Shia LaBeouf Likens 'Transformers 2' To 'Apocalypse Now' Chaos

'Dark of the Moon,' however, was the first 'Transformers' film to have 'a fully sussed-out script,' star tells MTV News.
By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz


Shia LaBeouf
Photo: MTV News

Give Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf credit for stepping up and admitting their cinematic gaffes. Both guys have owned up to the fact that 2009's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," despite nabbing more than $830 million at the worldwide box office, did not measure up to their popcorn aspirations.

"The second one, we had a tough go," Bay told us in February about shooting the film in the wake of the writers' strike. "It was a very, very tough thing to make a movie under those circumstances. It affected a lot of Hollywood at that time."

The key issue was the film was rushed into production without all the creative pieces fully in place; filmmakers had a huge budget but not exactly the clearest idea of the story they were trying to tell. In this sense, LaBeouf told MTV News recently in Moscow, the movie became Bay's "Apocalypse Now," the notoriously troubled, Francis Ford Coppola-directed Vietnam War film.

"[On] the second movie where we had our hiccups, there were good things, but there were more bad things," LaBeouf explained, going on to reference the documentary about the "Apocalypse" production. "Before I came out here, I watched 'Hearts of Darkness.' And in it, you have Francis Ford Coppola saying to camera, 'I have too much money, I have no script, and I'm going to shoot myself in the head.' "

LaBeouf went on to make clear he wasn't comparing his summer tentpole to that classic war film, only "the conundrum," as he put it, of undertaking a sprawling project under less-than-organized circumstances. "[It was] very similar in terms of Coppola and Mike on set," he continued. "And the insanity of the second movie."

Production on "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," the third film in the franchise, which hits theaters Wednesday, couldn't have been more different than the second. "This was the first time we've had a fully sussed-out script, with a strong through line and the best plot and arc [LaBeouf's character] Sam has ever had," the actor said. "And it's also simple in the places you want it to be and not complicated. I think the second movie you got convoluted, complicated action where you can't enjoy it. You don't know whose elbow is what, or whose face is getting impaled. You don't know who the enemy is, you don't know who the hero is. You get lost. [Bay] simplified all his action, so that you can thoroughly enjoy it and his simplification of the movie, we benefited greatly from it."

The result, as LaBeouf told us at the MTV Movie Awards, is what he views as the finest installment in the franchise. But that doesn't mean he'll be returning for a fourth go-round. Reiterating a sentiment he conveyed to us at the MTV Movie Awards earlier this month, "Dark of the Moon" will be his final "Transformers" movie.

"I've learned a great deal from Michael, as a person, as an actor. As a person on his sets, you learn a lot," he said. "And it's not that I don't enjoy working with Michael. I love working with Michael. I would do any movie Michael wants to do. I just don't think there's anywhere to take it Sam."

Check out everything we've got on "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Michael Jackson's Legacy, Two Years Later, By the Numbers

Legendary singer's impact continues to blossom in the two years since his death; MTV News breaks down the figures.
By Gil Kaufman


Michael Jackson
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Like Elvis, Bob Marley, Notorious B.I.G. and Frank Sinatra before him, Michael Jackson's influence has continued, and grown, since his untimely death on June 25, 2009.

On the second anniversary of the King of Pop's passing, MTV News took a look at the enduring appeal of MJ's music, videos and imagery, which continue to fascinate and attract fans across the globe thanks to a series of posthumous albums, a movie, video games and two upcoming Cirque du Soleil live shows.

Where Were You Two Years Ago When You Heard the News? Tell Us on Facebook

$72 million: According to Box Office Mojo, Jackson's posthumous concert film, "This Is It," has grossed more than $72 million to date domestically and $189 million in foreign markets for a worldwide take over more than $261 million. It ranks as the #2 music documentary of all-time behind Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never." The film has also generated nearly $45 million in DVD sales in the U.S.

16: In May, Jackson lodged his first #1 on the Billboard magazine Dance/ Club Play Songs chart in 16 years with the latest single from his posthumous Michael album, "Hollywood Tonight."

