LaBeouf then countered, stating to Variety magazine that he had “quit the film due to lack of rehearsal time.” He then sent videos to substantiate this of Olivia essentially begging him to return to the production. So, already Olivia isn’t looking very good here… It looks like she might have falsely accused LaBeouf of inappropriate behavior.
Olivia hires musician Harry Styles to come on board the production to replace LaBeouf. I’m assuming they’re starting from scratch and reshooting everything involving him at this point; who knows? I have no idea how these types of productions work, but replacing your lead once you’re already shooting does not sound like a recipe for success.
Somewhere around this time, Olivia’s personal life collapses as she separates from her partner/fiancé with whom she has two children, Jason Sudeikis. The split seems to be mutual and amiable at this point.
Worth adding that Florence Pugh has stayed strangely quiet about everything that has just happened. This is in stark comparison to previous statements she had been making during initial production, gushing about her chance to work with Olivia. She is a bit of a rising star at the moment in Hollywood, and she seems to be beginning to regret every attachment she has to the film.
Rumors emerge that Olivia and Harry have begun dating and may have even been involved prior to her split from Sudeikis. Either way, their separation appears to take a turn, and she is then served custody documents while on stage promoting her production.
Harry and Olivia are seen together and appear to be a couple. Meanwhile, Florence still isn’t saying a word about anything and has been doing nothing at all to promote the film.
This appears to have all come to a head during the Venice Film Festival when all of these people are put on display together. A few things are speculated and observed happening:
-Harry bizarrely describes the movie during an interview. Stating that it’s something like “A movie. Like a movie that you’d want to see in a theater kind of film.” Actor Chris Pine, seated next to him, doesn’t look at all pleased to be there with Harry and appears to grit his teeth.
-Harry appears to have mistakenly or purposefully spit on Chris Pine’s leg as he takes a seat in the audience next to Pine. People are referring to this as “Spit Gate,” and Styles himself joked about it at a concert last night.
-Harry and Olivia appear to avoid one another entirely and are seated on opposite sides of present cast members. Rumors emerge now, suspecting the relationship to be fake to drum up publicity for the film. Otherwise, it appears the two have now split and aren’t on good terms.
-Florence dodges much of the press and publicity for the film, deepening suspicions that there has been a rift or feud between her and Olivia.
This is all off the top of my head, so I’m sure there are details that I’ve gotten incorrect here, but it’s the gist of the whole thing.
The film has bombed in reviews and currently sits at 1/10 on IMDB and 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. As Olivia has said in the past, this is blame that sits squarely on the shoulders of the Director of the film.
All in all, Olivia hasn’t been sitting very well in public opinion, so it won’t be a surprise if more stories like this Chef’s emerge.
