Yesterday we published the video above of Shia LaBeouf, who turns 22 today – Happy Birthday Shia! – drunk at what looks like a house party. He’s interacting with another party guest, encouraging the guy to smack him. During their stupid banter before Shia gets smacked, Shia calls the guy a “faggot” in order to encourage him to land the blow.

Today Shia’s rep has issued a statement about the video. He says it was taken several years ago, and that could be true because Shia has such a baby face it’s hard to tell if he’s aged since, and that Shia regrets saying the word in any context and is embarrassed that the video got out. It comes across like a sincere apology and is one that can serve as an example for other celebrities who need to issue statements after saying or doing idiotic things:

“The videotape that is currently being circulated is several years old and captures Shia playing a game among friends in which he uses a derogatory word toward a friend,” LaBeouf’s rep tells me exclusively. “He regrets having used the word in any capacity and is very embarrassed that this footage is being seen by anyone.”

[From Mark Malkin on E! Online]

A lot of you pointed out that Shia pretty openly flipped off David Letterman during an appearance on the show in May. Dave and Shia were talking about Shia’s drunken Walgreen’s arrest, in which he described returning to the drug store twice times in an attempt to get cigarettes after a security guard made fun of him and distracted him from his purchase. Dave joked about Shia changing clothes for his second trip to the store, and Shia subtly flipped him off for a moment. You could tell it was deliberate and not just the way he was gesturing with that hand.

The kid is 22 years old and he’s foolish, but his worst offenses are shopping drunk and smoking outside, and unlike a lot of his peers he’s never been busted for DUI. While he did use a very obnoxious and offensive word in a video taken at a party, he apologized properly and sounds like he regrets it.

Amy Winehouse has also sort-of apologized for the many slurs she used in a stupid sing-song rant in which she called four groups “deaf, dumb, blind and gay.” She told photographers “I don’t want to play anything down, but I’m the least racist person going.” Some people commented on that story that it was more like a child’s song and was something her husband encouraged her to sing. Other people said there’s no excuse for what Amy did, even if it was in private. Maybe she needs a good PR person like Shia’s so she can apologize with feeling and explain how that happened. Unlike Shia, she didn’t just use one offensive name for a group, it was a string of them and included mean comments specifically about those groups.

Shia LaBeouf is shown below outside a fan screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in NY on 5/21/08, thanks to WENN.

Here’s a stupid video of a very drunken Shia LaBeaouf daring some guy at a party to smack him on the face. He calls the guy “f*ggot” in an idiotic joking way and uses the word “dawg” repeatedly. When the guy finally smacks him he looks like it’s painful, but he laughs afterwards and gives him a hug. He was probably feeling pretty numb at that point.

This week’s Star magazine reminds us of a story Shia told on Regis and Kelly during his May 20th appearance. He said his dad usually stays in a tepee in Montana but that he lives in his garage in Burbank during the winter. Shia said that his dad sleeps on an air mattress and that “it’s very comfortable for him.” Shia’s dad was a heroin addict and drug dealer who left his mother when Shia was just five. He was able to reunite with his then-sober dad when he was 12 and needed a guardian on a Disney set.

Shia turns 22 tomorrow.

Thanks to D-Listed for linking this.

Cate Blanchett attended the Australian premiere of Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull wearing a gold lame wrap dress with too much fabric gathered with a plain black belt. It was an astonishingly bad look for Cate, who often takes fashion risks but pulls it off. She topped off the look with a pair of chunky black t-strap shoes that would have been at home on Gwyneth Paltrow’s feet.

Blanchett didn’t look as bad as Ashanti, who attended the NY premiere which was hosted by BET’s show 106 and Park. Ashanti wore a dress with peacock sequin detail around the the neck and thick blue eyeshadow under her eyes as if she was about to play football. It got us to publish her photo, so her makeup strategy worked.

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is out in the US tomorrow, May 22. Initial reviews are mixed and praise the excellent fast-paced action but say that the dialog and plot are lacking.

Also shown at the NY premiere are Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, Shia LaBeouf and Karen Allen. I love Calista’s simple pale pink dress. Thanks to WENN and PRPhotos.

