Box Office

The robots ruled again!

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/box-office-transformers-is-prime-once-again.php

Review - The Dark of the Moon

The thing about the Transformers is that there are a lot of fans of the 80's cartoons. The first Transformers movie was not too bad, quite enjoyable and nice. Unfortunately for us, the second one was not good at all.

Yup, Michael Bay's gone and screwed up the Transformers franchise with Revenge of the Fallen. The robots were relegated to secondary characters and some weren't even named. They could be destroyed by human weapons. Even Optimus Prime needed Even Stevens to save him. WTF right??

So with the third one, I had hoped that Bay would've made a Transformers movie where the robots were the focus, instead of the humans. Against all odds of course. But The Dark of the Moon had gone back the way of the first movie. More focus on the robots, although the human elements were still aplenty.

There were about 9 Autobots and apart from Optimus, each robot had about 2 lines each on average. Still better than RofF.

At least no robots needed a human to save them or revive them. But now, the robots actually die by human hands. Sigh...

Anyway, I did enjoy this movie. A lot better than RotF. The new girl, Rose Huntington-Whiteley, was a nice replacement for Megan Fox, even though Fox's character was no damsel in distress and could hold her own like Shia LaBeouf's character. At least this new girl and Sam had chemistry and she did a good job considering this is her debut.

I do like the space bridge storylines and the fact that the Autobots were betrayed by one of their own. Other than that, not much left to be said. Unless of course, you were not originally a fan of the original Transformers. Then The Dark of the Moon is a very good summer flick...

Box Office

Dark of the Moon is #1, not surprisingly... but underperformed against Revenge of the Fallen...


http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/transformers-shape-up-with-years-best-weekend-ap

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.reuters.com/transformers-global-box-office-hits-372-million-reuters

Shia LaBeouf – Stop Talking Before You Get Into Trouble – Too Late

Poor Shia LaBeouf.

Sometimes he just doesn’t know when to stop talking.

For years, Hollywood bad boy Shia has had a problem with cops, booze, women, co-stars, gay slurs, moonshine, and directors – and now he has opened up to Details Magazine, and somebody should have stopped him.

His latest flick, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is out and the initial response is positive – even as others feel the franchise has become a bit stale and unbelievable.

And once again the young action hero finds himself in hot water after running his mouth.



But let’s start at the beginning.

A few years ago, Shia made news for entering a Walgreens drugstore sloppy drunk at 3:00 in the morning and trying to buy cigarettes. He was arrested.

Next was a car accident that badly mangled his hand and fingers that caused a delay in the filming schedule. The injury was ultimately written into the script so filming could continue.

Then it was a well-publicized incident at a Brite Spot Family Restaurant after a fan wanted to take his picture and he said “no”. It ended with Shia on the sidewalk in handcuffs.

A few weeks ago he told MTV,

"I'm not coming back to do another one. I don't think director Michael Bay will either. It's still a hot property, I think, especially coming out of the third one. So I imagine they'll reboot it at some point with someone else."

After completing the third sequel, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”, LaBeouf is distancing himself from the popular series.

Next were his comments about his co-star Megan Fox.

LaBeouf dumped on her acting abilities and staying power in a male dominated Hollywood and ruffling a few feathers by saying,

"Megan developed this Spice Girl strength, this woman-empowerment stuff that made her feel awkward about her involvement with Michael. He films women in a way that appeals to a 16-year-old sexuality. It’s summer. It’s Michael’s style. And I think Megan Fox never got comfortable with it. This is a girl who was taken from complete obscurity and placed in a sex-driven role in front of the whole world and told she was the sexiest woman in America. And she had a hard time accepting it.”

Ouch. You would think by these statements the two most definitely DO NOT get along.

But you would be wrong.

When asked by a Details editor about the possibility of him hooking up with Fox he said,

“Look, you’re on the set for six months, with someone who’s rooting to be attracted to you, and you’re rooting to be attracted to them. I never understood the separation of work and life in that situation. But the time I spent with Megan was our own thing, and I think you can see the chemistry onscreen.”

The problem?

At the time Shia was on set filming “Transformers”, Fox was dating Brian Austin Green.

Awkward? You bet.

