Tuesday
02Dec2008
Shia LaBeouf is John Grisham's 'Associate'
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 10:53AM
Let's rewind about 18 months and take a look at the
career of
Shia LaBeouf: Disturbia was great, and made about $80 million
against a $20 million budget. Transformers was huge. Indiana Jones
was huge. And
Eagle Eye, a movie that could really only sell
Shia LaBeouf, got bad reviews and still made $100 million, one of only five
movies to make that much without enjoying a summer release date. Three of the
other four were released in November.
Shia will play a Yale Law School student who is "manipulated into accepting a job at a prestige law firm and given privileged information about a multibillion-dollar lawsuit." And haven't we all been there before?
How did LaBeouf get the inside track on the starring role? Apparently, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura received a copy of The Associate while he was working on the Transformers sequel in the Middle East, and during that production, Shia agreed to take the part.
The Grisham name may not have the draw it did in the mid-1990s, but that's why you go out and get yourself the most reliable box office draw under the age of 30.
Reader Comments (2)
We are seeing this kid become "the next Will Smith" right before our very eyes...because he's "ahem" more than meets the, um. eye...
Well, I would like to see some analysis that could explain Shia's seemingly inexplicable pulling power.
Personally, I have a three-fold theory:
Shia LeBeouf is the most popular young male movie star because:
(1) young women are attracted to his apparent vulnerability;
(2) young men identify with his sleek version of an average guy; and
(3) there is a current shortage of competing young male talent.
Howaboutsit?