Olivia Wilde: 'I'd rather be controversial than boring'

Director actress and producer Olivia Wilde who has been part of Tron Legacy and Cowboys amp Aliens looked back at her career and opened up on the criteria of choosing projects while advising against equating art and acceptability and asking for additional possibilities for women to work behind the camera reported DeadlineWhile speaking at the Red Sea Film Festival she said I still dont feel like Ive made it I think once you feel like youve made it youve kind of lost I think that you have to always be working towards some more authentic version of the art you want to create and allow it to continue to be more ambitious which doesnt mean bigger probably just means courageousWilde who started as an assistant casting director and moved into acting on such series as The OC and House and has now been acting in films for 20 years made her feature directing debut with 2019s Booksmart following it up with 2022s Dont Worry Darling Shes next attached to direct Avengelyne a feature adaptation of the 1990s comic book character and Universals Christmas comedy Naughty both of which will be produced by Margot Robbies LuckyChap Shell also star in Gregg Arakis thriller I Want Your Sex according to DeadlineWilde shared that as an actress she naturally gravitated towards roles that had a little bit of risk involved due to which people are bringing her projects as an actor or director that they know that I wont be afraid of and I think part of that is being willing to not be accepted being willing to not be celebrated by everyone being willing to not be loved by everyone I think a huge problem with our business around the world I imagine its the same when you conflate filmmaking or acting with fame or with large scale acceptance you immediately cut off every opportunity to do any risky work And so I think that it was important to me to never become overly focused on being accepted or lovedId rather be controversial than boring You never want to make a movie as a director that people are like eh I dont know I felt nothing Id rather people hate it than feel nothing she added while talking about addressing criticismWilde further said that she believes acting is the only job where the more experience you have the less valuable you become Certainly for actresses At a certain point I realized I dont want to have my value deplete at the point where my wisdom and experience is at its apex I want to be celebrated for my experience as opposed to some sort of value based on something that is inherently fleetingAs a producer and as a director she added The more you make the longer you stick around the more you survive a business that is incredibly cutthroatWhen it comes to choose the projects she shared that more challenging than the last thing Ive done I feel bored otherwise I think that my biggest fear is probably like flatlining as an artist and just becoming lazyWilde said that as a woman she feels If youre given the opportunity to make a movie thats all you want is the chance to make the movie Youre so excited to be there Theres so little entitlement when you are a director from any sort of like a subcategory marginalized part of the entertainment community which is really everybody above white men You are thrilled with the opportunity to be there And I think that energy is limitlessOn talking about the position of women in the industry she said Theres no shortage of talent only shortage of opportunity There arent less women studying film Theres less women getting their movies madeShe advocated for the opportunity to help women not fit into the paradigm that has been created but to shift the paradigm itself so that it allows for these new voices to actually get their movies made I mean movies directed by women dont make less money Its not the audiences problem Its the the financiers its the studios They need to take what they perceive as a riskShe added that there is need to raise women to believe that they are allowed to take up space They are allowed to be leaders Its difficult to run a production and its difficult for men too but as women were sort of told that we should in many ways just constantly apologize for our existence And as a director you cant do that I think its about success being connected to creating something that is true to the idea that you have an authentic extension of you not about whether people approve of it reported DeadlineThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever