An Open Letter To Shia LaBeouf

VictoriaJuly 7, 2011, 12:00 amU View >

Dear Shia LaBeouf,

How open and honest you are to a fault! It’s become so predictable nowadays that you’ll say something either crass, demeaning or TMI that I can’t help but think, “When will be your next mishap?” and “Why don’t you shut up already?!”

I for one actually enjoyed your movies, Mr. LaBeouf — well, most of them anyway. I loved Holes. I respected your performances in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and I, Robot. Your role in Disturbia was, well, disturbingly good. And I enjoyed Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps so much that I dug up a copy of Wall Street and watched it. I grew up worshipping Transformers, so naturally I was thrilled to see the movie versions. And no matter what anyone says, I thought your role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was superb. Then again, I’m a biased Indie fan.

But even I can’t bring myself to seriously consider watching the latest Transformers movie right now. Sorry, Shia, you've ruined it for me. I imagine I’ll watch it somewhere down the line, but right now I’m so turned off by your shenanigans, as well as those of fellow cast mate Megan Fox and director Michael Bay. All of the drama surrounding Transformers: Dark of the Moon is just too much: who slept with whom, who is a sexist, who is lazy, who talked badly about their costars and director, who made a comment about Hitler, who was booted from the film, and so on. ENOUGH ALREADY! All this fuss about a bunch of actors and their director is so off-putting and detracts from the film’s appeal. I imagine there are plenty of people who still want to see the film, and that the film will be a box-office winner. And I don’t even need to ask myself why. For as many people out there turned off by the film because of all the fuss, there will be so many more, um, turned on. I can just hear the collective gasp: "Shia slept with Megan Fox? Oh, how scandalous!" “Fox said what about Hitler?” “Bay is a sexist, misogynistic…” And the comments go on and on.

Everyone else set aside, I think you, Shia, are at the center of this drama. I’m all for opinions, but there is a time and a place for these kinds of comments, and it’s called “in your head.” You can think these things all you want. You can (silently) be crude and make sexist comments. You can continue to think so highly of himself, and criticize so many of the films that have made you famous, but in all honesty, it needs to stay in your head. Some things are not meant to be said out loud. I guess you never got the memo?

Since when did entertainment become about drama? Maybe it’s always been this way, and I’m too naïve to have noticed it until now. Either way, it’s still a sad state for the entertainment industry to spew out such tactless, immature “stars,” and expect people to consider it all in good fun. What’s even sadder is that it works for them. It seems like this is the kind of thing that drives consumerism in this day and age. I suppose it’s really all just publicity. And maybe as the saying goes, “There is no such thing as bad publicity.” But I find it terribly annoying. I don’t even know when I’ll be able to view you, LaBeouf, or the Transformers franchise, again in a good light. So for now, I’m going to stay at home, and spend the 12 dollars (or 15! or 18 for 3D!) on something with a bit more… class.

Sincerely,

A formerly devoted fan