.
If we're reminiscing about celebrity beefs past, I'm rather fond of Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra - the idea of Brando purposely messing up takes to keep Sinatra eating cheesecake never fails to make me laugh.
posted by the primroses were over at 11:49 AM on September 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
If we're reminiscing about celebrity beefs past, I'm rather fond of Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra - the idea of Brando purposely messing up takes to keep Sinatra eating cheesecake never fails to make me laugh.
posted by the primroses were over at 11:49 AM on September 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
It feels a bit overblown, though of course it's so fun on Twitter no one wants it to end. My takes:
1) Is Olivia Wilde Bad? I don't know why everyone started assuming this, except some people who are big fans of Jason Sudeikis and/or Harry Styles. The Shia video is where she comes off the worst, but she is trying to manage (a guy who is shitty) Talent? I do not assume she is Bad.
2) Isn't this all a bit sexist? I don't believe this much drama would have resulted from a schlubby male director who had an unprofessional affair with the star of his new movie.
3) Isn't it all very messy? I mean, maybe this should be the reaction for any director who let their personal life trample over the rollout of their film. There are so many people to have sex with other than Harry Styles! So, so many!
4) Aren't work events awful? Chris Pine was jetlagged and doing film promotion, so I don't necessarily think he was experiencing a psychological break or anything. And I don't think Styles spit on him -- I think English people just make weird faces sometimes.
5) Florence Pugh does seem pretty mad about something though. People started whispering about this weeks ago. If her publicist did some bs enthusiastic posts on social media last month, this whispers would've stopped. Instead....we got all this. So is the film really bad? Or did Olivia Wilde behave so unforgivably that Florence is willing to let this drama simmer instead of turning down the temperature?
posted by grandiloquiet at 11:49 AM on September 6, 2022 [10 favorites]
1) Is Olivia Wilde Bad? I don't know why everyone started assuming this, except some people who are big fans of Jason Sudeikis and/or Harry Styles. The Shia video is where she comes off the worst, but she is trying to manage (a guy who is shitty) Talent? I do not assume she is Bad.
2) Isn't this all a bit sexist? I don't believe this much drama would have resulted from a schlubby male director who had an unprofessional affair with the star of his new movie.
3) Isn't it all very messy? I mean, maybe this should be the reaction for any director who let their personal life trample over the rollout of their film. There are so many people to have sex with other than Harry Styles! So, so many!
4) Aren't work events awful? Chris Pine was jetlagged and doing film promotion, so I don't necessarily think he was experiencing a psychological break or anything. And I don't think Styles spit on him -- I think English people just make weird faces sometimes.
5) Florence Pugh does seem pretty mad about something though. People started whispering about this weeks ago. If her publicist did some bs enthusiastic posts on social media last month, this whispers would've stopped. Instead....we got all this. So is the film really bad? Or did Olivia Wilde behave so unforgivably that Florence is willing to let this drama simmer instead of turning down the temperature?
posted by grandiloquiet at 11:49 AM on September 6, 2022 [10 favorites]
If you have somehow missed the multi-year saga of behind-the-scenes struggles on DWD, a hearty congratulations to you.
Thank you.
posted by doctornemo at 11:54 AM on September 6, 2022 [14 favorites]
Thank you.
posted by doctornemo at 11:54 AM on September 6, 2022 [14 favorites]
Perhaps we could approach with caution the proposal that a woman whom none of us know personally is bad/doing it wrong/prone to drama/a diva/evil as a result of actions that none of us witnessed firsthand.
Perhaps?
posted by medusa at 12:06 PM on September 6, 2022 [24 favorites]
Perhaps?
posted by medusa at 12:06 PM on September 6, 2022 [24 favorites]
I did put some Celebitchy links into mine if you want to check drama under certain people's names.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:09 PM on September 6, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:09 PM on September 6, 2022
You wanna know how much of a big deal this is in the Hollywood gossip scene?
Timothee Chalamet is also at the Venice Film Festival, and a) showed up wearing a backless red jumpsuit for the premiere of a film where b) he's in a film that reunites him with his Call Me By Your Name director for a film about cannibals in love.
And despite that, people are talking about "spitgate" instead.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:25 PM on September 6, 2022 [15 favorites]
Timothee Chalamet is also at the Venice Film Festival, and a) showed up wearing a backless red jumpsuit for the premiere of a film where b) he's in a film that reunites him with his Call Me By Your Name director for a film about cannibals in love.
And despite that, people are talking about "spitgate" instead.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:25 PM on September 6, 2022 [15 favorites]
Timothee Chalamet is also at the Venice Film Festival, and a) showed up wearing a backless red jumpsuit for the premiere
That… outfit. It looks like he’s playing a supervillain called The Crimson Bib.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:32 PM on September 6, 2022 [15 favorites]
That… outfit. It looks like he’s playing a supervillain called The Crimson Bib.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:32 PM on September 6, 2022 [15 favorites]
I really, really, really loved Booksmart. Like, so much love. So it pains me to think Olivia Wilde might be kind of an awful person, and I hope it isn't really true. Or that she isn't particularly more awful than other Hollywood people, anyway. Plus, in any dispute that involves Shia LeBoeuf, it is pretty hard to come down on any side other than 'whoever is in opposition to Shia LeBoeuf'.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:32 PM on September 6, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 12:32 PM on September 6, 2022 [8 favorites]
> Timothee Chalamet is also at the Venice Film Festival, and a) showed up wearing a backless red jumpsuit for the premiere
That… outfit.
Actually, a part of me would love to see Timmy and Harry Styles team up on something together, so they can both go completely full-tilt bugnuts with their red carpet looks and just make everyone's heads explode.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:34 PM on September 6, 2022 [13 favorites]
That… outfit.
Actually, a part of me would love to see Timmy and Harry Styles team up on something together, so they can both go completely full-tilt bugnuts with their red carpet looks and just make everyone's heads explode.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:34 PM on September 6, 2022 [13 favorites]
nobody wants another rare female director to turn out to suck as a human.
Look at it this way: It's rare for women to get to direct movies. So if normal women don't get to make movies, it's probably not that surprising that the ones who do aren't exactly in the middle of the "normal person" bell curve.
