INT: Labeouf/Heder

Riding
hot off the heels of two smash hits (DISTURBIA and BLADES OF GLORY),
Shia LaBeouf and Jon Heder are two of the most recognizable young
stars in

Hollywood

right now. And with the ever-nearing release dates of TRANSFORMERS
and MAMA’S BOY, they seem to be intent on continuing the trend all
throughout 2007. In SURF’S
UP
though, you won’t be seeing much of their faces. It’s their voices
that take center stage. Shia plays Cody Maverick, an up-and-comer
who wants to make it big in the world of penguin surfing. If that’s
not weird enough for you, they’ve also got Heder playing Chicken
Joe, Cody’s goofy and laidback companion.

For
those that haven’t read the Jeff
Bridges or filmmaker
interviews (and if you haven’t, get on it),
Sony
flew me out to

Oahu
,
Hawaii

for some SURF’S UP press coverage. I was only there for three days,
but it was a complete blast. The setting was beautiful and the
beach, relaxing (No complaints here!) The only disappointment came
when it was time to head home. But at least I got some solid
interview coverage upon doing so.

Shia
LaBeouf and Jon Heder shared their interview time together, which at
first seemed like an odd choice, but with their hilarious
back-and-forth banter, it quickly became obvious why. During my time
with them, I got to find out a little bit more about how they
recorded their voicework together, as well as a few updates on other
projects (*cough* Indy 4 *cough*). And of course, there’s
TRANSFORMERS, which we had to force Shia into discussing. As for
Heder, this wasn’t the first time I had talked to him (I had
previously met him at the BLADES OF GLORY junket), but he was just
as funny as I remember. Shia was equally amusing, constantly
cracking jokes while always maintaining a straight face. He also
clearly appears to have his feet firmly in the ground, with no
reservations about what he’s doing or the choices he’s taking.
There’s no doubt about it – this kid’s going to be huge!

You
guys having fun in Hawaii?

Heder:
It’s great here, huh? I’m not complaining.

LaBeouf:
Me either. Anyway, Jon you have some slick pants, buddy!

Heder:
Hey, I’m just being professional. No, I’m doing the Hawaiian thing
man.

LaBeouf:
Yeah, I know. I’m a loser. I didn’t pack well.

With
‘Surfs’ Up,’ you actually worked together in the studio. How was
that experience different from the other voiceover work you’ve done?

Heder:
I did one voice on another movie, ‘Monster House’ and even then I’ve
never done a normal voice over, because that was all motion capture.
So, that was like shooting a film. We had props and everything. On
this, we had the little music stand with our dialogue and stuff, but
it was kind of in a big open room. I have a couple of scenes with
Shia and then one with Zooey [Deschanel] and it was kind of cool and
different because it was interactive. We would actually wrestle and
move around and that helped a lot.

LaBeouf:
The only cartoon I’ve done was the ‘Naushika’ translation [Hayao
Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds] and you had to
stick to script a lot of the time. And when you have a lot of the
actors in the room, you get to adlib and [the directors] would
encourage it, because it was ‘reality show’ live. So, the cadence
was different. It’s not like the “bah dah dah, tsssh”
joke. It’s more ‘Spinal Tap-y.’ There are these little intricate
moments that you get when you get the other actors there. Noises you
wouldn’t write down on a piece of paper in scripted form. So, it was
great that we were encouraged to do it and that
Sony
let them encourage us to do it. So, we were in a really good
environment for something like this.

Was
it hard getting a full-body performance with just your voice?

Heder:
Well, when you are in a scene and there is some kind of action laid
out you are kind of doing it even though you know the camera is not
going to see any of this. I’m not sure if they showed it to the
animators, sometimes they watch it, but it just helps you get into
your voice and shows through your voice. There are a couple of
scenes where we are like kind of pushing each other and wrestling a
bit and I think it plays through your voice even though you don’t
ultimately see us. You see a chicken and a penguin.

Shia,
what interested you in doing another animated film?

LaBeouf:
Well, I am a huge animated film fan period, especially in the last
ten years. Animation has completely changed and I’ve always been a
big fan.

Weren’t
you younger when you recorded this?

LaBeouf:
Yeah. I was going through puberty while we were making it. That was
tough. So it was very strange.

Heder:
They had to tweak his voice.

