You may remember that a few days ago Shia LaBeouf gathered some attention during his trip to Cannes by basically admitting to the Associated Press that he didn't like Transformers 2 either. You may also remember that the big exploding robots spectacle of 2009 wasn't the first disappointing sequel that Shia has starred in, but don't worry-- Shia is perfectly willing to trash talk that one too.
Because he inexplicably hasn't been shut up by his handlers, LaBeouf gave an interview to The Los Angeles Times in which he had plenty to say about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and why it, well, sucked. He started by blaming himself: "I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished. 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]. 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."
But then he moved on for some somewhat harsh words against Spielberg himself, couched in a lot of rationalizations about how much affection he has for the guy.
"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."
Finally, LaBeouf brought Harrison Ford into it-- "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." And he had a pretty good explanation for why he was willing to admit all of this, something that's practically taboo in the world of Hollywood blockbusters: "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."
You've got to admire LaBeouf's youthful belief in honesty and clearing the air after a box office stinker, but it also seems safe to assume this is going to come back to bite him in the ass. Hollywood has always seemed like a structure that operates off delusion, the belief that even the biggest bomb had artistic merit, or that box office successes happen for a reason, not because audiences are brainwashed by months of marketing into seeing something regardless of quality. LaBeouf seems to think he can help break the cycle, and while we seriously doubt that's possible, it's nice to at least have someone out there speaking truth for once.