This principle applies to pretty much everybody in Hollywood, doesn't it? It's rare for anybody to get to direct movies. You don't necessarily have to be a huge, flaming asshole, but you have to have something that shifts you well away from the average person.
posted by Naberius at 12:37 PM on September 6, 2022 [8 favorites]
Look at it this way: It's rare for women to get to direct movies. So if normal women don't get to make movies, it's probably not that surprising that the ones who do aren't exactly in the middle of the "normal person" bell curve.
This principle applies to pretty much everybody in Hollywood, doesn't it? It's rare for anybody to get to direct movies. You don't necessarily have to be a huge, flaming asshole, but you have to have something that shifts you well away from the average person.
posted by Naberius at 12:37 PM on September 6, 2022 [8 favorites]
Perhaps we could approach with caution the proposal that a woman whom none of us know personally is bad/doing it wrong/prone to drama/a diva/evil as a result of actions that none of us witnessed firsthand.
We could, but certainly not in the celebrity gossip thread, because otherwise: what's the point?
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:37 PM on September 6, 2022 [7 favorites]
We could, but certainly not in the celebrity gossip thread, because otherwise: what's the point?
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:37 PM on September 6, 2022 [7 favorites]
I'm disappointed at the mediocre reviews for the movie. The trailer looks great, whatever Wilde's interpersonal failures are, she seems to be an interesting visual stylist. If history is any guide, she won't get another project for years while any number of horrible male directors just keep getting hundreds of millions to make movies.
posted by octothorpe at 12:43 PM on September 6, 2022 [20 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 12:43 PM on September 6, 2022 [20 favorites]
None of us really know if Olivia Wilde sucks as a human or not. I find her Shia LaBeouf fibbing pretty self-aggrandizing and cringe, but it doesn't make her a terrible human being or anything. I also don't condone infidelity, but I do condone getting it on with Harry Styles. Too bad the movie doesn't look very fun.
posted by cakelite at 12:47 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by cakelite at 12:47 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm not going to make a judgment call on if she's evil or not or anything that horrendous, but you know how some people frequently make life choices that lead to them having dramatic lives? I cannot ignore the fact that it appears that some of that is going on here.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:50 PM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:50 PM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
Chris Pine with hair, astral projecting! If his job is to be breathtakingly present, he has that covered.
Harry Styles dripping sweat, most likely, raining Harry Styles, I have never even heard Harry sing a note, nor seen him cock an eyebrow. Timothee Chalamet, if I wanted to see the new Dune, I had to buy in just enough to enjoy the rest of the film. Whippersnappers!
posted by Oyéah at 1:02 PM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Harry Styles dripping sweat, most likely, raining Harry Styles, I have never even heard Harry sing a note, nor seen him cock an eyebrow. Timothee Chalamet, if I wanted to see the new Dune, I had to buy in just enough to enjoy the rest of the film. Whippersnappers!
posted by Oyéah at 1:02 PM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Perhaps we could approach with caution the proposal that a woman whom none of us know personally is bad/doing it wrong/prone to drama/a diva/evil as a result of actions that none of us witnessed firsthand.
I was strongly pro-Olivia until that video of her cajoling Shia to come back and snarking about Miss Flo. She'd been getting savaged for (presumably) ending her LTR and getting it on with a hot younger guy. Which is par for the course if you're an old guy, keep trading in for younger models. But if you're a woman, well. This whole situation is deep in misogyny, but it looks like Olivia was down in the dirt with everyone else.
My vote is accidental spit. Chris definitely startles at something, and I haven't seen a good explanation of what else it could've been.
I've enjoyed this whole stupid spectacle so much.
posted by Mavri at 1:13 PM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
I was strongly pro-Olivia until that video of her cajoling Shia to come back and snarking about Miss Flo. She'd been getting savaged for (presumably) ending her LTR and getting it on with a hot younger guy. Which is par for the course if you're an old guy, keep trading in for younger models. But if you're a woman, well. This whole situation is deep in misogyny, but it looks like Olivia was down in the dirt with everyone else.
My vote is accidental spit. Chris definitely startles at something, and I haven't seen a good explanation of what else it could've been.
I've enjoyed this whole stupid spectacle so much.
posted by Mavri at 1:13 PM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
The only thing I get out of this is I want Pugh and Pine in some fun comedy together, preferably a caper film. Heck, there's always room for another Chris in the MCU, and it'd be neat to see him interacting with Pugh's Yelena. (Maybe in Thunderbolts?)
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 1:15 PM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 1:15 PM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
The spitting thing is dumb. Styles' head is in the optimum position to spit, but it's just a coincidence. Look at Chris Pine--he sees the pair of sunglasses and picks them up. He thought they were lost or something. Maybe he's stoned? It's his glasses, people!
Anyway, all of this sturm und drang for an apparently mediocre movie, arguably the worst kind of movie. You want to get a grand slam, and it's one thing when you strikeout spectacularly, but to just get a little piece of it and are easily forced out at first base...it's all just so anticlimactic.
posted by zardoz at 1:24 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Anyway, all of this sturm und drang for an apparently mediocre movie, arguably the worst kind of movie. You want to get a grand slam, and it's one thing when you strikeout spectacularly, but to just get a little piece of it and are easily forced out at first base...it's all just so anticlimactic.
posted by zardoz at 1:24 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
I, too, am loving this old-fashioned celebrity drama! And really what sealed it for me was, indeed, Chris Pine's "I am anywhere but here" expression during Harry Styles's nonsensical comments ("I liked being in this movie because it felt... like a movie") in their junket. Florence Pugh seems like she's absolutely living her best life in Venice and honestly, good for her. It seems like she got stuck between a rock and a hard place between her first co-star being a known creeper and his replacement being kinda dumb and not up to her talent level.
Uproxx has a good roundup of movie reviews and has omitted the references to the IRL drama going on. It seems like everyone agrees that the film is visually great, Wilde has talent as a director, but the plot is a predictable disappointment and only Pugh and Pine really manage shine despite all that.
posted by TwoStride at 1:26 PM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Uproxx has a good roundup of movie reviews and has omitted the references to the IRL drama going on. It seems like everyone agrees that the film is visually great, Wilde has talent as a director, but the plot is a predictable disappointment and only Pugh and Pine really manage shine despite all that.
posted by TwoStride at 1:26 PM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Another article, from Vox: The many scandals of Don’t Worry Darling, explained
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:29 PM on September 6, 2022
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:29 PM on September 6, 2022
If I were Chris Pine and had to sit in THAT row, I would absolutely show up stoned out of my gourd.
