Shia LaBeouf is a Thief

[Chris Messineo]

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/...-clowes-comic/

I just read this story and it kind of blows my mind. What was he thinking?

[Grug]

Bizarre. From most of the interviews I've seen with him LaBeouf seems reasonably switched on - what in god's name made him think he could get away with it?

[Fluoro]

WOW.

[Paul F]

Even the media refrains from calling someone a thief until proven guilty. One never knows with these stories. Perhaps true as it is given in the article. But I'd wait to hear more from just Wired magazine before making a judgement.

[Al MacLeod]

Plagiarism creates a lasting stain that sometimes comes to define you. I guess it has to happen once in a while to keep the rest of us in check. Sad.

[Chris Messineo]

http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2013/1...rdcantour-com/

Shia admitted what he did. It's still despicable, but at least he came clean - not like he had much choice.

[Doctor Wu]

It's fascinating and relevant that the exposure only happened when the short went ONLINE. It was playing at Cannes and major film festivals for two years... holy. Just goes to show you the far reach of online distribution. And it's pretty pithy what SOTW says - to paraphrase - most often the only reward for making a short is recognition. And to have that taken away from you is just as bad as monetary theft.

Everyone borrows and "steals" in some way from other films and media, but yeah, wow. Shia, keep off the drugs.

http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2013/1...rdcantour-com/

Shia admitted what he did. It's still despicable, but at least he came clean - not like he had much choice.

[Eric Boellner]

Holy hell. He even plagiarized his response to SOTW's question on where he got the inspiration for the film.

LaBeouf's words to SOTW about the inspiration for the film: http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2013/1...rdcantour-com/

I know something about the gulf between critical acclaim and blockbuster business. I have been crushed by critics (especially during my Transformers run), and in trying to come to terms with my feelings about critics, I needed to understand them. As I tried to empathize with the sort of man who might earn a living taking potshots at me and the people I’ve worked with, a small script developed.

Kyle Buchanan's May 2012 review of the film: http://www.vulture.com/2012/05/shia-...at-cannes.html

LaBeouf would know something about the gulf between critical acclaim and blockbuster business — he's made three Transformers movies, after all. But his short isn't an attempt to slag on critics, not really: Instead, he tries to empathize with the sort of man who might earn a living taking potshots at the actor.

What the hell is this guy on?

[Dan Pears]

His music video (I think for Kid Kudi) was a blatant rip of Man Bites Dog.

EDIT: Film was called Maniac.

[Scott F]

what in god's name made him think he could get away with it?

Clearly a LaBeouf/Clowes publicity stunt brought on by the death of big budget narrative film and the rise of iPhone cameras.