Shia LeBoeuf

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So you pronounce Shia LeBeouf's last name how? Lebwehff, Leboaf, Lebuff or Leboof? (His first name is pronounced like "hiya") And does the popularity of this 20 year-old actor, recently officially confirmed as the second lead in the Indiana Jones IV movie that'll start shooting in June, signify a multicultural turn in the road in mainstream American culture, at least among the under 25s?

Shia LeBoeuf in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

He obviously has an exotic-sounding name -- half Middle-Easternish, half French. (I'll bet 97% of the people reading this right now aren't 100% sure how to say it.) And yet LeBoeuf is something of a hot commodity, especially when you consider Disturbia's surprising $24 million haul this weekend.

This tells me that maybe the xenophobes who've told political pollsters they don't like the idea of a U.S. president being named Barack Obama (i.e., because it 's not a whitebread American name) might not be as plentiful as I'd feared. Or at least that they might be confined to the over-45 age bracket.

It wasn't that long ago, after all, when U.S. movie stars had to have names like Richard Gere or Tom Cruise or they'd be considered too "different" sounding and relegated to the sidelines.

There's a slight problem, of course, if Indy IV director Steven Spielberg is going to cast LeBeoeuf as Harrison Ford's son. I say "if" -- no one knows if this is the intention. But if so, problem #1 is that LeBeouf isn't tall enough -- 5' 10 and 1/2 inches compared to Ford being six-foot-one. (Both my sons are taller than me.) Problem #2 is that LeBeouf looks like he doesn't come from the same country as Ford, much less from the same gene pool. He obviously looks European (look at that French honker) and clearly hasn't a trace of Ford's Irish-Russian features.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 14, 2007 at 3:41 PM

comment #1

alynch says ...

His last name is pronounced "Lebuff".

Posted by alynch at April 14, 2007 4:41 PM

comment #2

Leonardcoenbrothers says ...

He may be playing younger than his real age, so he could still be shorter than his father.

Also, since when does an actor's real height have to be what we see. Movies are full of people made to look taller than they actually are.

I heard about an earlier version of this movie that had a young character who was a Russian archeology student who becomes a kind of surragate son for Indy, then turns out to be something other than what you think he is. Not sure if this could be the part, who knows.

Posted by Leonardcoenbrothers at April 14, 2007 4:43 PM

comment #3

John Y says ...

Just because your sons are taller than you doesn't mean that every son has to be taller than his father.

Posted by John Y at April 14, 2007 5:11 PM

comment #4

gruver1 says ...

Wells to John Y: The general tendency (and I've seen this all my life) is that the son is almost always close to the dad's height, and most often the same height or taller. Sometimes an inch shorter (I wound up shorter than my dad by that much) but the dominant tendency is for sons to match or top their dad's height.

Posted by gruver1 at April 14, 2007 5:33 PM

comment #5

wda says ...

Donald and Kiefer Sutherland would represent a pretty blatant counter example to this notion (6'4" vs. 5'8").

Posted by wda at April 14, 2007 5:40 PM

comment #6

High Chaparral says ...

If every son grew to be taller than their father, we'd have evolved to be 1000ft+ giants by now.

Posted by High Chaparral at April 14, 2007 5:56 PM

comment #7

Nate West says ...

It's obvious. This kid is nearly a dead-ringer for a young Steven Spielberg. Perhaps he sneaks onto the back lot where they're filming Indy IV and befriends John Ford (John C. Reilly).

Posted by Nate West at April 14, 2007 6:06 PM

comment #8

Patrick says ...

Shia LeBeouf was EXCELLENT in Bill Paxton's
extremely underrated 'The Greatest Game Ever
Played.'

Posted by Patrick at April 14, 2007 6:11 PM

comment #9

romeoisbleeding says ...