When asked about the possible conflict of interest Shia responded,

“I don’t know, man. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I Don’t know…. It was what it was.”

Running into rough patches with co-starts is not new for the actor.

After a lukewarm reception for his performance in “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull” with superstar Harrison Ford, Shia admits he was not up to par during filming and also criticized the film in the press.

Harrison Ford remembers it a bit differently saying,

"I think I told him he was a f##king idiot. As an actor, I think it's my obligation to support the film without making a complete ass of myself. Shia is ambitious, attentive, and talented—and he's learning how to deal with a situation which is very unique and difficult."

And he seems to be learning well.

In fact, he has just completed filming his latest movie “The Wettest Country in the World” a crime-drama centered on a family of Depression-era bootleggers in the American South and due in theaters next year.

We also hear there may be another chance for LaBeouf to get it right in a new “Indiana Jones”, and we’re sure there will be a “Wall Street” sequel in a year or two.

This is what we like to see – a Hollywood action hero who acts like one in real life and doesn’t take nothing from nobody.

Go Shia!

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Shia LaBeouf – I’m Done, No More Transformer Movies For Me - Video

There comes a time in every actor’s career when they feel they need to take their last bow.

Shia LaBeouf feels that way about the Transformers franchise.

After three starring roles he says he has had enough.

He told MTV,

"I'm not coming back to do another one. I don't think director Michael Bay will either. It's still a hot property, I think, especially coming out of the third one. So I imagine they'll reboot it at some point with someone else."

After completing the third sequel, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”, LaBeouf is distancing himself from the popular series.

But he thinks “Dark of the Moon”, where the Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets, is the best of all the films.



Shia was very vocal about the second sequel "Revenge of the Fallen" saying,

"When I saw the second movie, I wasn't impressed with what we did. There were some really wild stunts in it, but the heart was gone."

Ouch. Not good when your big star doesn’t like the way things turned out. And to add insult to injury superhot Megan Fox will not be in this latest sequel which LaBeouf seems to think is a good thing.

"Megan developed this Spice Girl strength, this woman-empowerment stuff that made her feel awkward about her involvement with Michael. He films women in a way that appeals to a 16-year-old sexuality. It’s summer. It’s Michael’s style. And I think Megan Fox never got comfortable with it. This is a girl who was taken from complete obscurity and placed in a sex-driven role in front of the whole world and told she was the sexiest woman in America. And she had a hard time accepting it.”

But don’t feel bad for LaBeouf – he is doing plenty well for himself these days.

The actor has had a string of smash hits since his awkward teen years on the television show “Even Stevens” including roles in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Battle of Shaker Heights, I, Robot, Disturbia, Eagle Eye, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Between his role in Indiana Jones and Wall Street he has been able to inject himself into two of the largest movie concepts of all time – and there is plenty of room for sequels for both of those franchises.

Shia also just completed work alongside Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy in “The Wettest County in the World” - a crime-drama centered on a family of Depression-era bootleggers in the American South.

“Wettest” is due to hit theaters sometime in 2012.

And on top of all that, there is rumor that a new “Indiana Jones” is in the works. Shia could take on the legacy of that franchise and milk it for the next twenty years if he wanted to.

So all is good, and the Transformers probably need to come to end anyway.

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Trailer - The Dark of the Moon

Hope this won't suck like the previous ones...

Review - Wall Street

I did not really wanna see this movie at first. Maybe just get the DVD, or mooch off of someone who'd downloaded it already. Yeah, yeah, I know. *shrugs*

But it did not seem that all interesting to me, even after I saw the trailer. And Shia LaBeouf? The dude just ruins movies. Well, not all of them, but the most glaring of all is Transformers. Did not help this movie's case... but then again, there's Carey Mulligan, who'd blew my mind with her ingenue act in An Education.

A colleague wanted to see this one and there was nothing else to do so we went to catch it at Pavilion.

Oh, just so you know, I'd forgotten completely about the original Wall Street. Not even sure if I had even seen it.

Anyway, Money Never Sleeps (MNS) started off with Gordon Gekko's (Michael Douglas) release from prison. Then it went on to Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) and Winnie Gekko's (Carey Mulligan) story. But then there's something about Moore's mentor (Frank Langella) and also Bretton James (Josh Brolin), who just happened to be Gekko's old rival that put him behind bars.

