By: debbie lynn elias
During the recent press day for LAWLESS, together with only a handful of other vetted print and online journalists, I sat down with Shia LaBeouf to talk about LAWLESS. Striding into the room with a confident but casual, albeit somewhat odiferous, air, LaBeouf was virtually unrecognizable to some with his current hirsute appearance. But on flashing his welcoming smile, he jumped right into the interview with great candor and intensity, fielding questions on everything from the film to marijuana and alcohol prohibition, not to mention revealing tidbits about his past and future.
In LAWLESS, LaBeouf plays Jack Bondurant, youngest of the three Bondurant brothers and grandfather of Matt Bondurant, author of the book The Wettest County in the World on which LAWLESS is based. As portrayed by LaBeouf, Jack is very flip, very impatient, very energetic but also very enigmatic and very likeable. Having read the book once cast, but before reading the script, LaBeouf credits his performance to “a lot of it [being] on the page”. It was an incredible book and translated into an incredible script by Nick [Cave].” And on comparing the two properties, LaBeouf is more than pleased that “all the feelings translate.”
Interestingly, he didn’t find it valuable to avail himself of Matt Bondurant and any personal knowledge or research that Bondurant had, be it about his grandfather, uncles or the period. “I talked to Matt briefly and then realized very quickly into the conversation there was no value at all in talking to Matt, for me. My prep had to deal with John [Hillcoat] and Nick [Cave]. However, Jason [Clarke] found a lot of value in it and went to the family and saw the family and found a lot of reward in it. For me, I thought it would hinder me from feeling truly free and I didn’t want to do an impersonation.”
Also crediting much of his performance to the isolation of the cast and crew in a contained environment during shooting as opposed to the historical location of the buildings in which they shot and the land on which they walked, he opines, “You’re still driving on the same trade routes. It’s still the same. Every movie or documentary we get, your location would be there. . .[But] being isolated, making it a camp atmosphere where your only social[izing] is your brothers or your best friend or the girl that you’re in love with, [makes] it so that there’s not a lot of conjuring. It just is what it is. You just live and breathe in it. As long as you can stay truthful and committed to it, you really can’t fail. . . When you’re surrounded by the group it informs the performance more than you even understand.”
Attributing a “fear factor” to his initial acceptance of the role of Jack, for LaBeouf, “Usually it’s a pretty good indicator if I feel fear right away. That’s a pretty good indicator that I’m shipping out. If I’m scared, I’m gone – usually. A director has a lot to do with it, script of course, but for me that’s always the biggest one. If it scares me and I can’t stop thinking about it, and I don’t know if I really can do it, then I’m gone.” And with LAWLESS, there was a lot of fear at the outset. “For me it was the amount that was going to be lumped on my shoulders, in a way. I’ve carried movies before but had really, really good co-stars in terms of things to look at, things to divert your attention. Here, there was no escaping any of that. The introspection was there for a reason and you would be going through it that way with a fucking microscope on top of you. I think before I’d really had a full flushed out conversation with [John] Hillcoat, I think I was nervous about my skill set and where I’d be able to go. For me,Hillcoat was the most nurturing, empathetic, emotional, sensitive man ever met at the helm and he allowed me to open up because I felt safe with him.”
But working on LAWLESS wasn’t all hard work and character immersion. There was one thing, or one person rather, that had both La Beouf and co-star Dane DeHaan grinning from ear to ear and cooing like schoolgirls – Gary Oldman. As mobster/racketeer Floyd Banner, Oldman will stop you dead in your tracks as you watch his performance and particularly when it comes to the awe and admiration the very name of “Floyd Banner” holds for La Beouf’s Jack Bondurant. Not too much different than Shia LaBeouf’s awe for Gary Oldman. Calling working with Oldman his most favorite part of the shoot, as he tells it, one day on set, “Gary Oldman is over there working and we were fans. It’s Gary Oldman! Over there, Dude! We trip out on it! At the end of the day, we are still film fans and that doesn’t go away or it shouldn’t. It never should. I still am in a fantasy world when I get there.”
