We’re just a few weeks away from CinemaCon 2023, which, among other things, will feature the world premieres of the 2023 new movies releases The Flash and The Boogeyman. However, with the event looming so close, some may find themselves thinking of a specific, albeit unplanned moment last year’s CinemaCon, specifically when Olivia Wilde was served child custody papers on stage while talking about her movie Don’t Worry Darling, which can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription. Well, don’t count on something like that happening again this year, as CinemaCon reportedly has a new plan for its security.
According to sources who spoke with Variety, among the ways security will be beefed up at CinemaCon this year include guards stationed around the stage perimeter, as well each studio that presents at the Caesar’s Coliseum theater being able to decide who sits in the front row, a sharp contrast from previous years when pass holders at the event could camp out for such seats. It was also stated that the event’s organizers made these changes “early on” and "have communicated extensively that proceedings will be safe for all participants.” Mitch Neuhauser, CinemaCon’s managing director, would not comment on these reported security plans, instead just saying this:
We take our show very seriously. We said we were going to reevaluate and put into place more intensive plans and protocols, and we have. I’m not at liberty and won’t discuss those specific plans.
In case you missed out on what happened to Olivia Wilde at last year’s CinemaCon, in the middle of her presentation for Don’t Worry Darling (which, at the time, was five months away from release), someone approached the stage on behalf of her ex-husband Jason Sudeikis to give her papers concerning the custody of their two children, Otis and Daisy. The following August, Wilde described that moment as being “upsetting” because it happened in her “workplace,” and said that the “breach in security” that resulted this person to hand her the papers was “scary.”
Sudeikis explained that same month that because he didn’t want the papers served at Wilde’s home because her then-romantic partner Harry Styles might be present, nor did he want them served at the kids’ school “because parents might be present,” that resulted in what went down at CinemaCon. That said, the Ted Lasso star “deeply” regretted that “the incident marred her special moment.” The court documents were filed by Sudeikis in an effort to get Otis and Daisy to live in New York with him rather than go with Wilde to London, where she’d been thinking about moving to at the time, though that’s presumably no longer happening since she and Styles broke up in November. A judge ultimately ruled that California, where both Sudiekis and Wilde spend a lot of their time, is the children’s home state.
Going back to CinemaCon 2023, the event will take place from April 24-27, and Disney, Warner Bros, Sony, Universal and Paramount will all present there. However, even with these extra security measures, should something surprising happen akin to what Olivia Wilde went through, we’ll let you know.
