Oscar-winning British film-maker Andrea Arnold has cast Shia LaBeouf in her first US-set venture, the road movie American Honey, reports Variety.
Described previously as a film about the perils and joys of young romance, Arnold’s fourth feature-length project centres on a runaway teenager who makes a living by selling magazine subscriptions around the US. The young woman soon finds herself wrapped up in a hard-partying, law-breaking lifestyle.
LaBeouf, best known for the Transformers films and his recent foray into art house cinema via Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, will play an unspecified role. The lead role of the teenager does not yet appear to have been cast.
American Honey was first announced in May last year and was expected to be touted to buyers at the 2014 Cannes film festival. It will now be heralded behind the scenes at the 2015 edition, which runs from 13 to 24 May.
Arnold’s films Red Road (2006) and Fish Tank (2009) both won jury prizes after debuting at Cannes, and the film-maker headed the Critics’ Week jury last year. American Honey retains the backing of Film 4, which developed it with Arnold, as well as the BFI and a number of other production partners.
LaBeouf, 28, last appeared on the big screen in the David Ayer war drama Fury as a US Army gunner fighting as part of a tank crew in the second world war. According to co-star Logan Lerman the actor cut his face with a knife to effect convincing war wounds during filming. Previous reports suggested LaBeouf also removed a tooth and refused to wash in order to get in character.