I do enjoy that this is a rare drama that is actually lifting the boats of some people - Pine & Pugh - as opposed to being the usual shitshow where everyone comes off badly.
posted by ZaphodB at 1:30 PM on September 6, 2022 [5 favorites]
I do enjoy that this is a rare drama that is actually lifting the boats of some people - Pine & Pugh - as opposed to being the usual shitshow where everyone comes off badly.
posted by ZaphodB at 1:30 PM on September 6, 2022 [5 favorites]
The only thing I get out of this is I want Pugh and Pine in some fun comedy together, preferably a caper film. Heck, there's always room for another Chris in the MCU, and it'd be neat to see him interacting with Pugh's Yelena. (Maybe in Thunderbolts?)
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 4:15 PM on September 6
My new dream movie is a sequel to The Man from UNCLE but with Chris Pine in Armie Hammier's role, and Florence Pugh as the new villain-turned-ally.
posted by ZaphodB at 1:34 PM on September 6, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 4:15 PM on September 6
My new dream movie is a sequel to The Man from UNCLE but with Chris Pine in Armie Hammier's role, and Florence Pugh as the new villain-turned-ally.
posted by ZaphodB at 1:34 PM on September 6, 2022 [6 favorites]
I did enjoy the tweet that said whoever did the seating arrangements for that front row obviously had experience with divorced partents at a wedding, LOL.
posted by TwoStride at 1:34 PM on September 6, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 1:34 PM on September 6, 2022 [5 favorites]
It would be great if we could have a flag for links to gawker media (or whatever ex-gawker media is called in 2022) thanks to the new owners union busting, running sites down, and generally being terrible people. Happy to read about these other terrible people if there are alternate links.The River Ivel, this new Gawker is completely separate from G/O Media, who bought all the other former Gawker Media properties and is running them into the ground as we speak. I forget exactly why, but Gawker had to be handled & sold separately from the other sites.
posted by Ampersand692 at 1:40 PM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
Actually, a part of me would love to see Timmy and Harry Styles team up on something together,
Styles already kind of looks like the shitty Green Lantern villain The Tattooed Man, so maybe they could do a really low-rent Suicide Squad, where the fabulous meats the dumb and sordid?
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:57 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Styles already kind of looks like the shitty Green Lantern villain The Tattooed Man, so maybe they could do a really low-rent Suicide Squad, where the fabulous meats the dumb and sordid?
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:57 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
I am sufficiently online to have seen some memes but not enough online to realize they were all from the same glorious mess.
My favorite was Chris Pine, sitting in front of a microphone and nameplate, with that blank expression that signaled he'd rather be anywhere else at all, captioned "Congressional committee grills Chris Pine on Star Trek: Into Darkness appearance."
Florence is willing to let this drama simmer instead of turning down the temperature
This is on target.
There's this Hollywood math I can't do on my own, but whether this sort of thing results in a the star being labeled "hard to work with" and "immature", or it's that the director is helming a "chaotic" and "trouble ridden" production, depends on some combination of box office draw, public likability, and who reporters want to have friendly interviews with. Staying out of it is actually showing up for some press stuff and mouthing boring platitudes. This is like skipping your sister's wedding and saying "Oh, she knows what she did" when you're asked why.
I'm not saying Pugh is wrong! There are many people in this world who have good reasons to skip a sibling's wedding. Just from the outside this seems pretty opaque.
It is undeniably true that it's a lot harder to get the press to turn on an established male director than a woman doing a small second feature.
posted by mark k at 1:58 PM on September 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
My favorite was Chris Pine, sitting in front of a microphone and nameplate, with that blank expression that signaled he'd rather be anywhere else at all, captioned "Congressional committee grills Chris Pine on Star Trek: Into Darkness appearance."
Florence is willing to let this drama simmer instead of turning down the temperature
This is on target.
There's this Hollywood math I can't do on my own, but whether this sort of thing results in a the star being labeled "hard to work with" and "immature", or it's that the director is helming a "chaotic" and "trouble ridden" production, depends on some combination of box office draw, public likability, and who reporters want to have friendly interviews with. Staying out of it is actually showing up for some press stuff and mouthing boring platitudes. This is like skipping your sister's wedding and saying "Oh, she knows what she did" when you're asked why.
I'm not saying Pugh is wrong! There are many people in this world who have good reasons to skip a sibling's wedding. Just from the outside this seems pretty opaque.
It is undeniably true that it's a lot harder to get the press to turn on an established male director than a woman doing a small second feature.
posted by mark k at 1:58 PM on September 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
Genji: and their red carpet looks could be, like, each one has a small fog-generating device strapped to their belts, and so all they're "wearing" is a small colored cloud of mist extending about 20 inches around them on all sides.
Or they're both dressed as the Fourth Doctor and they share the scarf.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:00 PM on September 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
Or they're both dressed as the Fourth Doctor and they share the scarf.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:00 PM on September 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
I love this quote from the Vox article: "Some people have sports. Some people garden or knit or birdwatch. And some people have the Don’t Worry Darling press tour. "
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:03 PM on September 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:03 PM on September 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
I am exhausted at looking at Styles’s lip quiver but did not see any spittle flying in any one direction.
ISWYDT
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:27 PM on September 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
ISWYDT
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:27 PM on September 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
Or they're both dressed as the Fourth Doctor and they share the scarf.
Or…. fog and the shared scarf! Genius!
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:45 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Or…. fog and the shared scarf! Genius!
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:45 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
I will in all likelihood not be seeing this film, loved Booksmart but that was probably at least 75-80% Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever (who deserve to have their own wacky caper film), and I'm on Team Flo and hope that the fabulous purple ensemble that she showed up in is some kind of clue that Yelena and Kate Bishop are going to have a fling in the next MCU thing that they're both in. Pine can be in it too, he seems generally chill.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:51 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:51 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Catching up with this as 'news', I choose to believe that the 'spit' in question, which Pine reacts to falling at his feet with such bemusement, is a very long, fallen-out, collar stay from Styles' ridiculous shirt.
'Director and Talent have affair' is a tale as old as time. The gossipers love it, the rest of the cast and crew find it a tiresome nuisance? Just as old.