I just have to say one more time that people should see Shia in "A Guide to Reccgnzing Your Saints"... he is damn good in it. Check out his scene after his best friend is killed. Great scene with Chazz. I know the movie over all get mixed reviews But it has more heart and more truthful moments in it than half the crap out now. Shia is good. He will be around a long time.

Posted by romeoisbleeding at April 14, 2007 6:34 PM

comment #10

Josh Massey says ...

"This kid is nearly a dead-ringer for a young Steven Spielberg."

Amen. He's Spielberg's 21st century Richard Dreyfuss.

Posted by Josh Massey at April 14, 2007 6:34 PM

comment #11

D.Z. says ...

I think the reason Lebouf is getting hired is his agent blew the right people, because I really don't know who the hell he is, and don't think he has the physical presence of a leading man. Anyway, I'm assuming people have a problem with Obama, because of his skin color, since one was bitching about Nader running in the last two elections. Still, I will agree that it's nice that they didn't cast another Aryan for the part.

Leonard: "Also, since when does an actor's real height have to be what we see."

Yeah, look at Cruise.

Posted by D.Z. at April 14, 2007 6:36 PM

comment #12

scooterzz says ...

this guy is one of a handful of young actors turning in consistanly good performances (lebouf, gosling, gordon-leavitt, hirsch)....that said, i'm not sure lebouf is quite up to hosting snl tonight...

Posted by scooterzz at April 14, 2007 6:58 PM

comment #13

peachtree says ...

His mom is Jewish, his dad is of Cajun heritage.

Posted by peachtree at April 14, 2007 7:08 PM

comment #14

berg says ...

I would have gone with LaBoof, but you say LaBuff ... then again it is all in the pronumciation of the vowels ... wasn't La Buff in that Battle of Shaker Heights project greenlight movie, I think he is effective but has yet to show the kind of range that would mark him as a must see in any role

Posted by berg at April 14, 2007 7:32 PM

comment #15

wholovesya says ...

He's a very good actor (the person who commented on his performance in "Game" is right -- completed underrated movie), but he's no a star. Not yet. Distubia opened on it's concept, not on LeBeouf's name or face. Good TV spots and good spot for a PG-13 (hello!) thriller that appealed to teenagers.

Posted by wholovesya at April 14, 2007 8:00 PM

comment #16

Craptastic says ...

Those are some of the lamest negative points about his casting I've read so far.

What does height have to do with anything? I could see if he was 5 feet to Ford's 6 but a couple of inches off? Pointing that out is borderline obsessive.

Also, are you forgetting that Indy travels all over the world? He could've knocked up some French or middle eastern chick.

If you're really against his casting, try to come up with something a little more solid instead of posting every little random thought you have.

Posted by Craptastic at April 14, 2007 8:01 PM

comment #17

Movie fan09 says ...

when he got on conan for i believe the first time, he kept making fun of conan and then conan took him downtown.
it was awesomne.

Posted by Movie fan09 at April 14, 2007 8:37 PM

comment #18

Mike Schaefer says ...

So there's never been an actor with an "exotic" name before? Uh, Keanu Reeves has been a star for nearly 20 years. (Remember when everyone pronounced his name "KEE-noo"?)

Posted by Mike Schaefer at April 14, 2007 11:14 PM

comment #19

breadlymoore says ...

"this guy is one of a handful of young actors turning in consistanly good performances (lebouf, gosling, gordon-leavitt, hirsch)...."

Gosling - Too broody, no soul. Loves his method bells and whistles. Hollywood will get bored with him soon, and then it's Hallmark movies with Mary-Elizabeth Winsted for the rest of his career.

Gordon-Levitt = Only recently gave his first solid performance in THE LOOKOUT. Otherwise too prone to indication and screaming.

Hirsch - How fucking dare you. Rent ALPHA DOG and LORDS OF DOGTOWN and have a huge laugh. This kid can't act. Or, at the very least, can't pull off butch. He's painful to watch.

Posted by breadlymoore at April 14, 2007 11:30 PM

comment #20

Mike Binder says ...

