Shia LaBeouf admits REVENGE OF THE FALLEN was bad

From ComingSoon.net:

"Shia LaBeouf told The Associated Press that Transformers III 'brings the heart back to the franchise.' He starts working on the third installment on Tuesday.

The new script restores a human element that got lost in the second movie, LaBeouf said. 'When I saw the second movie, I wasn't impressed with what we did,' LaBeouf said at the Cannes Film Festival. 'There were some really wild stunts in it, but the heart was gone.'"

UPDATE:

From LATimes:

"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.'"

You gotta admit, the fella's honest.

Shia LaBeouf updates on INDY 5 and WALL STREET 2

From ComingSoon.net:

"In an interview with BBC News, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen star Shia LaBeouf says that it looks like a follow-up to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is moving forward. 'Steven [Spielberg] just said that he cracked the story on it before I left and I think they're gearing that up,' LaBeouf said. Last summer's blockbuster was made for about $185 million and earned $786.6 million worldwide. It was the second-highest earner of 2008, behind just The Dark Knight. LaBeouf also briefly talked about the Wall Street sequel that teams him with director Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas. 'Money Never Sleeps is, I think, the official title now,' he said."

Glad to hear it. I'm one of the few people who actually liked Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Forget all that "nuking the fridge" stupid stuff. I LOVED THAT MOVIE!

Just watched Wall Street a few weeks ago. Didn't understand much but Michael Douglas was indeed born to play the villainous Gordon Gekko. How are they gonna play him in the sequel? As a hero, if Javier Bardem is the villain?

Mutt Williams and the Hat of Destiny

From IMDB.com:

"Harrison Ford had a very special wrap gift for his movie son after completing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - he tossed Shia LaBeouf his sweaty hat.
Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg - the moviemakers behind the Indiana Jones franchise - have dismissed reports LaBeouf will be taking over as Jones, but the young star has the movie icon's hat! He tells the new issue of Playboy magazine, 'It has his sweat stains from the whole movie in it. We were way out somewhere at an airplane hangar on the last day of shooting, and he took the hat off his head, signed it and handed it to me. When I looked at the hat I saw he had written something with a silver Sharpie (pen). It said, 'It's all yours now, kid - Harrison.' But LaBeouf is quick to point out that he won't be taking over from Ford any time soon: 'It's easy to perceive that as his handing the reins over to me on a franchise or whatever... that's not it. What I read it as is, 'Keep your [stuff] on.' It was his way of saying 'Life is going to get crazy now, so strap on tight, kid.'"

Ah, fatherly love! I would've killed for that hat.

LaBeouf's Walking on WALL STREET

From ComingSoon.net:

"Variety reports that 20th Century Fox has signed Oliver Stone to return as director of the sequel to his 1987 hit Wall Street.

Shia LaBeouf (Transformers films) is negotiating to join Michael Douglas, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in the original film. The sequel will once again involve a young Wall Street trader, and the recent economic meltdown spurred by rampant greed and corruption will fit prominently into the plot.

Allan Loeb wrote the script. Edward R. Pressman is back as producer."

Well, if LaBeouf's in it, I trust it. Never seen the original ("Greed is good") but probably gonna have to now.

THE DARK KNIGHT 2 FALSE RUMORS

Now, I love The Dark Knight. The best Batman movie ever made. If you're going to make a sequel to the highest-grossing film of 2008, why screw it up one with this list of "potential" actors:

EDDIE MURPHY as THE RIDDLER - OH. GOD. NO. Jim Carrey was fine as the Riddler but this is ridiculous. Murphy is a talented actor, I'll admit, but he DOES NOT fit into the Nolan universe if he wants to make the movies as real as possible. But, on the other hand, look at his recent - Meet Dave, Norbit, and of course can anyone forget The Adventures of Pluto Nash? If you want good Murphy comedy, watch The Nutty Professor and its less than savory sequel Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. If you want good Murphy drama, watch Dreamgirls. Let's hope he redeems himself with Beverly Hills Cop IV.

SHIA LABEOUF as ROBIN - Honestly, I have no bad things to say about Mr. LaBeouf. I have admired him from Even Stevens to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. However, this "casting" would never happen because Nolan has stated that the timeline of Batman Begins and TDK are set when Robin is in a crib somewhere. That and it's too similar to Crystal Skull when he was revealed as Indiana's son.

RACHEL WEISZ as CATWOMAN - If you paid attention to Lucius Fox's dialogue in TDK, "[Batman's armor] should do fine against cats," is a sly reference to Catwoman. This casting actually doesn't look that bad. Why not? At least she's not Cher.

Thank God these are merely rumors and that a TDK 2 will be on the up and up and darker than ever.

UPDATE: Good news - Morgan Freeman will reprise his role of Lucius Fox in TDK 2. Looks like its a good thing that the spy machine that Batman made for him exploded because if you remember, "As long as this machine is at Wayne Enterprises, I won't be."

UPDATE 2: IMDB.com says the film's tentative title is Gotham. Huh. Can't really say anything about it.