Am I correct in my reading of the trailer for this film, that it's The Stepford Wives, moved from bourgeois Connecticut to bourgeois Southern California, and with stronger modern meds than old fashioned Valium and Chablis?
posted by bartleby at 3:20 PM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
'Director and Talent have affair' is a tale as old as time. The gossipers love it, the rest of the cast and crew find it a tiresome nuisance? Just as old.
Am I correct in my reading of the trailer for this film, that it's The Stepford Wives, moved from bourgeois Connecticut to bourgeois Southern California, and with stronger modern meds than old fashioned Valium and Chablis?
posted by bartleby at 3:20 PM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
maybe they could do a really low-rent Suicide Squad, where the fabulous meats the dumb and sordid?Isn't that literally every recent film with Harley in it?
posted by krisjohn at 3:42 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
I gotta say that I'm deeply amused that I mentioned that Timmy has reunited with his Call Me By Your Name director - but not with his CMBYN costar - for a film about cannibals, and the thing that everyone's talking about is his red-carpet outfit.
...Although I am still giggling over "The Crimson Bib".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:46 PM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
...Although I am still giggling over "The Crimson Bib".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:46 PM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
I've been somewhat following this drama, against my will, due to my long-standing interest in several of the talents. So from the fandom/celebrity culture angle....
- accounting for established MRA trolls chumming the waters, so to speak, of the attention economy, it's a confluence of at least a few fandom tribes, the stans who will at least reflexively be on the side of the stars in question, before more info comes out. If you understand this as sports or politics, you'll see then we're talking about activation of established communities, their social network, and typical rhetoric. So it caught fire not just because it's messy but we're talking about several Teams here, hyping their people:
-- Team Ted Lasso: borrowing his persona's aura, Jason Sudeikis (Wilde's ex) can do no wrong.
-- Teams Cinephile, MCU, and People who Like Funny Celeb Socials: this would be Pugh.
-- Team 1D and specifically Harry: Styles. They're either coexisting peacefully with Team MCU or bitterly fighting with them and Team Cinephile for having their guy in Eternals and that WW1 movie
-- Teams Star Trek and Celeb Watchers: these are the people who carry the lore on Chris Pine and the source for A LOT of the near-instant meme material (because he is famously low-tech/off-grid; a great interview but finds most promo circuits a chore - always professional but he can and will have that thousand-yard stare - unless he's with someone as smart or interesting thus the legendary ones he had with Zachary Quinto; has a rep for being feminist (citation needed beyond his lecturers I guess))
You'll notice Olivia Wilde has no Team. Maybe if Tron: Legacy didn't bomb.
posted by cendawanita at 4:08 PM on September 6, 2022 [15 favorites]
- accounting for established MRA trolls chumming the waters, so to speak, of the attention economy, it's a confluence of at least a few fandom tribes, the stans who will at least reflexively be on the side of the stars in question, before more info comes out. If you understand this as sports or politics, you'll see then we're talking about activation of established communities, their social network, and typical rhetoric. So it caught fire not just because it's messy but we're talking about several Teams here, hyping their people:
-- Team Ted Lasso: borrowing his persona's aura, Jason Sudeikis (Wilde's ex) can do no wrong.
-- Teams Cinephile, MCU, and People who Like Funny Celeb Socials: this would be Pugh.
-- Team 1D and specifically Harry: Styles. They're either coexisting peacefully with Team MCU or bitterly fighting with them and Team Cinephile for having their guy in Eternals and that WW1 movie
-- Teams Star Trek and Celeb Watchers: these are the people who carry the lore on Chris Pine and the source for A LOT of the near-instant meme material (because he is famously low-tech/off-grid; a great interview but finds most promo circuits a chore - always professional but he can and will have that thousand-yard stare - unless he's with someone as smart or interesting thus the legendary ones he had with Zachary Quinto; has a rep for being feminist (citation needed beyond his lecturers I guess))
You'll notice Olivia Wilde has no Team. Maybe if Tron: Legacy didn't bomb.
posted by cendawanita at 4:08 PM on September 6, 2022 [15 favorites]
Buzzfeed continues to have amusing snark recaps on who refused to be photographed with who, stylist hashtags, and the one time Olivia and Florence DID sorta interact! "In the clip, Harry first of all notices Olivia’s body language and turns to see who it is aimed at. When he realizes that it is Florence and that she is responding positively to it, he does a visible double take and has an extremely confused look on his face."
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:11 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:11 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
This is pure gossip inception and it’s entertaining albeit exhausting…
My favorite detail is this Vice article with a Bellingcat expert saying that there was no spitting as far as he can tell. Imagine spending your days doing OSINT analysis of videos from Ukraine and then being asked to do that video, lol.
posted by gemmy at 4:32 PM on September 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
My favorite detail is this Vice article with a Bellingcat expert saying that there was no spitting as far as he can tell. Imagine spending your days doing OSINT analysis of videos from Ukraine and then being asked to do that video, lol.
posted by gemmy at 4:32 PM on September 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
> My new dream movie is a sequel to The Man from UNCLE but with Chris Pine in Armie Hammier's role, and Florence Pugh as the new villain-turned-ally.I think Pine would be great as Kuryakin, but I'd cast Pugh as an UNCLE agent heavily inspired by Emma Peel and Cate Archer. (And if Cavill can't fit it into his busy schedule, he can sit it out.)
Or screw it, just give me Pugh as Cate Archer in a No One Lives Forever film, except not called Archer or NOLF because of the screwed up IP rights issues.
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 4:36 PM on September 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
Go Fug Yourself has been covering all of the press/gossip around this for a while now (go back to earlier Olivia Wilde posts very thoughtful conversations in the comments about Process Server Gate, etc), and the discussion about Florence Pugh's red carpet look is equally good, particularly around the debate about just how petty Pugh is, or is not, by trying to stay out of this.
