A new trailer just dropped for Honey Boy, the semi-autobiographical film written by and starring Shia LaBeouf. For a guy who we’d mostly written off, this is the second film of the year (the other one being Peanut Butter Falcon) that has interested us with him in it. The new trailer feels raw, honest, and like it could be a slightly uncomfortable film experience. With that said, it looks like it’s worth it. For year’s we’ve seen the life of Shia through tabloids, TMZ, and his films. It’s going to be really interesting to see how this film adds to the story.
From a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har’el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. LaBeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father, an ex-rodeo clown and a felon. Artist and musician FKA twigs makes her feature-film debut, playing neighbor and kindred spirit to the younger Otis in their garden-court motel home. Har’el’s feature narrative debut is a one-of-a-kind collaboration between filmmaker and subject, exploring art as therapy and imagination as hope.