The Lyons Den
Starring E! movie dude Ben Lyons
Beat Ben @ the Box Office: Eye on Shia
The boy Shia is a beast at the box office. His last two flicks were Indy Jones and Transformers, both massive hits (and, yes, would have been even if LaBeouf hadn't starred alongside Harrison Ford and Optimus Prime). Before that, though, Shia fronted a little movie called Disturbia which, despite being produced by Steven Spielberg, shocked the industry by holding the No. 1 box-office spot three weekends in a row.
Now Shia's back in another Spielberg-produced flick—his fourth, but who's counting?—and he's paired with Disturbia director D.J. Caruso. A summer movie hidden in a crowded fall slate, Eagle Eye feels like a blockbuster in every sense of the word.
So look for the hits to keep on coming, and for double E to drop $38.7 million this weekend.
What do you think, too low? Way high? Throw your numbers down in the comments and we'll see who owns the B.O.
Who Is Shia LaBeouf Talking About?
He's slinging a switchblade in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but when last I sat down with Shia LaBeouf, the boy wonder threw around some gossip about a Hollywood big shot. Hit this clip from my new video series to see whose name he's dropping.
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On-Set Secrets! Shia's Summer Flick, Eagle Eye
I first met the boy wonder on the set of a small passion project called, um, Transformers. Since then, I've kept up a friendship with the 21-year-old, two-time Vanity Fair cover boy and Steven Spielberg-anointed golden child Shia LaBeouf.
So, this week I was lucky enough to hang on the set of this summer's political thriller Eagle Eye (directed by the same guy who did Disturbia, D.J. Caruso), with Shia and costar/totally-cool-chick Michelle Monaghan.
Here's what I learned at the Santa Anita mall, near Pasadena, California:
Shia Has Kept His Head: Despite having found enormous sucWonder boy LaBeouf sneaks us behind the scenes of summer flick Eagle Eyecess since we first met, the Indiana Jones star is still the same old Shia: He's on a first-name basis with the crew, he engages with the hundreds of extras, and he even left the set before a take to salute his favorite film critic. (Check the photo!)
He's into Something Big Here: The story of Eagle Eye centers around mistaken identity, and Shia's and Michelle's characters are caught up in political and military hijinx that have them on the run. The film features an all-star cast, too, with everybody from Michael Chiklis to Rosario Dawson to Billy Bob Thornton.
Hey, What's in That Briefcase? In every take I saw, Shia was carrying a silver briefcase and talking on a pay phone. Like Cloverfield, which benefited big-time from the secrecy that surrounded it, Eagle Eye has some unknowns hanging over the story. The cast, of course, couldn't get too much into it—on camera, at least!
Eagle Eye is scheduled to open Aug. 8.