(Also stay for hilarious descriptors of Chris Pine's general fashion vibe, and notes on how Kiki Layne is the other person also pretending like they're not in this mess!)
posted by TwoStride at 4:38 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
(Also stay for hilarious descriptors of Chris Pine's general fashion vibe, and notes on how Kiki Layne is the other person also pretending like they're not in this mess!)
posted by TwoStride at 4:38 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Not mentioned is Olivia Wilde revealing that Chris Pines' character is based on Jordan Peterson. She also called JP a pseudo-intellectual and inspired his daughter to make a video. JP provided a lengthy statement to the National Post about it, but the National Post only quoted a few lines from it. The lobster army is now howling for Wilde's blood.
posted by LindsayIrene at 4:57 PM on September 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by LindsayIrene at 4:57 PM on September 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
(I’m Team Olivia, but I also generally ignore all celebrity gossip, so with apologies I don’t have anything more to add than that.)
posted by Callisto Prime at 5:29 PM on September 6, 2022
posted by Callisto Prime at 5:29 PM on September 6, 2022
Was Olivia driving when she was filming the "Miss Flo" video for Shia? THAT seems irresponsible!
posted by armacy at 5:44 PM on September 6, 2022
posted by armacy at 5:44 PM on September 6, 2022
Where’s Nick Kroll in all of this?!
(I, too, am enjoying this. I got to use some young people lingo while asking my wife about it, and that was fun.)
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 6:05 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
(I, too, am enjoying this. I got to use some young people lingo while asking my wife about it, and that was fun.)
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 6:05 PM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Apparently Harry Styles kissed Nick Kroll at one point?
It's kind of fun finding out who else is in this movie - Gemma Chan? Kiki Layne?
posted by dinty_moore at 6:49 PM on September 6, 2022
It's kind of fun finding out who else is in this movie - Gemma Chan? Kiki Layne?
posted by dinty_moore at 6:49 PM on September 6, 2022
Chalamet's come-hither halter-neck aside, it's significant that he's in attendance and why:
“Pugh’s reps maintained that she has been too busy filming her new role in Dune: Part Two to commit to obligations, including the Venice news conference, but Dune star Timothée Chalamet was able to clear several days to promote his romantic drama Bones and All in Venice. And one would presume that since Warner Bros. is distributing both Don’t Worry Darling and the Dune sequel, an accommodating schedule could have been carved out for Pugh the moment she signed on for the latter film, especially since it features a sprawling ensemble cast.” (NYT via Hunter Harris's Hung Up)
From the same newsletter, a tweeted clip of the Styles/Kroll smooch:
harry styles and nick kroll graduated with masters from oscar isaac and jessica chastain school of whoring (nicole@goldenaffairs)
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:24 PM on September 6, 2022
“Pugh’s reps maintained that she has been too busy filming her new role in Dune: Part Two to commit to obligations, including the Venice news conference, but Dune star Timothée Chalamet was able to clear several days to promote his romantic drama Bones and All in Venice. And one would presume that since Warner Bros. is distributing both Don’t Worry Darling and the Dune sequel, an accommodating schedule could have been carved out for Pugh the moment she signed on for the latter film, especially since it features a sprawling ensemble cast.” (NYT via Hunter Harris's Hung Up)
From the same newsletter, a tweeted clip of the Styles/Kroll smooch:
harry styles and nick kroll graduated with masters from oscar isaac and jessica chastain school of whoring (nicole@goldenaffairs)
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:24 PM on September 6, 2022
bbyonlyangel on Twitter: "BREAKING NEWS HARRY STYLES THROWS GOAT ON CHRIS PINE AT VENICE FILM FESTIVAL!!!!"
posted by Pronoiac at 10:34 PM on September 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by Pronoiac at 10:34 PM on September 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
I am loving this thread; it's great - amongst the wall of doom, gloom, angry and injustice FPPs - to have something as memetastically ridiculously complex about people being ridiculous and complex, but it all being inconsequential, to riff on, here on the blue.
posted by Wordshore at 3:26 AM on September 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 3:26 AM on September 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
And now GQ has gotten in on this action, with an article about....Harry Styles' leopard-print luggage?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:46 AM on September 7, 2022
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:46 AM on September 7, 2022
LOLZ - I am sure that's merely his photo-op luggage (and it's gorgeous!!) cuz he simply cannot exist for even the time it takes to attend brunch on what's in those tiny cases.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:58 AM on September 7, 2022
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:58 AM on September 7, 2022
I know so little about this drama, and I'm only vaguely acquainted with the participants, but I spent half of yesterday scrolling past pictures of Chris Pine staring off into the middle distance and my main takeaway is that he is transcendently beautiful. Like ... just wow.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:25 AM on September 7, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 5:25 AM on September 7, 2022 [6 favorites]
What a great circus! What colourful gamboling monkeys! Such Drama! Such Tension! Could she maybe did he really I can't believe they but don't tell me - in the lot of them Chris Pine is the most relatable (have you ever had jet-lag? and then had to do some perfunctory job-thing? but would rather be dead in a hotel-room somewhere? yes, this is who you look, that zoned- - - - - ) (And Florence Pugh is doing the smartest thing, really, come on - you read it in AskMe about once a month or so, she's DTMF...)
"Booksmart" was solid and I hope this one isn't a stinker and that the director hasn't sunk her professional life with her human life.
Also, as a clunky, crass ass-hole, I could totally imagine Styles spitting on Pine just to fuck with his head - and Pine laughing at it because it is funny and ridiculous and too much. Or he didn't and Pine, stoned, found his glasses in his lap. also totally plausible
posted by From Bklyn at 6:28 AM on September 7, 2022
"Booksmart" was solid and I hope this one isn't a stinker and that the director hasn't sunk her professional life with her human life.
Also, as a clunky, crass ass-hole, I could totally imagine Styles spitting on Pine just to fuck with his head - and Pine laughing at it because it is funny and ridiculous and too much. Or he didn't and Pine, stoned, found his glasses in his lap. also totally plausible
posted by From Bklyn at 6:28 AM on September 7, 2022
I don't understand still the precise etiquette subregulations over why some screenshot of tweets are acceptable and others aren't, but even more random and silly season trivia here, where basically Wilde's mother ran for US Congress in 2018 and she accused her opponent of writing Bigfoot erotica.
What a collection of nouns. And that's coming from me, whose comment in the NAFO thread was found to be incomprehensibly twitter English.
posted by cendawanita at 7:00 AM on September 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
What a collection of nouns. And that's coming from me, whose comment in the NAFO thread was found to be incomprehensibly twitter English.
posted by cendawanita at 7:00 AM on September 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
Oh man, that whole congressional race is its own rabbit hole. Wilde's mom is Leslie Cockburn, also wife of Andrew Cockburn whose dad was Alexander Cockburn. She's an Emmy-winning documentarian. Her opponent was Denver Riggleman--actually Denver Lee Riggleman III, can you dig it--a former Air Force officer. Riggles (because whatever else are you going to call him) denied being a Bigfoot shipper, but he did co-write Bigfoot Exterminators, Inc.: The Partially Cautionary, Mostly True Tale of Monster Hunt 2006. Ahem ahem. He is also "the only member of the Republican party to speak on the House of Representatives floor against QAnon", got targeted for replacement by the GOP after officiating at a same-sex marriage, and was primaried in 2020.