The first reviews are in for Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, which had its much-anticipated premiere at Cannes yesterday, and they’re mixed. A critic for Britain’s Telegraph calls it “creaky” with bad dialog but admits that it has rollicking good special effects. The overall consensus is that it’s a lot of fun, but that the plot leaves something to be desired.

The Pirates of the Caribbean films weren’t well reviewed either, but there was plenty of action and eye candy and they sure cleaned up at the box office. The fourthIndiana Jones movie is likely to do the same.

Here’s the latest trailer. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull is out in the US and in most countries on May 22:

And here are pictures from the premiere yesterday, including Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Salma Hayek, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, Aishwarya Rai, Linda Evangelista, Billy Zane and Kelly Brook (who are probably back together) and Goldie Hawn. Cate Blanchett always looks gorgeous.

21 year-old Transformers star Shia LaBeouf was on David Letterman on Monday night and he explained his drunken Walgreen’s arrest. It was an hysterical story involving three visits to the drug store, two outfit changes, zit cream and cigarettes he forgot to buy after the first two visits in which the security guard made fun of him and distracted him. The video of the interview is below but in case you can’t watch it here’s the recap and a transcript.

The story goes that Shia was drunk and went to the drug store near his hotel to get some cigarettes. On the way down in the elevator he felt a zit forming on his forehead and decided to get some cream for it. When he was in the cosmetics aisle picking up the Clearasil, the security guard started laughing at him and he got pissed off and forgot his cigarettes. He decided to change his outfit and went back and got mocked again by the same guy. He again forgot the cigarettes and just came away with some gummi bears in his messed up state. The third time, in another outfit, is when he got into a mild confrontation with the guy, and got tackled by another security guard and arrested:

“So I go to Walgreen’s and I go to the cosmetic aisle,” LaBeouf recalled, “and I see the security guard and he’s looking at me, four in the morning, pretty disheveled, pretty messed up on the special magic sauce. And I get the pimple cream, and he’s looking at me, he’s kinda giggling to himself, and now I’m starting to feel like, `What? It’s really not that funny, guy, you know?’”

A bashful LaBeouf went back to his hotel and realized he’d forgotten to buy the smokes. The actor says he returned to Walgreen’s wearing different clothes: “I’m going, `Well, now the guy saw me, now what am I gonna do?’ So I do an outfit change.”

LaBeouf said the security guard noticed and said, “Hey, nice outfit,” to which he retorted: “Yeah, nice outfit to you, too.”

LaBeouf said he accidentally backed into the candy aisle, but tried to play it off like he did it on purpose. “So I grabbed these gummy bears, and I’m like, `yeah, THESE,’” he recalled.

He said he purchased the sweets _ and, once again, left without buying cigarettes. So he threw on a hooded sweatshirt and returned to the store a third time.

“I go back down, I got the hoodie on, he goes, `Really? Really? Really?’ And I’m like, `Yeah, really!’ He goes, `Well, what are you doing here?’ And I’m like, `Well buddy, it’s your worst nightmare,’” LaBeouf said.

He said at that point, another security guard put him in plastic handcuffs and took him to the ground, said LaBeouf, calling himself a “moron.”

LaBeouf was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing; the next day, Labeouf’s smiling mug shot splashed across Internet.

“It was a photo shoot, (the officer’s) like, ‘Let me take like 14 mug shots,’” LaBeouf said.

Prosecutors later dropped charges because Walgreen Co. and a security company indicated they didn’t want to continue the case.

[From The Huffington Post]

That was stupid, but LaBeouf owed up to it and he was damn funny on Letterman. Watch the video below if you’re able to, because you’ll be laughing out loud. He’s a young guy and has this geeky voice that sounds like he just passed puberty and is still fighting with it, but he has a great sense of humor and can sure tell a story.

Shia LaBeouf will next appear in Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull with Harrison Ford. It is out in the US on May 22.

Thanks to E! Online for the video below, and to WENN for these photos of Shia yesterday outside Letterman.