Sounds promising eh? But not really. It's fine as a drama but there's something missing. Mayhaps it's because Michael Douglas' role in this one is more of a supporting character, rather than the main protagonist.

Other than enjoying Carey Mulligan's performance as the constantly sad girl, and the fact that Shia LaBeouf isn't as annoying as he usually is in a movie... there's nothing else much to write home about... there's no tour de force acting in this one that would merit awards nomination, unlike the first Wall Street where Douglas got his Oscar...

Box Office

Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf beat out owls and catty women for the top prize!

http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2010/09/27/wall-street-2-is-a-genuine-mainstream-hit-with-19-million/

Eddie Murphy And Shia LaBeouf To Star In New Batman Movie

Move over Jim Carrey - Eddie Murphy has been tapped to play the role of the Joker in the next Batman film after seasoned actor Johnny Depp turned down the role.

The film, set for a 2010 release, will also include Transformers star Shia LaBeouf, 22, playing Robin. Christian Bale will return as Bruce Wayne, while Michael Caine will play Alfred.

British actress Rachel Weisz has been cast in the Catwoman role.

Director Chris Nolan had been unsure about the future of the Batman films after the January death of Heath Ledger who is set to receive a posthumous Oscar for his role as The Joker in Batman Returns.

Murphy is enjoying somewhat of a comeback these days after several years out of the movie making business. He has just completed "NowhereLand" due next June about a financial executive who can't stop his career spiral and is invited into his daughter's imaginary world, where solutions to his problems await.

Also due in 2010 is "Shrek Goes Fourth" with funnyman Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas about the further adventures of the giant green ogre, Shrek, living in the land of Far, Far Away.

Currently in production is "The Incredible Shrinking Man" also due in 2010, an updated version of the best-selling novel and blockbuster movie, it tells the story of Scott Carey who shrinks to an incredible small size and must face the danger that he runs into.
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"Transformers" Movie Gets Universal Studios Attraction

While director Michael Bay and actors Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox finish up work on "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", Universal Studios has been working behind the scenes on its latest attraction.

The movie themed park is developing a new, hi-tech and special effects intense attraction based on the popular "Transformers" movie franchise. To date, the films have grossed over $700 million dollars around the world - not including the latest sequel.

The high-tech ride is being developed by a core group of uber partners including Universal Parks and Resorts, Hasbro and DreamWorks. The new ride will combine 3-D, High Definition HD, space-age robotics and the usual Universal magic, in an adventure ride that "will transform perceptions of theme park experiences," according to park executives.

Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Rainn Wilson have been busy completing "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" in time for its June 2009 release, where the battle for Earth has ended but the battle for the universe has just begun.
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Shia LaBeouf Learns The CIA Is Recording Celebrity Phone Calls

When Shia LaBeouf started his latest film "Eagle Eye", he met with CIA operatives to get an inside look at the organizations procedures and tactics. But the actor was shocked to learn what they have on him - and other Hollywood celebrities.

LaBeouf thought while filming "Eagle Eye," the tactics that CIA ops engaged in was pure cinematic fiction, until he met up with them to do a little research for his role.

Shia soon realized that Government operatives have all the inside dirt - phone conservations, e-mails, pictures and worse - on all the top celebrities and Hollywood power brokers.

Related Story: Shia LaBeouf Ready With Thriller "Eagle Eye" - Review And Movie Trailer

"It is reality," Shia told the National Enquirer. "The scary thing is sitting down with CIA operatives who use this stuff in real life. They played me back phone conversations I've had. It was extremely embarrassing."

Most people believed this type of Government snooping went out with J. Edgar Hoover, but it looks like Washington is still keeping tabs on what happens in the high-priced game of Hollywood movie making. Watch out Jamie Lynn Spears, they may just have that picture of you breast-feeding your baby!

Related Story: Jamie Lynn Spears Breast-Feeding Photo Sparks Child Porn Probe

In addition to "Eagle Eye", LaBeouf is ready with "New York, I Love You", with an all-star cast including Kevin Bacon, Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Ethan Hawke, Cloris Leachman, Blake Lively, Elijah Wood, Natalie Portman and Christina Ricci.