Fuck it, Wilde should do a movie on this.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:36 AM on September 7, 2022 [12 favorites]
Fuck it, Wilde should do a movie on this.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:36 AM on September 7, 2022 [12 favorites]
@lizzzzzielogan:
man if you guys think olivia wilde leaving her longtime partner for the hot young thiing starring in her movie and being kinda unaware of some problematic vibes on set is crazy, wait til you hear about Most Male Directors Of Moviesposted by DirtyOldTown at 7:43 AM on September 7, 2022 [21 favorites]
Hahahaha, I didn't bat an eyelash at that whole thing originally, thinking same. Then it got more complicated....
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:14 AM on September 7, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:14 AM on September 7, 2022
It truly is bog-standard Hollywood. Personally I'm pinpointing the Ted Lasso fandom* angle and people smarting over the fallout of Depp's astroturfing in his DV defamation trials** over why ppl came into this pre-invested.
*fresh new 'unproblematic' fave. See also: Brooklyn 99 before 2020 BLM (eta: so the initial wave of the messiness is just ppl realizing again an actor is not his role, that's the first implication. Then the Shia video came out.)
** of which people who were keeping petty receipts noted Pugh*** liked his post-win IG post and Gemma Chan not only did that but also shared it on her instastories with a celebratory note****
*** she also just broke up with Zach Braff (yes, the age gap is well-noted) so there's incentive to Live Well Publicly as well
**** honestly Pine living with his flip phone made the right life choice*****
***** and that ability to live without constant promotion is probably due to the fact he does come from an acting family SO now him being a nepotism baby is also a talking point. But what does he know he can't see anything on his Razr.
posted by cendawanita at 8:20 AM on September 7, 2022 [7 favorites]
*fresh new 'unproblematic' fave. See also: Brooklyn 99 before 2020 BLM (eta: so the initial wave of the messiness is just ppl realizing again an actor is not his role, that's the first implication. Then the Shia video came out.)
** of which people who were keeping petty receipts noted Pugh*** liked his post-win IG post and Gemma Chan not only did that but also shared it on her instastories with a celebratory note****
*** she also just broke up with Zach Braff (yes, the age gap is well-noted) so there's incentive to Live Well Publicly as well
**** honestly Pine living with his flip phone made the right life choice*****
***** and that ability to live without constant promotion is probably due to the fact he does come from an acting family SO now him being a nepotism baby is also a talking point. But what does he know he can't see anything on his Razr.
posted by cendawanita at 8:20 AM on September 7, 2022 [7 favorites]
Yes, there's a double standard, and double standards are horrible. But if you're one of the few women directors making a big Hollywood movie, maybe resist the temptation to have a public affair with your much-younger co-star while engaged to who many believe is the nicest guy in the world. It's not hard. Also, the whole Shia LeBoeuf thing just makes her look worse (and Shia LeBoeuf is a scumbag). Praising your leading lady in public and condescendingly calling her "Miss Flo" behind her back is some middle-school mean-girl bullshit.
I think Florence Pugh is breaking records for passive-aggressive rising-above, and I absolutely love it. She is living her best life. She knows that she is the best thing about this movie, and she is not going to give lip service during a press junket.
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here -- Florence's dissatisfaction with the marketing of the film, which focuses on the "edgy" sex scenes rather than, you know, the acting. I would be irritated about that too.
And we are all Chris Pine.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:26 AM on September 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
I think Florence Pugh is breaking records for passive-aggressive rising-above, and I absolutely love it. She is living her best life. She knows that she is the best thing about this movie, and she is not going to give lip service during a press junket.
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here -- Florence's dissatisfaction with the marketing of the film, which focuses on the "edgy" sex scenes rather than, you know, the acting. I would be irritated about that too.
And we are all Chris Pine.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:26 AM on September 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
Also GFY chat says that there are rumors that Styles was paid way more than Pugh, which adds even more fuel to why she is officially Over This Movie.
posted by TwoStride at 8:55 AM on September 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 8:55 AM on September 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
And we are all Chris Pine.
Naw, I'm The Crimson Bib's plucky sidekick "Miss Scarlett Nappy."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:51 AM on September 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Naw, I'm The Crimson Bib's plucky sidekick "Miss Scarlett Nappy."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:51 AM on September 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Ok ok I figured out Spitgate thanks to some tweets from folks over the pond who understand the humor of young British males.
Harry walks over, leans over to Chris, whispers "(your) dick's out", Chris is startled and looks down for a moment to check, Harry sits down and nods to everyone to keep from laughing, Chris can only chuckle uncomfortably and roll his eyes and breathe out the stress of the entire week
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 10:01 AM on September 7, 2022 [11 favorites]
Harry walks over, leans over to Chris, whispers "(your) dick's out", Chris is startled and looks down for a moment to check, Harry sits down and nods to everyone to keep from laughing, Chris can only chuckle uncomfortably and roll his eyes and breathe out the stress of the entire week
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 10:01 AM on September 7, 2022 [11 favorites]
Oh, man. I can't believe I'm the one who has to say this, because if you showed me photos of 10 celebrities, I'd likely be able to identify ... 2? Maybe? Which isn't saying that I'm above celebrity gossip ... I'm definitely not, because I do read shiiz on Twitter about some of the ones I know, but I'm just old and don't watch a lot of films or TV. But here's a thing I do know: nobody hates Olivia Wilde more than One Direction standom Harry / Louis (Tomlinson) shippers. They are like the QAnon of fans and will never ever ever believe that Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson aren't secretly in love / lovers, and just forced by Them (WHoever THey ARe) to keep it on the DL.
I'm not sure when I came into possession of this knowledge, but it's been many, many years, and these fans are fucking rabid, despite now being fully formed adults and no longer children or tweens. Yet they persist. Vociferously. I would never, ever, ever want to be the romantic partner of either of those guys, for fear some One Direction fan would literally assassinate me.