2: Number of posthumous albums that have been released since Michael's death in June 2009. Last year's Michael has sold just over 510,000 copies to date, while the This Is It collection has moved nearly 1 million copies to date in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

15,000: The number of videos submitted by fans since March for the crowdsourced video for "Behind the Mask." After they were edited down by a five-person team over two months, the resulting clip used submissions from more than 1,600 participants from 103 countries.

3 million: The amount of copies sold of the Ubisoft "Michael Jackson: The Experience" video game worldwide.

$57 million: The reported cost of Cirque du Soleil's traveling MJ show, "The Immortal World Tour, which is slated to kick off on October 2.

$1 billion: That gaudy figure is the reported amount the Jackson estate had generated by last June on the first anniversary of the singer's death. According to Billboard, the revenue was generated by a combination of music sales ($429 million), film/TV revenue ($392 million), music publishing ($130 million), licensing ($35 million) and a $31 million recording contract. (A spokesperson for Jackson's estate declined to provide updated figures for this story.)

$310 million: The amount of gross earnings reported by the executors of the estate in a December 2010 court filing detailing the progress made in paying off the $400 million in debt run up by the spendthrift singer during his lifetime.

16.1 million: MJ was always a big singles artist. Yes, Thriller is one of the best-selling albums of all time, but even in death, fans can't resist cherry-picking some of Michael's best songs. That explains why he's sold more than 16 million digital tracks since June 28, 2009, the first sales week following his passing, according to Nielsen SoundScan. To put that in perspective, from the time Nielsen began counting digital tracks in 2004 until the week before Jackson's death, the singer had sold just over 8.1 million digital tracks, a figure that has doubled in just the past two years.

2013: The projected launch for a second, non-touring Cirque show celebrating Jackson. The yet-untitled show is slated to open in the spring of 2013 at a new theater being built at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

$25 million to $50 million: That's how much Jackson's estate takes in on an annual basis thanks to his stake in the half-million-song Sony/ATV catalog, which includes titles by Elvis, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Beyoncé and Bob Dylan.

Share your memories of Michael Jackson in the comments.

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Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake Hit 'Bad Teacher' Black Carpet

'She just doesn't belong in school,' Diaz tells MTV News of her naughty character at comedy's New York premiere.
By Jocelyn Vena


Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake at the "Bad Teacher" premiere
Photo: James Devaney/ WireImage

NEW YORK"Bad Teacher" stars Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel came out on Monday night for the premiere of their raunchy comedy. And Diaz, who plays couldn't-care-less teacher Elizabeth Halsey, told us she why she loved the role.

"It was a lot of fun. Elizabeth was such a well-written character," she told MTV News on the Ziegfeld Theatre's black carpet. "It was easy to play her; it was easy to say the words. She was so well-defined."

For photos of the stars walking the black carpet, click here.

Cameron's character is very naughty, and her co-stars Tom Lennon and Phyllis Smith ("The Office") jokingly admitted that they might have paid more attention in school back in the day if a teacher had been as sexy as Diaz, a sentiment the A-list star completely understood.

"I think that's why people love Elizabeth," Diaz said. "It's because everyone wants to be her, even for an hour, maybe a day. If you get away with a week — oh my gosh! I got to play her for six weeks. So yeah, it was a lot of fun."

As it turns out, it isn't just Elizabeth's attitude that's fierce, but also her killer sense of style. Diaz fully embraced the teacher's fashion sense in the Jake Kasdan-directed flick. "The wardrobe is really good. Elizabeth is a working girl, if you know what I mean," she laughed. "So she has to look a certain way: She's always either coming in from the night before or going out and she never wants to be mistaken as a teacher and she wears [Christian] Louboutins every day of her life and she just doesn't belong in school."

Check out everything we've got on "Bad Teacher."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Penn Badgley Lands Jeff Buckley Biopic Role

'I'm going to give all I can to this project,' 'Gossip Girl' star says about role in 'Greetings From Tim Buckley.'
By Jocelyn Vena


Penn Badgley
Photo: Eugene Gologursky/ Getty Images

The rumors are true. Penn Badgley has won the role of Jeff Buckley in a biopic about the singer's life.

