You can argue that we live in a different era that holds up movie stars to a different type of scrutiny. With the constant media crush of desperate updates regarding our favorite and least-favorite celebrities, there are simply more opportunities for actors to open their mouths and reveal just how oblivious, uneducated and unpleasant they really are. So the latest comments by Shia LaBeouf regarding former co-star Megan Fox, and the asinine “Transformers” franchise as a whole, shouldn’t be a surprise. Note that this does not make them amusing in their odiousness.
“Mike films women in a way that appeals to a 16-year-old sexuality,” LaBeouf recently told Hero Complex, somehow suggesting that there are still some directors in Hollywood that still make movies for actual adults. “It’s summer. It’s Michael [Bay]’s style. And I think [Megan Fox] never got comfortable with it.” The former Disney child star sounds more and more like Robert Evans as he continues, “This is a girl who was taken from complete obscurity and placed in a sex-driven role in front of the whole world and told she was the sexiest woman in America. And she had a hard time accepting it. When Mike would ask her to do specific things, there was no time for fluffy talk. We’re on the run. And the one thing Mike lacks is tact. There’s no time for [LaBeouf assumes a gentle voice] ‘I would like you to just arch your back 70 degrees.’”
It’s endlessly amusing how Fox’s protests towards Michael Bay’s shooting style is considered “fluffy talk” but the blockbuster filmmaker, the rare auteur without a single good movie to his name, can be excused for his lack of tact. Let it be known to “Transformers” fans that LeBeouf then indirectly compares the vibe of the pictures of a Victoria’s Secret commercial in praising new co-star Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who apparently doesn’t bother with “fluffy talk.” “Rosie comes with this Victoria’s Secret background, and she’s comfortable with it, so she can get down with Mike’s way of working and it makes the whole set vibe very different.” So it’s clearly Victoria’s Secret vs. Ginger, Posh and Sporty, as, “Megan developed this Spice Girl strength, this woman-empowerment [stuff] that made her feel awkward about her involvement with Michael who some people think is a very lascivious filmmaker, the way he films women.”
Certainly, it’s not the first time we’ve heard of Fox and Bay mixing like oil and water. Before ultimately getting bounced from the franchise last spring, the actress had previously called Bay a Hitler-like “tyrant” with “no social skills.” At the very least, it seems like Fox was spared another round of what sounds like a toxic environment. Meanwhile, megastar LaBeouf’s decidedly backwards views on sexuality allow him to side with the odious Bay, and perhaps, in the end, it’s all about domesticity. LaBeouf says of Huntington-Whiteley’s character, “This woman’s more of a maternal, loving type. [My character] wants a domestic, eggs-in-the-morning kind of a thing.” Progressive!
“Transformers: Dark Of The Moon” opens in July why bother.
Ryan—I think you know that it ain\’t about eggs. Don\’t be disingenuous.
What\’s wrong with eggs in the morning exactly?
How can you say Michael Bay has never made a good movie and still call yourself a professional journalist?
All the haters in this thread can be excused for their lack of visual insight (his shots are delicious), overall taste in movies (his better movies are amazingly cool), or simple common sense (millions and millions of people all over the world prefer his movies to whatever you watch).
But as a professional journalist this is just petty behavior and who ever wrote this article should be ashamed of himself for being a subpar professional. Unlike the that guy who commands an army of talented artists to make something millions will enjoy. Bay-Haters can suck it! Looking forward for Dark of the moon!
Hey Edward Davis, I\’m sure you have Netflix so you can sit in your cave and beat your meat to Megan Fox movies. Like any woman would be with you! Eat shit, you mouthbreathing asshat.
Umm… Megan Fox has been a sex symbol in every role she\’s ever played…. duh… If she wants to be put in more respectable roles where people appreciate her for more than just her looks, then she needs take on roles with characters that have more depth to them. Ultimately the decision is hers.
\”…this woman empowerment thing..\”
If Michael Bay has talent beyond schmoozing the right executives to get $100 million marketing budget for his bad films, it is well hidden.
Megan Fox and her complete lack of appeal or talent was the perfect thespian for him. So is LaBoeuf now that he has given up trying to act.
How sad that Hollywood actually thinks Bay is a director worth investing a penny in when all he does is direct bad film after bad film that open big because of huge marketing expense and then fall flat.
In the not-so-old days, the lack of staying power of Bay\’s films would have been noticed, but today, he is considered a go-to guy because if you\’ve done it poorly before, it\’s \”safe\” for the executives to let him underwhelm again.
Hollywood is getting the drubbing it deserves at the actual box-office (as opposed to the fantasy numbers they release every week).
At the end of the day, Bay brings the studios what they want. People pay to watch and enjoy 2 hours of entertainment, not try to get intellectual with its cast.
Megan is beautiful and will be looking for films that best match her skill set and I wish her the best.
