Olivia Wilde Elaborates On The 'No A**holes' Policy That Led To Firing Shia LaBeouf!

There’s no question Olivia Wilde traded up when she fired Shia LaBeouf and hired Harry Styles in his place for her new film Don’t Worry Darling.

Acting ability aside, Harry and the Booksmart director got along so well that they literally started dating. Meanwhile, Shia — who was later accused of abuse by ex-girlfriend FKA twigs — had disrespected Olivia on another project they worked on together, and according to a Variety report, the rest of the cast and crew found him “off-putting.” Basically, the replacement seems like a big win all around.

News had leaked that the Disney alum had fallen victim to the mother of two’s “no a**holes” policy for her sets. Seems like a pretty good rule of thumb to us, but we hadn’t heard the reasoning behind it from Olivia herself… until now.

The House alum was featured in a Variety “Directors on Directors” conversation with Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), who asked her about the rumor. Olivia responded:

“The no a**holes policy, it puts everybody on the same level. I also noticed as an actress for years how the hierarchy of the set separated the actors from the crew in this very strange way that serves no one… I think actors would actually like to know more about what’s happening there when you’re pulling my focus? What is that lens change? But the idea of, don’t bother the actors and keep them separate, and don’t look at them. I think it makes everyone quite anxious.”

Elsewhere, the 36-year-old elaborated:

“Someone, who’s a very established actor and director in this industry, gave me really terrible advice that was helpful, because I just knew I had to do the opposite. They said, ‘Listen, the way to get respect on a set, you have to have three arguments a day. Three big arguments that reinstate your power, remind everyone who’s in charge, be the predator.’ That is the opposite of my process. And I want none of that.”

She continued:

“I think that it is an unfortunate part of the kind of the paradigm, that has been created over the last 100 years, the idea that great art has to come from a place of discomfort and anxiety. That the pressure cooker has to get to a point where it can be something intense and valuable in that way. I do think it may be a uniquely female instinct to say, ‘Look, we can be nurturing. And we can multitask.’ It doesn’t mean that anyone needs to be uncomfortable. And it doesn’t mean that I have to constantly remind you of my position, because I don’t think anyone on a set has ever forgotten who’s in charge. It’s in fact, an incredibly hierarchical system.”

Jason Sudeikis’s ex concluded:

“If anything, I think we’d all benefit to sort of remove the hero narrative from that structure, and to acknowledge that a director is a sum of all these parts, that we have the opportunity to delegate to all these incredible people that we’ve asked to come on board.”

This is a fascinating insight into the culture of a movie set (and how it’s evolving now that people other than straight, white men are working behind the camera). That being said, the actress acknowledged how much harder it is to foster a welcoming environment during COVID — after all, the different departments have to be separated right now for their own safety.

Regardless, we’re looking forward to the amazing career in directing Olivia has in front of her. Long live the No A**holes policy!

[Image via IPA/WENN/Avalon]