Florence Pugh To Star In Universal’s Whodunit ‘The Maid’

Universal has secured the rights to the upcoming murder mystery novel The Maid written by Nita Prose, which won’t even be published at Penguin Random House/HarperFiction until 2022. Deadline also reports that Midsommar-breakout actress Florence Pugh is set to play the role of Molly the maid in the new film, however, a director nor screenwriter were named at this time.

Set at the Regency Grand Hotel, where Molly the maid leaves every room perfect and pristine, while getting to know each guest’s dirty secrets. A Clue-like, locked-room whodunnit, The Maid explores Molly’s descent into the murderous underbelly of her gilded workplace, while telling a timely story about the strengths of our differences.

Florence has been having an interesting career so far with credits that include The Outlaw King, the AMC series The Little Drummer Girl, Little Women, and will be seen next in the solo Black Widow film opposite Scarlett Johansson. There are even reports she’s already primed to reprise the Yelena Belova role in the Hawkeye series which is currently in production. The actress is currently filming the New Line Cinema thriller Don’t Worry Darling from director Olivia Wilde.

It certainly sounds like genre got a large shot-in-the-arm thanks to Rian Johnson’s popular Knives Out and we expect to see more movies of these types being announced in the future alongside Rian’s untitled sequel.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Olivia Wilde Thriller ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Halts Due To Positive COVID-19 Test – Had Been Filming In Los Angeles

Yesterday, Deadline confirmed that Los Angeles filming on the New Line Cinema thriller Don’t Worry Darling has temporarily paused due to a positive COVID-19 test from an undisclosed member of the production, not to be part of the main cast. The period film being directed by Booksmart’s Olivia Wilde has an impressive cast that includes Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, KiKi Layne, Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll, and Olivia Wilde.

Production will pause for 14 days.

New Line tonight temporarily shut down production on the Olivia Wilde-directed film Don’t Worry Darling when a member of the production tested positive for COVID-19. The studio confirmed it happened, something that is an occupational hazard for any film or TV show that is shooting right now. They shut down right away.

With the United States hitting 103,000+ single day new positive COVID-19 cases, an all-time record, there is a good chance that other productions in and outside of California are likely going to see more productions hit with positive tests. Even with aggressive safety protocols in place.

The New Line project isn’t the only project filming stateside that has had hiccups due to positive tests as Dwayne Johnson (along with his family) tested positive just weeks before Netflix’s Red Notice was set to resume filming in Atlanta. Speaking of Atlanta, Marvel Studios has a huge presence in the area with Disney+ shows wrapping up alongside Spider-Man 3, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk all set to film there.

In mid-October, filming on the Netflix western The Harder They Fall starring Idris Elba and Regina King that was taking place in New Mexico paused for COVID-19 tests as well. Elba famously had previously dealt with the Coronavirus while in Australia and shared his experience on social media.

There were reports that Spyglass Media’s Scream 5 had three crew members contract COVID-19 in North Carolina but kept on filming anyways which sounds extremely risky from an insurance perspective and to the safety of their cast/crew.

Production bubbles seem to be where things are headed and might be a way to curb potential future shut downs. Bubbles limit the contact of people working on the film to outsiders and hinder the chance of positive tests, the NBA bubble was a huge success story over the summer.

Director Olivia Wilde is expected to follow-up Don’t Worry Darling with an untitled Sony/Marvel film which is reportedly focusing on Jesscia Drew aka Spider-Woman.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Harry Styles Replaces Shia LaBeouf In Olivia Wilde’s 1950s Thriller ‘Don’t Worry Darling’

Deadline reports that Shia LaBeouf had to exit the upcoming thriller Don’t Worry Darling from director Olivia Wilde and will now be replaced by Dunkirk actor Harry Styles.

The rest of the cast includes Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, and Wilde has a supporting role.

Don’t Worry Darling is set in an isolated, utopian community in the 1950s California desert.

Olivia Wilde made waves with with debut effort Booksmart and recently closed a deal to direct a Marvel film for Sony Pictures said to be Spider-Woman.

The New Line Cinema pic hasn’t landed an official release date.

SOURCE: DEADLINE