(Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
Zac Efron hates Olivia Wilde. Tension spilled over on the final day of shooting Wilde’s neo-noir detective film, Rolling Blackout, and rumors are that Efron didn’t invite Wilde to the private wrap party he was throwing at the Chateau Marmont.
Don’t worry, you haven’t somehow slept through a fiery Hollywood feud, as this is the plot from the latest episode of The Studio. However, the depiction of this director being viewed through resentful eyes at the end of production has a familiar ring. This blurring between reality and fiction doesn’t feel entirely coincidental.
It is impossible not to cast your mind back to early 2021 when news first broke that Wilde was dating Harry Styles and the pair became instant gossip fodder. Styles was starring in Wilde’s second feature, Don’t Worry Darling, and little did we know the roller coaster that would follow. A director dating a star is hardly unheard of, but this Wilde-Styles coupling set every tongue wagging.
The rumor mill became even more frenzied in the lead-up to its 2022 release. Don’t Worry Darling was subject to endless stories about unprofessional behavior and disagreements. The on-set tension even spilled onto the Venice Film Festival stage.
Remember when the question of whether Harry Styles had spit on Chris Pine dominated the news? Or Florence Pugh’s DGAF arrival (after skipping the press conference) in a purple Valentino set with an Aperol spritz in hand set tongues wagging? (Not to mention the Miss Flo of it all.) How about Jason Sudeikis (or his legal team) stirring the pot by serving Wilde custody papers during her CinemaCon presentation? Wilde even addressed some salacious gossip when she appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Seth Rogen has already confirmed that actual events inspired myriad storylines in The Studio, and there is more than enough material to write an episode based on the chaotic Don’t Worry Darling press tour alone. Rogen hasn’t come out and said Wilde’s guest appearance is about this firestorm. Still, you can choose to read between the lines of this comment to IndieWire: “For someone like that, there’s like Olivia and four other people on the planet who could play that role. Thank god we went to her first, and she said yes.”
In The Studio, fictional Olivia becomes the subject of on-set tension after a reel of the almost completed film goes missing on the last day of production. Shooting on celluloid is expensive, and Rolling Blackout is already over budget. While Don’t Worry Darling was likened to an episode of Black Mirror, the fictional Rolling Blackout is taking its cues from Chinatown—as does this episode of The Studio.
Matt Remick (Rogen) asks Olivia if anyone on the crew has it out for her or wants to f— her over because this seems specifically aimed at hurting the director. “I’m sorry, on this crew? Matt, this crew is my family. Each and every one is so devoted to the message of this film,” Olivia responds. Quickly, Matt and fellow executive Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz) discover that Olivia’s blissful description doesn’t match reality.
“He’s [Zac] always nice, no matter how much Olivia grinds him,” a PA tells the Continental Pictures duo. No, he isn’t talking about sexual positions. Zac isn’t the Harry Styles of this movie, but the alleged Miss Flo. Wilde embracing playing a version of herself that her lead actor loathes is very nudge, nudge, wink, wink, and I applaud her ability to poke fun at a situation that overshadowed her second feature-length movie. It is easy to forget that her feature debut, Booksmart, was so beloved (and had a scandal-free press tour!).
“Everyone’s sick of her,” Zac says about Olivia, verifying the rumors. Matt accuses him of stealing the reel, but Zac did no such thing. Zac’s innocence is confirmed when he discovers the missing reel contains the big shootout: “That was the hardest day. That was a nightmare.”
Olivia is described as “going full Fincher” (needing 40 takes of Zac putting a hat on), and her control freak status is why everyone has turned on her. No, this isn’t the same set-up as the Don’t Worry Darling debacle, but we don’t need a direct connection to prick up our ears about art imitating life.
Nor are Zac’s complaints tied to how appropriate Olivia is being on set, but the relentless pursuit of greatness at the detriment of everyone else. Sal and Matt deduce Olivia stole the reel herself so she could reshoot scenes she is unhappy with. There is a manic edge to Olivia refusing to give Matt the reel and the subsequent physical lengths (including Sal getting hit by a car) in pursuing her masterpiece—something male creatives receive more grace for when coming up against on-set rumors.
The wack-a-do vibe emanating from Olivia taps into how women creatives are portrayed in the press and the rumours that this fictional movie would be feeding Page Six, TMZ, and Deuxmoi for months. There is already a blown-out-of-proportion tabloid version of Olivia stemming from Don’t Worry Darling, and this portrayal highlights that Wilde has a sense of humor without having to do a play-by-play repeat of reality.
“Good artists borrow and great artists steal,” says Olivia. Whether taking pieces from Chinatown or real life, The Studio is making a case about the latter with very game stars ready to play in this art-imitating-life sandbox.
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