Shia Labeouf is going indie. Mandate Pictures announced yesterday that the actor had signed on for the movie, The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, which will be the directorial debut of top commercials director Dante Ariola.
The script, by Matt Drake, has actually been around for a couple of years, and landed on the 2007 Black List of the best unproduced screenplays doing the rounds in Hollywood. However it’s been given new impetus by LaBeouf signing on, and is on track to start shooting this fall (presumably once Shia has wrapped on Transformers 3.
So what’s it about? Well, here’s the official synopsis: Charlie Countryman (LaBeouf) was just a normal guy… until he fell in love with the one girl who will probably get him killed. When Charlie meets the absolutely irresistible Gabi she’s already been claimed by Nigel, an insanely violent crime boss with a gang of thugs at his disposal. Armed with little more than his wit and naïve charm, Charlie endures one bruising beat down after another to woo Gabi and keep her out of harm’s way. Finally his exploits of blind valor create such a mess that he’s left with only one way out; to save the girl of his dreams, must Charlie Countryman die?
Sounds like a cheery one, doesn’t it? Lionsgate will be selling the film to international distributors at Cannes next month, with a release planned for sometime next year.