This kid has the goods. Romeo is right he was awesome in 'Guide to Saints'

Posted by Mike Binder at April 14, 2007 11:57 PM

comment #21

Hallick says ...

"Gordon-Levitt = Only recently gave his first solid performance in THE LOOKOUT. Otherwise too prone to indication and screaming."

He kicked the crap out of most every other performance the year he did "Mysterious Skin".

Posted by Hallick at April 15, 2007 12:07 AM

comment #22

Hallick says ...

"This tells me that maybe the xenophobes who've told political pollsters they don't like the idea of a U.S. president being named Barack Obama (i.e., because it 's not a whitebread American name) might not be as plentiful as I'd feared."

Whatever the makeup of Shia's double helix, from the outside, he's about as white-bread-looking as a PB&J with the crusts cut off. And something like "LeBeouf" doesn't get hit with the baggage a cheap shot magnet of a surname like "Obama" carries post 9/11.

Posted by Hallick at April 15, 2007 12:23 AM

comment #23

Craig Kennedy says ...

DZ doesn't know who LeBoeuf is. The kid is clearly doomed.

But seriously, Romeo and Mr. Binder are correct. the kid was good in Saints. I heard he was good in Holes too, but I never saw it. And he has plenty of range. He's a natural comedian and he delivers drama. What else do you want?

Posted by Craig Kennedy at April 15, 2007 12:36 AM

comment #24

Dan Revill says ...

I will re-iterate what I wrote over on Poland's blog, that I think he's being forced on us a little too much, but I did want to see Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, so maybe I'll turn over a new leaf and succumb to the Hollywood hype machine...

As for the height thing, my dad is 6"4, and I'm 5"8. And sorry, my last name isn't Sutherland.

Posted by Dan Revill at April 15, 2007 1:33 AM

comment #25

D.Z. says ...

cj: "DZ doesn't know who LeBoeuf is. The kid is clearly doomed."

Well, I'm one of the 20-somethings McBay is hoping to win over for Transformers. So if no one even remotely big is attached to it, and if Indy 4 looks more like National Treasure than the original films, LeBouf could end up being the next Topher Grace.

Posted by D.Z. at April 15, 2007 2:40 AM

comment #26

EDouglas says ...

I don't think Shia will have anything to do with why people do or don't see Transformers... it's like with Jake Gyllenhaal and Day After Tomorrow.

Posted by EDouglas at April 15, 2007 3:56 AM

comment #27

York "Budd" Durden says ...

The problem with his name, too, is that it sounds like a girl's name.

And by problem I mean the potentiality of him becoming some sort of "big" movie star. Red-state gorillas (copyright 2007 Jeff Wells) will think everything that Shia may or may not eventually topline is a chick flick--and an ethnic-themed one at that. "Disturbia" only opened because teenagers perceived it as a typical horror movie.

Posted by York "Budd" Durden at April 15, 2007 4:34 AM

comment #28

Rob says ...

The Disney Channel-programmed tweeners are entering maturity now and are bringing their juvenile crushes on Shia with him. I assure you his popularity with them is what helped Disturbia pop so far ahead of the litter of other thrillers this weekend.

Plus, he's growing up to be more handsome than anyone thought he would.

Posted by Rob at April 15, 2007 6:02 AM

comment #29

Josh Massey says ...

This is all because of Spielberg. Remember, Steve's had his little pet projects before - Claire Danes and Colin Farrell.

Posted by Josh Massey at April 15, 2007 8:04 AM

comment #30

breadlymoore says ...

"He kicked the crap out of most every other performance the year he did "Mysterious Skin"."

Watch the film again. All he does is wince and scream - any actor with long greasy hair could do that role.

As for LeBeouf, in SAINTS he had to play a character. That's why it worked. In every other film he's made he's simply played himself.

Posted by breadlymoore at April 15, 2007 8:34 AM

comment #31

Rob says ...