Anyway, I don't know what Wilde is like in RL, but the "Larry Stylinson" shippers have been howling and screaming about her for months. Unless she's just really and truly a Very Bad person, she's sort caught a shitload of bad attention along various axes of fandom, and I kind of hate to see it.
posted by taz at 11:22 AM on September 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
I'm not sure when I came into possession of this knowledge, but it's been many, many years, and these fans are fucking rabid, despite now being fully formed adults and no longer children or tweens. Yet they persist. Vociferously. I would never, ever, ever want to be the romantic partner of either of those guys, for fear some One Direction fan would literally assassinate me.
Anyway, I don't know what Wilde is like in RL, but the "Larry Stylinson" shippers have been howling and screaming about her for months. Unless she's just really and truly a Very Bad person, she's sort caught a shitload of bad attention along various axes of fandom, and I kind of hate to see it.
posted by taz at 11:22 AM on September 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
"HL has EXCLUSIVELY learned if there's trouble in paradise for these lovebirds." Supposedly no, because they're both wearing Gucci!
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:25 PM on September 7, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:25 PM on September 7, 2022
Will Olivia end up in "director jail?" This leans toward no. (Gawker link, I apologize, didn't pay attention when I clicked that it was Gawker.)
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:43 PM on September 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:43 PM on September 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Well, it's nuGawker, so.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:35 PM on September 7, 2022
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:35 PM on September 7, 2022
WaPo is having fun with this: "Read this way, the spit isn’t absurd. The spit is necessary. The pressure has been building and building on Styles, Pine and everyone around them. Something, eventually, had to snap. That’s how it always happens, after all, sometime in the second act."
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:05 PM on September 7, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:05 PM on September 7, 2022
No one needs another explainer at this point, but here's one from Drew Magary at SFGate. He hopes Wilde goes on to make more great movies so this mess gets forgotten.
Also, it appears both Pugh and Pine are skipping the NYC premiere.
posted by the primroses were over at 3:05 PM on September 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Also, it appears both Pugh and Pine are skipping the NYC premiere.
posted by the primroses were over at 3:05 PM on September 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Drew Magary was comedy gold. Loved it.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:34 PM on September 7, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:34 PM on September 7, 2022
maybe resist the temptation to have a public affair with your much-younger co-star while engaged to who many believe is the nicest guy in the world.
I think it's indicative of the gossip world that even on MeFi, where people are aware of stereotypes and biases around gender, the 37-year old Wilde dating the 27-year old Styles gets the judgmental treatment for dating someone "much younger", while Sudeikis (who was 36 years old when he started dating the 27 year old Wilde) gets not only a free pass but hangs on to a "nicest guy in the world" reputation.
posted by mark k at 5:58 PM on September 7, 2022 [17 favorites]
I think it's indicative of the gossip world that even on MeFi, where people are aware of stereotypes and biases around gender, the 37-year old Wilde dating the 27-year old Styles gets the judgmental treatment for dating someone "much younger", while Sudeikis (who was 36 years old when he started dating the 27 year old Wilde) gets not only a free pass but hangs on to a "nicest guy in the world" reputation.
posted by mark k at 5:58 PM on September 7, 2022 [17 favorites]
the "Larry Stylinson" shippers have been howling and screaming about her for months. Unless she's just really and truly a Very Bad person, she's sort caught a shitload of bad attention along various axes of fandom, and I kind of hate to see it.
Can confirm. I keep forgetting to mention the tinfoil gang but until the Shia video they were definitely heavily ignored as usual. That video (in context of the timeline and Wilde's later explanation why he left the cast when she used a social justice argument of sorts when it's clearly not) did do damage in the reputation stakes as it were, even if this is extremely common Hollywood stuff, during the actual time of the video being taken.
posted by cendawanita at 6:56 PM on September 7, 2022
Can confirm. I keep forgetting to mention the tinfoil gang but until the Shia video they were definitely heavily ignored as usual. That video (in context of the timeline and Wilde's later explanation why he left the cast when she used a social justice argument of sorts when it's clearly not) did do damage in the reputation stakes as it were, even if this is extremely common Hollywood stuff, during the actual time of the video being taken.
posted by cendawanita at 6:56 PM on September 7, 2022
Harry Styles Finally Addresses Spitgate: "I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine,”
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:30 AM on September 8, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:30 AM on September 8, 2022
Olivia Wilde Doubled Down On Her Claim That She Fired Shia LaBeouf From “Don’t Worry Darling” Less Than Two Weeks After A Video Of Her Begging Him To Return Leaked Online
The “Don’t Worry Darling” Drama Is So Fun Because Celebrities Are Finally Doing What They’re Supposed To Do
The “Don’t Worry Darling” Drama Is So Fun Because Celebrities Are Finally Doing What They’re Supposed To Do
"Generally, A-listers know how to be in the spotlight without revealing very much; they’re media trained and buttoned up. This conflict feels exhilarating to watch precisely because it is so rare to see celebrities actually feuding. Whether the rumors are true or not is beside the point.posted by jenfullmoon at 4:13 PM on September 8, 2022
What makes the drama even more compelling is that it feels harmless to follow as a fan. What criticism these extremely powerful people are facing — such as whether a movie star skipped a press conference to sip a spritz, or whether a former member of One Direction spat on the guy from Princess Diaries 2 — removes them from an imagined pedestal of perfection they shouldn’t have been on anyway. In contrast with putrid #MeToo revelations and court cases that fly in the face of common sense, this is Hollywood spectacle at its most deliciously bizarre. It hinges on issues we can all relate to — an authority figure we disagree with, a delightfully unpredictable coworker, a hot guy everyone’s keeping track of — but is exacerbated by fancy dresses next to Venetian canals with the paparazzi snapping. This kind of drama is Old Hollywood."
One of the stories that came out of this is, the character Chris Pine plays is based on Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist and public intellectual, who had a benzodiazapine addiction so severe, he went to Russia for treatment, and was placed in a coma, as part of the treatment.
posted by Oyéah at 4:18 PM on September 8, 2022
posted by Oyéah at 4:18 PM on September 8, 2022
Metafilter: What a collection of nouns.
posted by Space Kitty at 8:41 PM on September 8, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Space Kitty at 8:41 PM on September 8, 2022 [3 favorites]
I think it's indicative of the gossip world that even on MeFi, where people are aware of stereotypes and biases around gender, the 37-year old Wilde dating the 27-year old Styles gets the judgmental treatment for dating someone "much younger", while Sudeikis (who was 36 years old when he started dating the 27 year old Wilde) gets not only a free pass but hangs on to a "nicest guy in the world" reputation.