"New York" is an anthology film combining several love stories set in one of the most loved cities of the world, New York, where twelve filmmakers will direct a short 5 minute film illustrating the universal theme of encountering love within the five boroughs of New York City.

Next June, Shia LaBeouf will star with Megan Fox and Rainn Wilson in the action thriller sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", where the battle for Earth has ended but the battle for the universe has just begun.

We suspect the CIA will be most interested in snooping around the set of "Transformers" in an effort to learn how to transform normal everyday items into weapons of mass destruction. Some secretes are never safe, especially in Hollywood.
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Shia LaBeouf Ready With Thriller "Eagle Eye" - Early Review And Movie Trailer

Summer is winding down and Hollywood is starting to bring out their early autumn blockbusters in preparation for the holiday movie season.

This week, DreamWorks SKG and Shia LaBeouf unleash the action mystery thriller "Eagle Eye".

"Eagle Eye" is one of those, "Gosh, what if that ever happened to me" kind of movies, and Labeouf pulls it off with his innocent, but ruthless personality. Fortunately, LaBeouf had completed the film before he landed in the hospital for emergency surgery on a smashed wrist received when he rolled his truck.

Related Story: Shia LaBeouf Back To Work After Accident And Wrist Surgery

For "Eagle Eye", Shia LaBeouf re-teams with "Disturbia" director D.J. Caruso playing a young slacker whose overachieving twin brother dies mysteriously. When LaBeouf returns home, both he and a single mother find they have been framed as terrorists. Forced to become members of a terror network that plans to carry out a political assassination, they must work together to clear their names.

Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) are the two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, using the technology of everyday life (cell phones and GPS) to track and control their every move.

As the situation escalates, they become the country's most wanted fugitives, and must try to discover what is really happening -- and more importantly, why.

There are some scary and intense moments in the film, and LaBeouf is spreading his wings and showing audiences he has the punch to carry a feature action film. Billy Bob Thornton makes a great adversary as the FBI agent trying to sort out the bizarre story. But it is clear from the opening that Shia LaBeouf is the star of this show.

So who is the female voice we hear on the phone? No one knows. Many actresses have been suggested, including Julia Roberts, Diane Lane, Carrie Ann Moss, and Rosario Dawson.

But we found out! The answer to the night's burning question came from "Eagle Eye" cast member Rosario Dawson during the movie premier in Los Angeles. Dawson blew the whistle on the famous actress behind the voice on the phone - it is Julianne Moore.

"Eagle Eye" will be in theaters September 26, and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and for language.

Watch Shia LaBeouf In "Eagle Eye" Movie Trailer"



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Shia LaBeouf Back To Work After Accident And Wrist Surgery

After a nightmare truck accident and emergency surgery to repair his crushed wrist, Shia LaBeouf is back to work on the set of "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen", sporting a large bandage on his arm and left hand.

LaBeouf's injuries stem from his July 27 car accident while driving with passenger Isabel Lucas, when another driver, Simon Herbert, ran a red light causing Shia to flip his pickup truck at 3:00 in the morning. Shia was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he underwent hand surgery to repair his left hand and fingers.

"Transformers 2" director Michael Bay says Shia's injury will be written into the new script, making it a part of the story, and will find a way shoot around it. Production of the movie was slowed while LaBeouf was in the hospital, but sources say the action thriller is still on target for its June 26, 2009 release.

The movie stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky and Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes, and is directed by Michael Bay with a screenplay developed by Ehren Kruger and script by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

Other interesting casting includes "The Office" funnyman Rainn Wilson as a College Professor and Josh Duhamel as Captain Lennox.

Shia LaBeouf will also be seen next February in the romantic "New York, I Love You", an anthology film joining several love stories set in one of the most loved cities of the world, New York.

Also completed and due next month is the thriller "Eagle Eye", starring Shia and Billy Bob Thornton, the story of two strangers (Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan) who become the pawns of a mysterious woman they have never met but who seems to know their every move. Realizing they are being used to further her plot for a political assassination, they must work together to outwit the woman before she has them killed.

Watch Shia LaBeouf In "Eagle Eye" Movie Trailer

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