Shia LaBeouf - INDY 4 "Dropped the Ball"

[AndyDursin]

I'm not a fan but at least he told it like it was!

This movie was a massive disappointment everywhere except its box-office grosses. But as time goes on its already bad rep is only going to sink further and harder than it has already...at least he's being honest about that fact.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/ ... lberg.html

The last time Shia LaBeouf came to Cannes, in 2008, it was to promote "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," the revival of the swashbuckling adventure franchise that went on to earn a whopping $787 million around the world. LaBeouf is back on the Croisette this weekend to flog "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," another revival of a classic from several decades ago. But he's not willing to forget about what he says were rampant problems with Indy 4 -- and he doesn't expect fans to, either.

"I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished," LaBeouf said, explaining that this upped the ante for him before he began shooting the "Wall Street" sequel. "If I was going to do it twice, my career was over. So this was fight-or-flight for me."

Meeting with reporters Saturday on a terrace at the Hotel du Cap, he had some strong, confessional words about his acting in the film, which he said he felt didn't convince anyone that he was the action hero the movie claimed him to be. "You get to monkey-swinging and things like that and you can blame it on the writer and you can blame it on Steven [Spielberg, who directed]. But the actor's job is to make it come alive and make it work, and I couldn't do it. So that's my fault. Simple."

LaBeouf said that he could have kept quiet, especially given the movie's blockbuster status, but didn't think the film had fooled anyone. "I think the audience is pretty intelligent. I think they know when you've made ... . And I think if you don't acknowledge it, then why do they trust you the next time you're promoting a movie." LaBeouf went on to say he wasn't the only star on the film who felt that way. "We [Harrison Ford and LaBeouf] had major discussions. He wasn't happy with it either. Look, the movie could have been updated. There was a reason it wasn't universally accepted."

LaBeouf added, "We need to be able to satiate the appetite," he said. "I think we just misinterpreted what we were trying to satiate."

Asked whether this was difficult to say, given his deep relationship with Spielberg, LaBeouf continued with the directness.

"I'll probably get a call. But he needs to hear this. I love him. I love Steven. I have a relationship with Steven that supersedes our business work. And believe me, I talk to him often enough to know that I'm not out of line. And I would never disrespect the man. I think he's a genius, and he's given me my whole life. He's done so much great work that there's no need for him to feel vulnerable about one film. But when you drop the ball you drop the ball."

[Monterey Jack]

Wow, trashing the movie two years after the fact long after the check has been cashed. How very Katherine Heigl.

[AndyDursin]

Wow, trashing the movie two years after the fact long after the check has been cashed. How very Katherine Heigl.

Except she usually doesn't wait that long.

Then again, some people never say anything bad -- especially when he's got a working relationship with the great Spielberg.

[Eric W.]

Wow, trashing the movie two years after the fact long after the check has been cashed. How very Katherine Heigl.

Right?


I do have to give credit where it's due, though: Shia pretty much slammed the ball out of the park, just way too late for it to mean a hill of beans one way or the other.

[AndyDursin]

Wow, trashing the movie two years after the fact long after the check has been cashed. How very Katherine Heigl.

Right?


I do have to give credit where it's due, though: Shia pretty much slammed the ball out of the park, just way too late for it to mean a hill of beans one way or the other.

Sure, but what really would you expect him to do? Most actors -- MOST -- would never say anything in the first place. If they do, it is usually reserved for years after the fact -- as in, someone doing a retrospective piece on the film or something along those lines, many years after the fact.

It might be a few years later in this instance (though not really THAT long ago), but no actor would ever go out when a film is released and trash it. Only Bill Cosby with LEONARD PART VI and a few other, scattered instances come to mind. Plus he has a working relationship with Spielberg thats still on-going. He was his favorite pet project and still maybe is.

As much as I question his talents, I do think you have to give him some credit for speaking his mind, since I'd bet most actors wouldn't say anything -- ever.

[mkaroly]

What I liked about his comments were that they were honest but respectful. No matter how bad that movie was, it was destined to make a lot of money. He could have trashed the movie in a disrespectful way but his comments were pretty mature...something that I can rarely say about the Hollywood elite.