White Noise Arrives; Batgirl Funeral Screenings, Wilde on LaBeouf

A first look at White Noise, from Noah Baumbach; Olivia Wilde explains why she fired Shia LaBeouf, Batgirl funeral screenings are the saddest ticket in Hollywood. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.

Three Headed Beast: What has three heads, nine sex scenes, almost no dialogue and nothing but natural light? That would be the new festival hit Three Headed Beast, which uses naturalism, candlelight and body language to explore polyamory. Graham Hubner interviewed first-time feature directors Fernando Andrés and Tyler Rugh about how they created the film.

Exit LaBeouf: Olivia Wilde is finally explaining why exactly she fired Shia LaBeouf from Don’t Worry Darling and replaced him with Harry Stiles, her now-boyfriend. It comes down to trying to make sure Florence Pugh, who also stars in the film, felt “safe” and “supported.” Wilde told Variety that LaBeouf “has a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances.” Wilde told Variety. “I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job.” Margeaux Sippell has lots of detail and background here.

Congratulations: To the winners of the 6th annual Festival of Cinema NYC! Casey Nelson and Marchelle Thurman’s Black, White and the Greys won both Best Feature Film Narrative and the Audience Choice for Best Feature Film. Top individual awards went to Cory Choy (Esme, My Love) for Best Director, Nate Washburn (Behind the Wall) for Breakthrough Male Performance, and Nicole Stuart (40ish…) for Breakthrough Female Performance.

Esme, My Love: While we’re thrilled for all the winners, we’re especially excited for Cory Choy, who previously appeared in this very newsletter. Esme, My Love is the beautifully shot story of a mom (Stacy Weckstein) who leads her daughter Esme (Audrey Grace Marshall) into the woods after seeing signs that the girl has a terminal illness. It previously won Best Cinematography at the Richmond International Film Festival, Freewheeling Film Awards in London, and Cannes World Film Festival, where Cory Choy also won best director. You can learn more at EsmeMyLove.com, or check out the trailer:

Batgirl‘s Funeral: I can’t think of a much grimmer fate for a film than the “funeral screenings” that The Hollywood Reporter says Batgirl will soon receive on the Warner Bros. lot. The site reports that the cancelled film will be shown to a few employees before it is locked away in a vault as a tax write-off. The film previously received just a single, very early test screening for the public, which I suspect did not go great, given the movie’s sad fate.

Community Movie: Community creator Dan Harmon says the show’s six seasons and a movie mantra is on its way to coming true. Newsweek cites him saying an outline is complete and that the project is being pitched. He’s hesitant to commit to a timeline, dark or otherwise.

No Context: This made me laugh.

‘I Want to Know How Scared I Should Be’: Here’s the first look at Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of the darkly funny Don DeLillo novel White Noise, featuring Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig and Don Cheadle done up to look very unlike themselves. The film is about an existential dilemma brought on by one of those airborne toxic events you’ve been hearing so much about.