The "Gossip Girl" star will play the beloved singer/songwriter in "Greetings From Tim Buckley," which is set to begin filming in New York City later this summer. The film will tell the story of the young singer as he prepares to play at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Church in 1991 during a tribute concert to his father, fellow musician Tim Buckley.

"To play a man who was singularly gifted as an artist, greatly misunderstood and mythologized as a human being ... It's something very special and sacred," Badgley said in a statement about nabbing the part. "I'm going to give all I can to this project."

Though it was originally thought that Badgley was competing with Robert Pattinson for the role, according to The Los Angeles Times, Pattinson was in the running for a completely different biopic about the singer, who drowned at the age of 30 in 1997. While the search for that movie's Buckley is still under way, the makers of "Greetings From Tim Buckley" are sure about their choice.

"We had been searching well over a year for an actor that can come close to Jeff's spirit while also having the serious musical chops required to authentically tell this story," Patrick Milling Smith of Smuggler Films, the production company behind the film, said. "Penn's audition blew us away and we knew we found our star."

The film will be directed by Dan Algrant ("People I Know," "Naked in New York"). Smith added that the film's story will show another side of the singer's life. "In its purest form, this is a father and son story, a rite of passage that is made possible by a romantic journey Jeff finds himself on," he explained. "We see Jeff accepting who he is to become and laying to rest the ghost of his father while ultimately finding his voice."

A California native, Jeff Buckley rose to fame in the '90s in New York City and recorded only one studio album, Grace, before his untimely death. During his lifetime, his moody, romantic tracks paired with his signature voice established him as on the of the go-to singer/songwriters of his generation. His trademark songs include "Last Goodbye" and a cover of the Leonard Cohan classic, "Hallelujah."

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Audrina Patridge, Ke$ha, Adam Lambert Share Prom Memories

'Me and my gay best friend just danced until 8 a.m.,' Ke$ha tells MTV News.
By Jocelyn Vena


Audrina Patridge
Photo: MTV News

It's prom season, and that means high schoolers across this great land will be renting tuxes, buying fancy dresses and negotiating the details of their curfews with parents. So, before you take your pictures and get in your limos, we asked some Hollywood A-listers to recall their fondest prom memories.

"I had a great prom," Ne-Yo told MTV News. "I didn't get to go with who I wanted to go with. I got my second choice, but my second choice turned out to be the one I was supposed to be there with, so it turned out good."

Ke$ha, never one to say no to a party, had the best night of all her friends. "I went to prom with my gay best friend, and let me tell you, I had way more fun than anybody else at a prom with their boyfriends," she recalled. "Everybody else was, like, crying and drama and breaking up, and me and my gay best friend just danced until 8 a.m."

"Hellcats" star Aly Michalka doesn't have a favorite prom memory — because she never went to prom. "I was homeschooled, so I don't even think we had a fake prom," she lamented. "Like, maybe we had a home-school prom and I wasn't invited?"

While everything always seems to be in peril on "The Vampire Diaries," star Nina Dobrev had a less tumultuous night: "Having everyone get together and such a final celebration [is what I remember]."

Romeo went big for his prom. "My senior prom, I remember I pulled up in my red Ferrari. I was feeling like James Bond," he said. "And it was one of the best nights of my life."

"My favorite prom memory was probably going shopping for a dress, and our boyfriends at the time dressed up as 'Dumb & Dumber,' " Audrina Patridge laughed. "And so we were like, 'We can't dress up dorky ... we have to look good.' "

Roots drummer ?uestlove made a big decision on the night of his prom: "June 2, 1989, was my very last haircut; prom haircut, totally butchered my hair. He butchered my hair, and I vowed never again to ever get in a barber chair, so I grew that Afro on my prom night."

Adam Lambert said his prom date was a 10, so he definitely had a fun night. "I had a great prom. I had an awesome time," he said. "I went with one of my best friends in high school. Her name was Lauren, and she was really hot. She wore a really hot red dress, so I felt like I had arm candy."

Share your prom memories in the comments below!

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