Shia LaBeouf may make us average girls swoon with his mildly rebellious ways, but drunken drug store standoffs and a wanton disregard for smoking laws are not enough to impress hardened NY City women. Page Six claims that the baby-faced Transformers star failed to pick up any women at an exclusive hipster spot in the West Village. He was clearly out of his league and was said to have made a pitiful site:

SHIA LaBeouf may be a full-fledged movie star, but it’s not enough to impress the picky types who hold court at hotspot Beatrice Inn. One recent night, spies say LaBeouf was “desperately seeking a lady . . . but none of the hipster hotties were standing for it.” Our onlooker snickered that he finally turned to one woman and whined a line that will send any guy home solo: “How do I get a girl to go home with me?”

[From Page Six]

Poor Shia needs to turn it up a notch and act like the unapproachable movie star all his 14 year-old fans think he is. Maybe once the new Raiders of the Lost Ark movie comes out he’ll be more recognized and won’t have such a hard time picking up chicks. He needs some guy advice though, and it’s not like Harrison Ford is going to teach him how to score. He’s starring in a thriller called Eagle Eye with Billy Bob Thornton, which is out this fall. You know that Thornton could teach him a thing or two about how to work the celebrity angle. He had Angelina Jolie eating out of his grubby hands, and he’s not particularly attractive. Billy Bob’s most convincing role was as a touched guy, with a drunken mall santa coming in a close second. You don’t need looks to land the ladies if you’re rich and famous I reckon, mmm hmmm.

More details have come out in the Shia LaBeouf drunken arrest at Walgreen’s incident, and it does sound just like the drug store stand down that we assumed it was. He was asked to leave the store, he didn’t, and he got arrested. There’s no mention of screaming, shoving, or tantrum-throwing, and it seems like the guy wanted to go about his business and pick up some items and the security didn’t like the way he was weaving down the aisles and told him to get out. Shia stood his ground and got some publicity out of the deal.

If you’re going to be arrested for drunken conduct, this is the way to do it. Shia wasn’t driving, he wasn’t knocking shit over, he didn’t beat anyone up, and it doesn’t even sound like he was all that rude. I like to spend my time browsing in the drug store too, so I can’t fault the guy for asserting his right to shop at 2:30 in the morning after a few drinks. Considering all the other drunken antics he could be up to, Shia is still aces in my book.

All this article says is that he was out drinking, he went to the drug store, refused to leave, then got arrested. If there was more to it than that we would be hearing about it:

LaBeouf, a rising star who is in Chicago to film a movie, was at the Underground nightclub, 56 W. Illinois St., on Saturday night and left about 2 a.m. Sunday, said Maura Daley, a club spokeswoman.

She declined further comment, but added: “His unrelated incident is very unfortunate, and we wish Mr. LaBeouf all the best…”

The 21-year-old actor who starred in “Disturbia” and “Transformers” and is the star of the upcoming Indiana Jones sequel, was arrested about 2:25 a.m. in the Walgreens at 757 N. Michigan Ave., police said.

A security guard called police after LaBeouf refused to leave the 24-hour store, said Monique Bond, Chicago police spokeswoman. He was asked to leave several times, she said. The guard signed a complaint, and the actor was cited on a misdemeanor count of trespassing, police said.

“The report does not indicate that he was with a group. [It] appears that he was alone,” Bond said. “[There is] no indication of damaging property or interfering with other customers.”

LaBeouf, a California resident, was taken to the Near North police district and posted bail about 7 a.m., police said. His next court date is Nov. 28.

[From The Chicago Tribune via ONTD]

Maybe there was shoving or screaming, but even though this is a respected paper, I have to think they would have thrown that in there if it happened. The way this scenario plays out in my head is that Shia needs some contraceptives because he’s about to get lucky and is thwarted by an over-eager security guard. He says “no, I’m not going to leave” and stays in the store, being repeatedly harassed. The poor guy gets arrested and forfeits his evening hookup, but at least we all hear about it and he starts to achieve the level of fame that he deserves.

Isn’t that the cutest mug shot you’ve ever seen? Good job, Shia, now don’t go doing it again.

If all I heard was that a celebrity was arrested for being drunk at a drug store, my money would have been on Britney at CVS. In my imagination she’s not combative despite her umbrella-wielding history, and is apprehended for opening up makeup and trying it on, discarding packages as she stumbles down the aisle.

