- Title: "Honey Boy": Shia LaBeouf's 'cinematic exorcism' revisits his childhood traumas
- Date: 6th October 2019
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 6, 201) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, ALMA HAR'EL, ON WHAT LABEOUF'S OWN FATHER THOUGHT ABOUT THE FILM AFTER SEEING IT, SAYING: "I think it was hard for Shia's father to see the film, but he really, he's been extremely supportive of the process and been in touch with us during the production, I would get messages from him on Facebook almost every morning wishing us a good shooting day. And he is so happy that Shia is sober and that we made this film, and he's been really, kind of a real cheerleader - as he says in the film, you know. He was really the cheerleader." HEDGES POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS, THEN JOINED BY JUPE WHO ALSO POSES FOR PHOTOGRAPHS JUPE POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS ACTOR BYRON BOWERS TWIRLING HAR'EL AROUND AND KISSING HER HAND PHOTOGRAPHERS HAR'EL AND JUPE HUGGING EACH OTHER, POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS HEDGES AND JUPE SPEAKING TO REPORTERS JUPE SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, NOAH JUPE, ON WHETHER HE AND LABEOUF EVER COMFORTED EACH OTHER ON SET DURING EMOTIONAL MOMENTS, SAYING: "I was like sitting there, like kind of getting into this emotional sequence and then he, Shia just came up to me and just hugged me and it just, you know broke me, and like that was the take, before the take he just came up and hug me and then sat back down and then we went and it was just, that was the one. And he's also the most hilarious guy, like on a side note, and so to have him on set just like cracking up and to play around with is really funny." LABEOUF POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS THEN SEEING JUPE ON THE RED CARPET/ LABEOUF WALKING OFF
- Embargoed: 20th October 2019 23:49
- Keywords: Honey Boy Shia LaBeouf London Film Festival BFI LFF director Alma Har'el Lucas Hedges Noah Jupe
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/ VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/ VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA004AZYKPJH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY THROUGHOUT
Shia LaBeouf bares his soul wide open in "Honey Boy", in what director Alma Har'el called a "cinematic exorcism" of his childhood traumas.
The "Transformers" star plays a troubled character based on his real-life father who battled alcoholism while looking after young Shia, the child actor.
Israeli director Har'el, who is best known for her documentary work such as "Bombay Beach" in 2011, makes her feature debut here and called LaBeouf's brave performance very "therapeutic" for the actor.
LaBeouf was in rehab while penning the idea for the film and diagnosed with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). He was still in recovery when filming began.
Har'el told Reuters on Sunday (October 6) at the film's European premiere that more support and understanding was needed to raise awareness of mental health and alcoholism - the latter she described as a "family illness" as it affects all the family members. It has affected her own. She is also many years sober. Both Har'el and LaBeouf have supported each other throughout, but she learned a lot about his condition from being on set with him.
"I definitely got to understand better a lot of his behaviours and a lot of the things people don't really know about it and what it means to get triggered," she said. "What it means to actually be aggressive because you are actually feeling attacked in a certain moment."
The story sees actors Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges play 'Otis' at different stages in his life, a character based on a young LaBeouf.
Boy Otis (Jupe) is living in a rundown motel as he earns money acting to support and pay his father and mentor, James (LaBoeuf), but often deals with his father's emotional and physical abuse. Hedges is Otis when he goes into rehab and struggles to control his angry outbursts.
Asked whether LaBeouf's own father, Jeffrey, has seen the film, Har'el said it was tough watch for him but he was their biggest fan while making it too.
"I would get messages from him on Facebook almost every morning wishing us a good shooting day," she said.
"He is so happy that Shia is sober and that we made this film, and he's been really, kind of a real cheerleader."
"Honey Boy" is on general release in the U.S. from November 8. It is also in Official Competition at the London Film Festival.
(Production: Graham Kelly and Lisa Giles-Keddie) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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