LaBeouf:
It was very strange.

What
are your favorite animated movies?

LaBeouf:
‘Toy Story.’ That is one of my favorite films, not in just
animation. And you meet people involved in that, so that was
reassuring. But I guess you just go into it like you would in any
other film. It’s not like your performance changes just because
you’re in animation. If that would happen, that would be very
strange – for me.

What
makes Cody Maverick such great characters?

LaBeouf:
I don’t know if he’s a great character.

Heder:
Yeah, I don’t know about that either. “What makes him
endearing?”

LaBeouf:
Hmmm. Cody wants to be a winner and he comes from a family of people
who aren’t encouraging him to follow his dreams, so he’s the
underdog. He’s very normal. We are not playing up a lot of the
penguin thing. He’s very human. And often times in animation, you
don’t get that. You don’t get the reality in the character.
Sometimes it’s just too shticky. Banana peel, slip. “Ah,
ha-ha-ha.” And in a movie like this, you get to find the thread
of the soul of the character and get to explore a bunch of stuff you
wouldn’t normally have in animation like the fact that he doesn’t
have a father. That’s pretty dramatic for animation. Stuff like that
was fun – jumping around and joking with Jon and having all those
laughs and then going into this romance with Zooey. And then going
into the father-son thing with Jeff [Bridges], that was a lot of fun
for me. Just as a performer period.

What
does it take to play a penguin? What sort of research goes into
that?

LaBeouf:
You gotta talk to other penguins. You gotta get into the mind of a
penguin. We would have a lot of great penguin actors who had come
off ‘Meet the Penguins.’ And had come on to our set who were like
some of the best in the business. They are very prima dona types
though.

Heder:
Really? I didn’t meet them. I worked with chickens.

How
do you feel about ‘Happy Feet’ coming out not too long ago?

LaBeouf:
Well, we started before they started. Our movie has been five years
in the making. It took them like two or three to make theirs. So
take that!

Heder:
Theirs was way too easy. This was surfing. [Theirs was] just
penguins being penguins.

LaBeouf:
Cakewalk!

Heder:
And singing. Yeah, that’s true.

Have
either of you ever lost the joy in your work? Like when something’s
not a hit?

Heder:
I think if you have something that’s not a hit, then you’re like,
‘I’ve got to try harder.’

So
you think it’s you then?

Heder:
It can be a combination of anything. But, still, to me it’s not so
much about whether a movie is a hit or not, it’s if you enjoyed your
own performance or you buy it. Of course, at least I am thinking
with most actors you are going to be critical of your own work. You
are watching it and you’re like, “OK, I dunno if this is going
to be a big hit or not.” You want it to be. Obviously you want
success, but even with a successful film, you are still critical,
“Okay, I can do this better” or “Alright, I can see
how I could have done a better job here.”

Shia,
do you find joy in every role?

LaBeouf:
If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t be doing it. It’s not like I’m
forced to do this. Financially, I’m pretty stable. The last couple
of movies haven’t been financial gain in major ways. I mean, I’ve
been getting paid less and less, it seems like. But I’ve been
enjoying it more and more.

Heder:
That sucks.

LaBeouf:
Yeah, it sucks. My rate is dropping, plummeting.

There
has got to be some joy in having hits. Especially with ‘Disturbia’
and ‘Blades of Glory’ doing as well as they’ve done.

Heder:
I love the whole process. I mean, shooting the film is really fun;
the pre-production and of course you’re getting really excited when
you read the script and then you shoot it and then it’s really just
the waiting period. ‘Alright, let’s see what happens when it comes
out in theaters.’ And you want it to do well, and you see the
preview, and you are excited. Whether or not it does well, I love
seeing the finished product. I love having my own little private
screening.

Heder:
It feels good. But I don’t know, what is fun about having a big hit?
It’s not like you’re playing Jacks or anything. [Laughs] No, of
course it feels great because you’re like, “Alright, we did
something right.”

Was
the success of ‘Disturbia’ a surprise?

LaBeouf:
Nobody really expected it to do [that well], so when it did really
well and it continued to do really well and the drop offs weren’t
major and it took ‘Spider-Man’ to knock us out, it was like,
“Wow. This is incredible.” And good movies came out in our
time, like ‘Fracture’ came out, and I really liked that movie. But
sometimes it’s not even about the quality of the film. It’s just we
hit a group of people that really wanted a movie like this at the
time. Marketing is a whole other side of this that we’re not really
involved with directly. There is a science to it. It’s a whole
different thing.

