Matthew Libatique, The Cinematographer For “Don’t Worry Darling,” Says That The Set Was “Harmonious”
Never in modern film-making has any film’s cast and crew seemed more deserving of a Real Housewives-type reunion hosted by Andy Cohen than Don’t Worry Darling. The film has continued to deliver rumors and drama from casting all the way to its press tour. I’d envision Olivia Wilde and star/boyfriend Harry Styles seated next to Andy on one couch, with the placement of Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Nick Kroll, Kiki Layne, and Gemma Chan up in the air. Secret guest? Shia LaBeouf walking out screaming unintelligibly from backstage, enlarged texts from Olivia receipts in hand. However, Don’t Worry Darling’s cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, recently said that the set was the “most harmonious” he’s ever been on, so maybe we’ve all just been duped into salivating over the alleged behind-the-scenes entertainment this yet-to-be-released film has already provided us.
While I’m one to believe that where there’s smoke, there’s fire, Matthew says we’ve got it all wrong. He’s worked on plenty of high-profile films and according to him, he witnessed no chaos on the DWD set.
“When I hear that there are rumors of acrimony on the set — I reject it. It wasn’t apparent at all, to be honest,” Matthew Libatique insisted on the latest episode of the Hollywood Reporter’s “Behind the Screen” podcast.
“From my standpoint, the stories are completely untrue when it comes to being on set,” he reiterated, adding: “I can’t speak to post-production at all.”
As we know, DWD has been plagued by Olivia and Harry relationship timeline rumors, Olivia saying she fired Shia, Olivia getting served with custody papers while on stage at CinemaCon, Shia saying he wasn’t fired (with video receipt), an alleged Olivia/Flo feud, Flo’s lax attitude about doing press for the film, and Spit-Gate (just to name a few). It was also alleged that Matthew completed most of the film for Olivia because she was too busy with Harry.
I would have guessed that if this messy film we keep hearing about was Matthew’s most harmonious, all of his other films must have been Mel “Sugar Tits” Gibson joints, but he’s actually worked on a diverse catalog of movies that haven’t had this level of reported turmoil. He did admit that DWD could have become chaotic after he left, though.
The industry veteran — who’s worked on films including “Requiem for a Dream,” “Black Swan” and Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” — did concede though that there could have been drama brewing after he left.
“Whatever happened, it happened way after I left … I was never witness to anything. And I didn’t feel anything. You know, you get a feeling that there might be something going on and I didn’t feel anything,” Libatique, 54, explained.
Back in 2018, Matthew got arrested for punching a Polish paramedic in the face while he was trying to treat him, so not sure if he’s the best barometer for harmony. Don’t Worry Darling doesn’t even hit theaters until September 23 and we’ve already been served abundant Oscar-worthy juice, so the movie itself better live up to the hype it’s created. Harry so profoundly said that the movie “feels like a movie,” so rest assured we’re at least guaranteed the bare minimum. Check back after Friday’s opening, I’m sure there’s more mayhem to come once it hits theaters. I’m betting on a before-movie preview for the upcoming season of Ted Lasso, courtesy of Olivia’s ex, Jason Sudeikis.