Transformers star Shia LaBeouf was arrested at a Walgreens in Chicago over the weekend after security asked him to leave and he refused. It was 2:30 in the morning when the cops came, so maybe he’d just had a marathon drinking session and really wanted one of those little packages of ice cream they sell there. I love those, because they get you into a lot less trouble than a full pint of Ben and Jerry’s.

It doesn’t sound like LaBeouf was disruptive so much as stubborn and holding his ground. He was said to be cooperative with police and to have posted bail a few hours later, at 7 a.m.:

Chicago police say actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested at the Walgreens at 757 N. Michigan Av. around 2:30 a.m. Sunday after repeatedly refusing to leave the store.

A security guard repeatedly told LaBeouf that he wasn’t welcome and had to leave because he appeared to be drunk, police said.

When the actor refused to leave, the security guard detained him and called police.

After he was arrested, LaBeouf was “very courteous and polite,” and he posted bond before 7 a.m., police said.

LaBeouf, 21, of Glendale, Calif., was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing. He is scheduled to appear in court in Branch 29 on Nov. 28 at 9 a.m.

[From CBS2Chicago via WeSmirch]

There was an article in last week’s Star Magazine titled “Does Shia LaBeouf feel like a LOSER?” in a big all-caps font like that. They said he was upset because he never gets recognized, and that he was pissed because he was initially denied entry to the T-Mobile Sidekick LX launch party in L.A:

The 21-year-old Transformers star was denied entry because even the doormen didn’t know who he was! When the party promoters realized their mistake, they ran after Shia, and convinced him to come back – but he wasn’t happy. “Shia came back, but not before he ripped off his wristband and chucked it at one of the promoters,” says an eyewitness. “He threw a bit of a fit – it definitely bothered him.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, November 5, 2007]

Poor Shia. He will probably get recognized a lot more after this profile-raising drunken stand down. He is also set to star in the new Indiana Jones movie, which is due for release in the US on May 22, 2008.

Shia is shown at the premiere of Hot Rod Movie on 7/26/07 and at the Transformers premiere on 6/27/07. Thanks to PRPhotos.

Steven Spielberg has endeared himself to the entire blogging community by inviting quite a few movie bloggers to lunch and a personal meeting with him at Universal Studios to thank them for not publishing the stolen photos and all the plot details from the upcoming Indiana Jones movie. Bloggers from JoBlo.com, ComingSoon.net, Slashfilm, IGN, CHUD, IESB, and Latino Review enjoyed a catered lunch just off set and were treated to a few minutes of Q&A with the director. While their travel doesn’t sound like it was covered, they were treated well.

It was Spielberg’s own idea to hold the lunch for the movie bloggers, and although he only spent a short time with them it sounds like it was his own idea to invite them and that he made sure they enjoyed their visit. They were not allowed on set, where there were about two days left of shooting, due to those continuing issues with trying to keep plot details private, but they did get glimpses of several stars in costume, including Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf.

Spielberg talked proudly of using real film instead of digital footage for the upcoming movie, and said that Ford and LaBeouf do many of their own stunts. He is favoring old school movie making and editing for the production, and will use digital special effects sparingly. He praised LaBeouf’s acting and said he plans to work with him on another Transformers movie that they’re trying to fast track.

A few minutes later, we met Spielberg in a private screening room where he enthusiastically greeted us sporting his usual dressed-down-with-ball-cap look. Spielberg was gracious with his time and while he talked with us a few minutes, he was upfront about not wanting to answer any questions about the movie. Of course as journalists, we had to try and this is what we got:

Production is two days away from wrapping and the director raved about how great it was to have Ford back and how amazed he was that he did the majority of his own stunts. He said, looking back to the last film, which was 18 years ago, he couldn’t tell the difference between the action star from then to now because he’s still that good. He also told us that the Russians are the villains in the film and he hired Russian actors to ensure accuracy with their accents.

He went on to say that the fourth installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise is shot on film and not digital, despite Lucas’ encouragements of doing so because he is old-fashioned, and he added that if the people before him, who he considered great directors, did it on film then that’s good enough for him.