Were
you disappointed that ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints’ wasn’t a
hit?

LaBeouf:
No, because it felt like just as big an achievement to have that
movie come out as it did for ‘Disturbia.’ Yes, it’s great to have a
financial hit. But it was never planned for that to be a financial
film. I mean, ‘Disturbia,’ it’s a whole different strategy. The fact
that we got to make ‘Guide’ was an achievement in itself. You can’t
really pitch that movie well to any audience other than the one that
went to see, which was a small, small section of the populous. As it
was intended. It was never meant to be ‘Disturbia’ big.

Jon,
you studied animation. Have you fully devoted yourself to performing
or will you ever go back to animation?

Heder:
Oh, yeah. I’ve always been in love with animation. And getting
involved with it on this side, I never really expected it, but I was
definitely kind of jumping into it. I remember when they asked me to
do this role, that’s one of the biggest reasons I took it, because I
loved the character design and I loved how they were doing all the
technology with the waves. The look of it looked really cool. And I
was like, “This looks like a really cool project to get
involved in,” but I’m still planning on getting involved with
animation – writing and directing and hopefully producing some
day.

Let’s
talk other projects. How is Transformers going, Shia? Have you seen
it yet?

LaBeouf:
Yeah, I’ve seen pretty close to final. Mike is working on a couple
more things. We are done shooting and they are getting down to the
final voice-over stage. And Hugo Weaving is great in it. And again,
from a fan’s point of view – [Frank] Welker, his voice sounds
different than it did. So, I know all the fans are like, “Aw,
Welker’s not playing Megatron?” You say no, but I know yes.

Heder:
He’s doing some of the other voices.

LaBeouf:
Yeah, he’s doing some of the other voices. But Hugo’s a great
Megatron. It’s different, but he’s great.

You
originally said you had some very specific concerns with your
character in the next ‘Indiana Jones’ movie. Are you happy with how
he’s turned out?

LaBeouf:
I still haven’t read the script.

Will
you be making suggestions on the character to Steven Spielberg?

LaBeouf:
Well, you don’t make any demands to Steven Spielberg. You just say,
“Yeah, alright, great. That sounds like a good thing to
me.” And [George] Lucas isn’t involved as Spielberg with the
actors, it’s all Steven, but I don’t imagine I’ll be questioning
anything he says. Of course you have to find your voice as an
artist. You’re the tool and you gotta have some say. But I don’t
imagine it’s going to be very easy to say, “You know Steven, I
don’t think that’s correct. I think I should do it this way.” I
dunno. We’re still trying to figure it out. We haven’t gotten into
any rehearsals. It’s just been a lot of stunt rehearsals and weapons
training and things like that.

What
about you, Jon? What are your projects?

Heder:
I’ve got this movie, and Mama’s Boy coming out, I believe, in
November. And for now, that’s it.

LaBeouf:
I’m in the same boat. You know all the projects that I’m involved
in, it’s just ‘Transformers’ and ‘Indy.’

When
do you start filming ‘Indy?’

LaBeouf:
Probably late June, I’d imagine.

Jon,
is there any word on sequel to ‘Napoleon Dynamite?’

Heder:
No, not really. We have never said no to it, I think it’s just a
timing thing since everyone else is involved in other projects. I
mean, I wouldn’t get your hopes up, but I’m not saying it would
never happen. We’ve never said, “Oh, absolutely not.”

Shia,
are there any projects you’re working on you that you might do after
‘Indy’?

LaBeouf:
Yeah, there are a couple of them. None of them are fully developed
to the point where I’d want to start telling you about it. But,
yeah, there are a handful of things. If your movie opens well, you
go, “Okay, now the industry will let me make a small little
movie.” So, you start coming up with ideas. You start
brainstorming with your team and people start finding books and
other things and properties that you are involved in. Or life
stories that you are really interested in.

Big
Z is Cody’s surfing idol. Do you guys have any acting idols?

LaBeouf:
Well, [Jeff] Bridges is definitely one of them, so that helps.

