Back in the day when Shia LaBeouf graced the Cannes red carpet in 2010 to promote Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the actor reminisced about the film he presented there two years prior to that, and pointed out every single thing that was wrong with the movie. The actor promoted Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, which ended up earning a whopping $787 million around the globe.
Although a success, the actor wasn’t pleased with his performance and called out every little detail that he feared had butchered the legacy Harrison Ford had created throughout the years.
Shia LaBeouf wasn’t convinced of his own performance in Indiana Jones 4
For over four decades, the Indiana Jones franchise has enchanted audiences around the world with its frills and frolics. By taking them on a journey filled with danger, intrigue, and iconic whip-cracking heroics, the movies have found immense love. Thus, when Shia LaBeouf joined the team, he himself took the insurmountable pressure of maintaining the legacy that the franchise had created over the years. While speaking with the Los Angeles Times on the terrace at the Hotel du Cap, the star revealed,
“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.”
He then further stated that despite being a blockbuster, his character stood out like a sore thumb in the movie, thus it was important for him to address said topic. He continued,
“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.–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.”
The actor was relatively new to the film industry, and thought the responsibility that he was handed was too much for him to handle, and thus failed to execute the thing he intended to.
Shia LaBeouf on Steven Spielberg
The relationship between the actor and the director duo, Steven Spielberg and Shia LaBeouf is intriguing to many. From their initial collaboration on the iconic Transformers franchise to their critically acclaimed aforementioned hit Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the dynamic duo has brought their distinct talents together to captivate audiences worldwide. In the same interview, he said,
“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”
Thus, following the movie, although he felt he did not do the character justice, he was also grateful to have gotten the opportunity. With time, the actor has now mastered his craft, and fans cannot wait to see what he has in store for them in the future.
Source: LA Times
