Shia Vs Alec, A Gentleman’s Disagreement On One’s Approach To The Noble Art Of Stage-Acting
LaBeouf by name, LaBeouf by nature.
It’s been a big day for celebrity in-fighting, from the Taylor Swift vs Amy Poehler/Tina Fey non-event to Morrissey replacing David Bowie with Rick Astley (lols) on his ‘Last Of The International Playboys’ re-issue. But those pseudo-feuds look like playground quibbles compared to the latest development in the Alec Baldwin-Shia LaBeouf shitstorm.
The shenanigans kicked off over a week ago when Shia unexpectedly pulled out of his impending Broadway debut, a play called Orphans about two young brothers from the Philly slums who turn to crime after their mother dies and father abandons them. Originally citing “creative differences” as his decision to exit the play, a few leaked emails revealed that those “differences” were Baldwin beef-related (more specifically, he’s not acting hard enough!). Shia even took to Twitter to offer some subtle digs at his former co-star through a detailed Twitter op-thread on the weakened bourgeois state of modern theatre:
Much like Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock, though, Baldwin’s ol’ school. In the days of Clift and Brando, no young punk would get away with calling out a veteran actor’s floor chops. Responding to a question from Vulture, Baldwin immediately took a sardonic dig at the young star, suggesting Shia didn’t have what it takes to make it in the thee-AY-tah (that’s “theatre” in Shakespearean wank-talk). “Some of the greatest movie stars had really serious theatre careers and still do,” said Baldwin. “And many film actors, though, who are purely film actors, they’re kind of like celebrity chefs, you know what I mean?”
Oh snaps. Not to be outdone, Shia straight blew shit up today, putting Balds on blast by leaking another bunch of personal email exchanges with both Alec and Orphans-director Daniel “Sulyboy” Sullivan that disparage Alec’s work ethic and, uh, sexual proclivity? (Sometimes I read too much into things). The highlights? When Shia refers to himself as a “hustler” and calls Baldwin “chief”. Man, this kid is cooooool.
