Venice blocks question on Shia LaBeouf for Olivia Wilde, which closes one on Florence Pugh herself

It's been a whirlwind for "Don't Worry Darling" the past few weeks, and the press tour for Olivia Wilde's second directing effort just kicked things up a notch with the world premiere film at the Venice Film Festival.

At the film's press conference, which Wilde attended alongside Harry Styles, Gemma Chan and Chris Pine, the director deftly dodged a question about absentee star Florence Pugh and her alleged feud with the actress .

"Florence is a force. We are so grateful that she was able to make it tonight [for the red carpet, but not to answer questions] despite being in production on "Dune". I know, as a director, how upsetting it is to lose an actor even for a day, so I'm very grateful to her and [Denis Villeneuve] for helping us. And we're going to celebrate his work tonight I can't say how honored I am to have her as my lead. She's amazing.

"As far as all the endless tabloid gossip and noise going around, I mean, the internet feeds itself." She added: "I don't feel the need to contribute. I think he is fed well enough."

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Pugh was from Budapest, where she is currently filming "Dune 2". Pugh could walk the red carpet for "Don't Worry Darling" tonight but would arrive too late to attend the press conference. However, Variety noted that photos of Pugh arriving in Venice were not available until an hour after the press conference ended. claimed she was photographed arriving just five minutes after the press conference.

Rumors of an on-set feud between Wilde and Pugh were fueled again when Shia LaBeouf sent reporters a video of Wilde trying to get him back on set two days after claiming he had quit, the director looking frustrated with Pugh. She called the actress "Miss Flo" and said this production would be "a wake-up call" for her - LaBeouf claims he left the set after insufficient rehearsal time. Wilde had retroactively claimed in a Variety cover story that she fired LaBeouf for his "fighting energy" and to keep Pugh "safe".

As for LaBeouf, a reporter from The Hollywood Reporter tried to ask Wilde a question about the actor, whose Abel Ferrara film 'Padre Pio' also premiered in Venice. But in this case, the press conference moderator, provided by the Venice Film Festival itself, closed the question completely. There was no need to answer it, the moderator said, because "it's on the internet" and Wilde had "already answered that".

You can watch the full Venice Film Festival press conference for "Don't Worry Darling" below.

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