Oh God, Claire Danes. When will the long national nightmare end?

Just when I recovered from the sight of her cankles opposite Patrick Wilson in those Gap ads, she seems to have finagled top billing amongst the star-studded ensembles of both Stardust and Evening - and they're not even alphabetical!

Posted by Rob at April 15, 2007 8:36 AM

comment #32

Silverscreenvideos says ...

He's helped turn Disturbia into a solid hit this weekend. The theater I was at Friday night had a lot of 14-18 year olds in line for Disturbia and most of them were there to see him.

Indy 4 needs this age demographic to be successful, since that crowd's not chomping at the bit for Ford, Blanchett, Spielberg or another dose of CGI graphics

Posted by Silverscreenvideos at April 15, 2007 9:09 AM

comment #33

Ju-osh says ...

What do you expect? Hollywood is run by Cajuns.

Posted by Ju-osh at April 15, 2007 10:49 AM

comment #34

D.Z. says ...

EDouglas: Jake isn't that talented.

Rob: Hillary Duff was briefly popular with tweens, too.

breadly: I like Gordon-Levitt as an actor, but I'm not really hyped about his indie roles. But then most indie flicks are just low-budget Hollywood films, so...

Rob: Yeah, I never could understand the appeal of Danes, either. She got a free ride off "My So-Called Life", even though it had nothing to do with her. Personally, I could care less about that after-school special crap, but that's because it's usually just the opposite side of the same coin.

Posted by D.Z. at April 15, 2007 1:05 PM

comment #35

Chicago48 says ...

Did no one consider that Harrison Ford is what? 65 yrs old and LaBouf is 20? That's like 45 years. So did Indy have the child when he was 45 y.o.? Amazing the imaginations of those Hollywood casting agents.

Posted by Chicago48 at April 15, 2007 5:09 PM

comment #36

Hallick says ...

"Watch the film again. All he does is wince and scream - any actor with long greasy hair could do that role."

With respect...that description is total bullshit, sir. His character in the movie is nothing like that. Are you really talking about his performance in "Mysterious Skin"?

Posted by Hallick at April 15, 2007 7:35 PM

comment #37

Silverscreenvideos says ...

So did Indy have the child when he was 45 y.o.? Amazing the imaginations of those Hollywood casting agents.

It's not hard to believe Indy having a fling with some local damsel when he was a man in his forties on one of his legendary jaunts. I doubt a guy like that would have made birth control a high priority for a one-nighter in the middle of nowhere. My hunch is that the movie will play with this scenario and leave us and Indy guessing for most of the movie if LaBoeuf is his son.

Posted by Silverscreenvideos at April 15, 2007 11:00 PM

comment #38

Melquiades says ...

What's the problem with Indy fathering a kid at 45? Men don't have a biological clock like women do.

As for the height thing, give me a break. He's a couple inches shorter, and Jeff's "rule" abouth father/son height is complete bullshit based on nothing but limited personal observation.

Posted by Melquiades at April 16, 2007 10:51 AM

comment #39

D.Z. says ...

Damn, Jonathan Rhys-Davies isn't in this one, due to age discrimination. http://www.darkhorizons.com/news07/070416c.php Fuck George.

Posted by D.Z. at April 16, 2007 11:35 AM

comment #40

Craig Kennedy says ...

Come on! How do you not even give Sallah a friggin' cameo??

Posted by Craig Kennedy at April 16, 2007 2:11 PM

comment #41

Hopscotch says ...

Through a very, very close friend of mine who works for a publicity firm in LA, LeBeouf is a HUGE PRICK! We're talking legendary HUGE. And this was a few years ago when "The Greatest Game Ever played" came out. I try not to let stuff like that get to me, knowing full well some of my favorite actors, directors, writers are probably huge dicks in real life, but I admire their work regardless.

But in the case of this guy, fuck him.

Posted by Hopscotch at April 16, 2007 2:14 PM

comment #42