Spielberg then talked about what a great addition Shia LaBeouf has been and how he’s been doing all of his own stunts, too. Speaking of LaBeouf, Spielberg told us there are going to be multiple “Transformers” films that the hot young actor is signed on to do and that there’s already a story for the second one, but production depends on the pending writer’s strike

[From ComingSoon.net]

He is also set to co-direct a series of three movie with Peter Jackson based on Tintin, a series of popular graphic novels, and he wants to increase awareness of how great the story will be as it’s not that well known in America:

The industrious director talked about Tintin, a project he’s working on with Peter Jackson, based on the popular graphic novels by Belgian artist Hergé. He said that as of now there are only two directors with Jackson directing the first installment, himself directing the second movie, and if they don’t hire another director, the two would co-direct the third. Jackson will shoot his movie in New Zealand and Spielberg will shoot in the States, and Spielberg said the two are very collaborative and that the film will be using motion-capture, which is still new to him.

[From ComingSoon.net]

At the end of the meeting Spielberg signed limited edition Indiana 4 posters for all the bloggers. While they weren’t allowed to take pictures and we don’t have any photos of the event, it was incredible of Spielberg to thank the bloggers and he gets major points for inviting them. A little kindness goes a long way, and you know that even jaded gossip bloggers like me will think twice before publishing spoilers for Spielberg movies in the future. He’s watching, and he knows that you catch more flies with honey.

Thanks to Fark for the heads up about this story.

Rihanna recently opened up to Atlanta Peach Magazine about the fact that she revealed in an interview a short while ago that her father was once a crack addict, but kicked the habit. She said she hasn’t really talked to him about it, and gave a very good response that answered the question without being too revealing.

On Her Relationship With Her Father

“I am actually embarassed by that. I don’t like speaking about it because I am not proud of it. But it is something that helped make me who I am today. Now people know that I am not perfect and that I had real conflicts. My dad is not pleased, because he is embarassed. We still have not sat and had a conversation about it.”

[From Atlanta Peach Magazine via Bossip]

Not only has the successful pop singer not spoken to her dad recently, it doesn’t seem like she’s helping him out financially either. The guy is selling clothing out of the back of his car back in their native Barbados.

These exclusive Enquirer photos show the entertainer’s down-and-out dad trying to eke out a living. Rihanna, 19, a former beauty pageant winner in Barbados, has said in interviews that she witnessed her father, Ronald Fenty, struggle with a crack cocaine addiction while she was growing up.

While Ronald reportedly has beaten his drug problem, he’s still clearly struggling with poverty. “Ronald is trying to make ends meet by selling clothes and perfumes and lotions out of his car,” said a friend of his in Barbados.

“It’s kind of sad that his daughter is raking in millions as a world famous singer while her dad is still hustling to make a buck.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, September 10, 2007]

Rihanna is now said to be dating up-and-coming Transformers star Shia LaBeouf and has been seen out on several dates with him. They have at least one thing in common, because Shia has said in interviews that his dad was a drug addict and dealer too. Shia and Rihanna have said similar things about their father’s battles with drugs:

Shia on his dad:

“I got to grow up in a situation where drugs were demonic. To watch your dad go through heroin withdrawl is something that would keep you from doing any of that yourself…”

[From Star Magazine print edition, March 7, 2007]

Rihanna on her dad:

“I just knew that my mom and dad would always argue when there was a foil paper with an ashtray. He would just go into the bathroom all the time. I didn’t know what it was… [But] he knew that to get closer to [his kids], he had to cut that out. And he did.”

[Interview with Giant Magazine via SOHH.com]

Shia’s dad left his mother when he was just five. When Shia was 12 he needed a guardian on the set of a Disney series he was filming and asked his then-sober father to step in, at which point they reconciled. Shia and his dad now have a great relationship.

Maybe Shia will be a good influence on Rihanna, and can show her that it’s possible to have a relationship with a parent who was once drug addict. If Rihanna is afraid to give her dad a handout she might give him a job instead, like Shia did.

Rihanna is shown at a video shoot in Santa Monica. Thanks to Bossip. Everyone is saying she looks like Beyonce in the Irreplaceable video. (The scene is about 2:30 minutes into the video.) The header image is a scan from The Enquirer.