Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. had reported last summer that there was a bidding war to nab Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling,” a psychological thriller about a 1950s housewife whose reality begins to crack, revealing a disturbing realization that she is being suppressed. Fleming claimed to have “heard that between studios and streamers, there might be a dozen offers on the table for a movie that will happen very quickly.”
The film was sold a month later to New Line and now the cast has been announced.
According to Variety, Wilde has brought on actors Florence Pugh, Shia LaBeouf, and Chris Pine to star in her upcoming psychological thriller. The film is being penned by Wilde’s “Booksmart” co-writer Katie Silberman, who, it is being reported, rewrote the original script by Shane and Carey Van Dyke.
Pugh is set to be the star of a film that is now being described as “a psychological thriller set in an isolated, utopian community in the 1950s California desert.” Pugh is turning into a go-to Indie actress these days, what with last year’s critically-acclaimed “Little Women,” and “Midsommar.”
Of course, Wilde is coming off her critically acclaimed debut “Booksmart,” a film that was somewhat overpraised by critics upon its release but generated so much buzz for her to realize this dream project. The premise itself sounds intriguing and the relevance of its #TimesUp themes will no doubt be much talked about whenever it is finally released.
For Schrader, AI solves the curious practical filmmaking problem he had. How about just creating Black people? No casting calls, no agents, no actors turning down the roles.