Shia has a great agent and manager and will continue to fetch solid product.
Bay already has his niche and will continue to produce and direct as he likes I imagine.
This is an IndieWire blog. So, why are we talking about major studio films? Let\’s get back to heart and core of why this website was created in the first place, shall we?
Like Shia, Josh Brolin said really interesting, complimentary things about Megan Fox in his Playboy Interview with Steven Rebello. More than meets the eye.
Yes, Bay is the ultimate hack. Perfect example is \”The Rock\” which is racist BS! All the inferior guys are men of color. All the superior guys are white (especially Bond, James Bond). And that thing with the rocket launcher (or whatever it was) at the end of the film was one of the stupidest things I\’ve ever seen in a movie, or at least the stupidest thing I\’ve seen since Eastwood\’s \”…me, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Wesson.\” In both cases, the bad guy had enough time to pump about ten bullets into the lead character, but just stood there, awed by the magnificence of the white hero. Like I said, racist BS.
And don\’t get me started on turning the horror of the attack on Pearl Harbor into a video game. Weeee!
Just like the pic attached to this story. I found the movie very unbelieveable between LaBoof and Fox. They needed to cast a dweeb girl that Shia\’s character would be with in the real world of dating and not Fox. Who would have been just his wet dream girl.
I agree with, Shia LaBeouf is lot clever than the eye sees. He just called Bay a third rate director full of cliches and Megan a strong woman. In one very smartly worded statement he showed that Megan is strong woman who stood her ground and calling Mike Bay a director who make movies for 16 year olds and is better off working with Victoria Secret models, and then to make sure that Bay does not gets pissed, adds that he likes the homely kind of women who make eggs for him in the morning which we all know he is too smart for. This guy should be a politician! Very clever guy!
You confused the whole \”fluffy talk\” thing.
And the tone of the article sounds like it was written by an angry, bitter teenager…
Ironically, the Spice Girls were marketed as sex symbols too.
You\’ve got the \”fluffy talk\” reference all messed up. When Shia said there was no time for \”fluffy talk,\” he meant that Bay didn\’t have time to mince his words with Megan, soften what he was saying about the sex vibe he wanted and make what he was saying \”fluffy.\” In this article, you make it seem like Shia was saying that Megan was expected to speak in \”fluffy talk;\” and in doing so, you\’re turning Shia\’s words into a sexist statement. With the \”fluffy talk\” reference, he\’s talking about Michael, not Meganl! Don\’t throw Shia under the bus with Bay. Shia was just explaining the onset vibe. Bay is the misogynist here, not Shia.
What\’s with the Shia bashing in the article? Didn\’t sound to me like he was putting down Megan Fox. It sounds like he\’s just talking about the reality of making the Transformers films. If anything he\’s putting down Michael Bay.
Shia, just shut your mouth and do not speak. EVER! Jesus, that guy doesn\’t half talk a lot of shite!
This guy is the biggest dick on the planet! I just wish he would STFU sometimes!
Shia\’s honest (to a fault) and ….wow
It sort of makes me respect Megan Fox more.
I love Megan so much. I worked on the first Transformers and that\’s the best description of her on-set relationship with Bay that I can think of. She\’s way too honest and singular of a presence to do what she did in those movies. I\’m not saying she\’s a phenomenal actress or anything like that, but as a person? #1 chick you\’d kick it with at a party.
And \”“Transformers: Dark Of The Moon” opens in July why bother.\” = bravissimo.
The Rock is good despite Bay. I think all the subsequent Bay offal has led people to retroactively hate on what was for years considered a great action movie.
@Radical C\’mon boo, you know how i do.
Edward Davis, I hope you\’re bring ironic.
Fuck directors like Michael Bay who objectify women to appeal to misogynist culture.
Regarding Shia- problem is has almost always been in terrible movies & he never puts some blame where it belongs- on his terrible acting.
Wall Street 2 was far from a great movie BUT an actor who could actually play greed would\’ve helped make the film less of a dud.
I seriously do not get why this babydoll could not just sit her purty little butt on the motorcycle and do what she was told. Is it really that hard? This whole women\’s lib thing is making the world go to hell in a hand basket.
Is it really \”smugness\”? Really?
If you\’re to smug to accept that Armageddon, Transformers, The Rock are great popcorn movies and dont aspire to be anything else you should just stop watching summer blockbusters.
Lord, to be a fly on the wall of that set…
That\’s the clearest explanation anyone\’s ever given of Megan\’s departure from the franchise.
So you\’re just stealing Vulture headlines now?
Say what you will about Shia\’s acting, but I love his honesty and willingness to just speak openly about the projects he\’s been involved in. Like when he sort of called out Speilberg for the lackluster Indiana Jones movie. He was right, but he said it in a way that was respectful.
I always knew he was a douchebag!