A fair criticism, since those are my words. The difference, though, is that Sudeikis and Wilde met at a party and (to my knowledge) never worked together, whereas Wilde is both director and co-star to Harry Styles. Moreover, Sudeikis and Wilde were both fully divorced when they met, whereas Wilde was (reportedly) still with Sudeikis while messing around with Styles. What I meant to convey is that the scandal is in the workplace canoodling, not in the age difference.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 7:15 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
A fair criticism, since those are my words. The difference, though, is that Sudeikis and Wilde met at a party and (to my knowledge) never worked together, whereas Wilde is both director and co-star to Harry Styles. Moreover, Sudeikis and Wilde were both fully divorced when they met, whereas Wilde was (reportedly) still with Sudeikis while messing around with Styles. What I meant to convey is that the scandal is in the workplace canoodling, not in the age difference.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 7:15 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Olivia Wilde’s Vanity Fair cover story is one of the messiest profiles of the year
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:40 PM on September 9, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:40 PM on September 9, 2022
Ok ok I figured out Spitgate thanks to some tweets from folks over the pond who understand the humor of young British males.
Harry walks over, leans over to Chris, whispers "(your) dick's out", Chris is startled and looks down for a moment to check, Harry sits down and nods to everyone to keep from laughing, Chris can only chuckle uncomfortably and roll his eyes and breathe out the stress of the entire week
I absolutely 100% believe this theory, especially after watching this video (which actually begins with a bit about how gross spitting is) the takeaway from which is that Styles' sense of humor is based heavily around making things awkward. The proffered explanation above fits that exactly.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:47 PM on September 9, 2022
Harry walks over, leans over to Chris, whispers "(your) dick's out", Chris is startled and looks down for a moment to check, Harry sits down and nods to everyone to keep from laughing, Chris can only chuckle uncomfortably and roll his eyes and breathe out the stress of the entire week
I absolutely 100% believe this theory, especially after watching this video (which actually begins with a bit about how gross spitting is) the takeaway from which is that Styles' sense of humor is based heavily around making things awkward. The proffered explanation above fits that exactly.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:47 PM on September 9, 2022
I'm seeing the words "BTS Drama" thrown about with regards to this story (example here), and the royals. Neither subject, as far as I can tell, has anything to do with the K-pop band. So does anyone know WHY "BTS Drama" has become a thing not related to the band? Or is BTS standing for something else?
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:55 PM on September 9, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:55 PM on September 9, 2022
Behind the scenes
posted by Mavri at 5:58 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Mavri at 5:58 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Which is an acronym far longer than the band! (oh nooo I've exposed myself for a long-standing petty grievance for all the tumblr tags I've had to blacklist)
posted by cendawanita at 8:48 PM on September 9, 2022
posted by cendawanita at 8:48 PM on September 9, 2022
Another entertaining rundown of the whole thing. With definitions of things like "aperol spritz."
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:13 AM on September 13, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:13 AM on September 13, 2022
Oh goody, a report of a screaming match!
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:20 PM on September 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:20 PM on September 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
« Older Engagement is a form of debt creation | A couple articles on noise Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Things that stand out here:
(a) Olivia appears to be well, drama. Cheating on her longterm partner, the entire Shia thing, being caught at lying. She seems shady. I never paid attention to her before this/tended to mix her up with the other famous Olivia that nobody likes either, but it's a shame that she's divey because nobody wants another rare female director to turn out to suck as a human. I remember reading a quote somewhere that next thing you know, we'll find out she sent herself those papers onstage and frankly, that would not surprise me at this point.
I don't know enough to really be able to judge on ProcessServerGate and I don't think we'll ever know unless the process server outs herself and tells the whole story. I don't know how much input Jason would have on where TO serve her (he said not to do it around the kids, he says), or how much difficulty she was giving them to get to her. I do concur with Olivia that it had to be quite a setup to get the server in, at least. But the more this goes on, the more I suspect Olivia just makes life choices that bring the drama. She's a chaos stirrer, not an innocent chaos magnet. Or more like, she makes poor life choices that blow up on her.
I do give her credit for not ripping on Florence in public (so far, I expect this to change in a few weeks) despite the estrangement and ah, realizing that she should keep her mouth shut now on this drama. A bit late on the Shia stuff, mind you....
(b) Much as I don't like Shia, the man had receipts, so I have to give a bit of respect for that. Though this could all be for his Catholic Redemption Tour, of course. Now we will all go back to ignoring him.
(c) I presume after this event, Harry and Olivia are already broken up or will be soon.
I don't think spitting actually happened. I have watched that several times and I literally just don't see it. If anything happened, Harry accidentally sprayed while speaking or something.
Harry's quotes from this about acting and the best thing about this movie is that it's a movie is just lulz. I have paid next to no attention to the dude, but he is coming off as pretty/dimwit.
That collar is ridiculous. Who thought that looked good to make or put on someone? And it has matching shoes? It's like we're bringing back the bad stuff about the 70's.
It's kind of hilarious that a random makeout with a dude during this is NOT EVEN in the top ten things about this drama now.
(d) Chris Pine keeping blank face for the entire time is a smart move. He does look like he's doing that thing where you just stare at some random spot on the floor and zone out. That photo of him with his eyes rolled back in his head? Wowza!
(e) I have whopping respect for Florence for keeping silent on all of this and being as absentee as she can get away with and ignoring Olivia. Most young'uns these days would blab everything, but she keeps quiet. Mad respect there. This is the most fascinating thing about the entire story: that she's just staying out of and above the fray, with drink in hand, eyes elsewhere.
All people can do is guess what happened and try to find out from other sources. Did she object to the cheating? Was Olivia flaking on directing to get laid? Was she being hypocritical about attending a wedding (proven, apparently) during Covid after telling everyone else to stay at home? Was it the whole Shia thing? Could be any or all of the above! Frankly, I suspect worse, and we'll probably find out from other sources within the next few weeks. But not from Florence, I presume!
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:51 AM on September 6, 2022 [18 favorites]