Given that the historical background of LAWLESS is based in prohibition and the bootlegging of the Bondurant Brothers in Franklin County, Virginia, it seemed only natural to discuss today’s drug wars. When posited the question about similarities between prohibition in the 20’s and 30’s and today’s drug wars, LaBeouf responds quickly and candidly, pointing out that “[we’re] in the middle of a marijuana prohibition, meth prohibition. The war on drugs is failing miserably and funding a huge war in Mexico.” Citing similarities between alcohol and guns in the days of Al Capone and LAWLESS and today’s situation, he unabashedly notes “now we’re buying guns for the cartels.”
Tripping down memory lane, Shia recalled that he had his first drink at age 14 with his father while sitting and watching westerns, breaking into peals of laughter at the memory. “Dad, what’s that?” [imitating his father] “Try it!” Quickly sobering on the subject, LaBeouf finds that today “[I]t’s very strange that you have the wherewithal to give your body to the Army but you don’t have the wherewithal to have a sip of alcohol. . .In other countries it’s not this way. They basically say, if you’re old enough to decide what to do with your life in terms of living and dying for a cause, then you can probably discern whether or not you should have alcohol. I think it’s kind of silly in our country but it’s built off old theology and Christianity that America’s still labored with.”
Of course with LAWLESS and the backwoods bootlegging moonshine business still a part of today’s culture, it comes as no surprise to find Shia’s eyes light up talking about filming in an actual area of Peachtree, Georgia where the homemade stills are still an active part of the culture. Still made in the backwoods and still untaxed liquor, the process of making “shine” and the business of bootlegging is as secretive now as it was 100 years ago. Able to meet some of the local residents, both LaBeouf and co-star Dane DeHaan, who plays Cricket, found it to be “really crazy meeting them” describing them as “such characters!” But, of course, the highlight was being able to sample some actual product!
But for Shia LaBeouf, getting to LAWLESS has been an adventure in and of itself, in more ways than one. Describing himself as someone who “come[s] from garbage. I’m a sewer rat who made it here“, LaBeouf’s path has not been an easy one. Avowing “I have no interest in money and never have”, he is equally pragmatic with the admission, “It would straight bullshit if I said the money isn’t nice. But, I never got into [acting] for the money or signed onto any project for the money. Ever. . . Money comes with something like Transformers but if they would have said, “Hey, you’ve gotta do this but you’ve gotta do it for free”, I’d be there. Transformers for me was a big deal in my life, aside from the money and all that. And for me, Michael Bay at 18 – big deal.” Again, I don’t take any of it back and there is no great grand strategy. I think my sensibilities push me to certain directions.”
Of course, thanks to his first “big payday” many years ago, a proud moment for La Beouf was being able to buy his mother – and himself – a car. “My mom had a rape van with no windows for a long, long time. I think the first little bit of money I got, I got her a car with windows, which is nice. [laughing] My first car I got at an auction at my temple. It was an ‘86 Volvo and I got it for like $500 and I wound up throwing like $10,000 into the stereo system, tv’s in the footrest. It was the most ridiculous Volvo you’d ever seen, but I’d never had money before and I was out of my mind. But then you quickly realize there’s not a whole lot of fulfillment on the other side of that.”
With “no grand strategy” to his acting career and life, Shia has a very philosophical approach. “I think my sensibilities push me to certain directions.” Clearly they are, for when it comes to his selection of roles, he is thoughtful and concise. ” I think if you’d ask an 18 year old what he wants to do with his life and his options are Transformers or Lars von Trier, he’s probably shipping out for Transformers. You ask a 26 year old what he wants to do – Transformers or Lars von Trier, he’d probably pick von Trier.”
And as happy as he is in front of the camera, something he vows he will continue to do “until they stop allowing me to do this on this side”, Shia has been bitten with the directing bug. Having written and directed some shorts, he’s “thought about” directing a feature ” but it’s not a commitment I’m ready to undertake now.” When asked about assuming a career like that of Redford where he both acts and directs, he is equally reflective. ” I don’t see the attribute of wearing both hats at the same time. I see more of an obstacle. Just from what I’ve seen though. It’s a lot to think about. They’re heavy jobs.”
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