Heder:
Yeah, I’d agree on that too.

LaBeouf:
Harrison Ford’s up there, too. There are like a list of ten or
twenty, where you are like, “Oh, man, if I ever get to meet
these people, let alone work with them.” I dunno if I can pick
one and go, “Boom! That’s the guy.” But yeah, Jeff was
definitely that for me while we were working on the movie.

Can
you talk about what it was like working with Jeff?

LaBeouf:
Jeff is just really playful. He’s like a nine-year-old with all the
experiences he has and the knowledge, but his imagination is that of
a nine-year-old. He’ll just riff all day long. He doesn’t care how
it sounds or how it comes off. He’s very playful and you feel like
you are in a sandbox. And it never stops. There is never a cut-off
point. There is never a “Cut” and he’s off in his own
world again. He just maintains it. There is a lot of joy that he
brings to the table when he comes to work. And there’s not a lot of
excuses or complaints or anything.

Now
that you guys are here in Hawaii, are you going to do any surfing?

Heder:
No, no, no, and no. I have never surfed. I may try. I’m not saying
I’m not interested. I’m more about going under the water. I like to
snorkel and scuba.

LaBeouf:
I’ve surfed, yeah. When I was like 13 and then I stopped because
work started and insurance won’t let you. And when we get out of
here, we stop doing press around 5 pm or so, by then the tide is not
something you want to be involved in. And there is really no surf
out here, but there is surf at Diamond Head.

Heder:
Nothing but excuses here. [Laughs]

Since
you guys don’t surf, what other athletic activities are you into?

Heder:
Hmmm. Yeah, I like to ice skate now. I do. That was my favorite part
[of ‘Blades of Glory’], learning how to ice skate, and I do a little
bit of racquetball and tennis.

LaBeouf:
I am a season ticket holder to Dodger games. I go to every Dodger
game I can go to. Every single one. And I’ve never been more
athletic in my life. Just because of the occupation, you know? I
have to.

You’ve
both hosted ‘Saturday Night Live.’ How was that?

Heder:
Yeah, It’s pretty awesome. I loved it. It was always a dream to do.
I watched the show growing up and then, of course, I got the call
and it was one of those things where I got really nervous. The week
of shooting my nerves actually went down surprisingly, but the month
and a half of knowing I was going to do it, I was really nervous. It
turned out that it was a blast. And it goes by so fast. You’re done
and you’re like, “Oh, we’re done?” You’re kind of happy
because you’re like, “OK, I can’t screw up anymore!” But
it was a lot of fun. And it’s a very lively show. There is a lot of
energy, because it is so insane backstage.

LaBeouf:
With all the wig changing? That’s nuts.

Heder:
And they strip you down [for the costume changes].

LaBeouf:
Mine was pretty much the same experience. We had a Mario Cantone
skit we didn’t get to do. We had a lot of skits we didn’t get to do.
You plan like twelve, and then you only do like eight or nine. And
the ‘Sofa King’ skit barely made it in, but I remember we were in
the final meeting – which was crazy – and Lorne [Michaels] was
on the cuff about it, and he said to the writers, “Alright,
fine, if the actors say ‘so f*cking’ instead of Sofa King,” and
the people at the ratings boards say, “Alright, we’re gonna
slap you with a $100,000 fine, and you’re gonna pay for it.”
And he was like, “Uhhh… OK, fine.” And we wound up doing
it.

You
guys have done a lot of different types of projects: animated, TV,
big budget, indies… What are your preferences?

Heder:
Each project is very similar in that you approach the characters the
same way. Of course I love independent, because starting out, you
have complete control and you don’t worry at all. It’s “Oh,
right. People may see this. People may not. So, who cares?” You
just kind of give it all out. As opposed to obviously a studio movie
that you know will be out, and will probably have this kind of
opening, but I don’t know if I have a preference. It depends on what
you are doing.

LaBeouf:
Yeah. It’s all fun. One summer, you want to be an a**hole. You want
to be upset, and find those other things in you that you don’t
always get to do in a comedy or in a studio film. Sometimes you want
to be that surface-y guy. Sometimes you don’t want to be that
surface-y. It’s human. I’m kind of bi-polar. It just fluctuates
really strongly. It’s all over the place.

Got
questions? Got comments? Send me a line at: [email protected].