James Franco penned an open letter to actor Shia LaBeouf, whose "bizarre" behavior has been making headlines since he was accused of plagiarizing a script for a short film.
The actor claims LaBeouf's behavior may be signs of a nervous breakdown or young man making mistakes. The letter, published in the New York Times, begins:
"The recent erratic behavior of Shia LaBeouf, the 27-year-old actor best known as the star of the 'Transformers' movies, has sent the press into a feeding frenzy. Though the wisdom of some of his actions may seem questionable, as an actor and artist I'm inclined to take an empathetic view of his conduct.
"Let's review the facts. First, in December, Mr. LaBeouf was accused of plagiarism after critics noted similarities between 'Howard Cantour.com,' a short film he created, and a story by the graphic novelist Daniel Clowes. Though Mr. LaBeouf apologized on Twitter, conceding that he had 'neglected to follow proper accreditation,' it turned out that the apology itself appropriated someone else's writing. Was that clever or pathological?"
Franco goes on to say he hopes nothing "serious" is going on with LaBeouf, and his behavior is from the actor wanting to express himself through performance art.
"Any artist, regardless of his field, can experience distance between his true self and his public persona," Franco wrote. "But because film actors typically experience fame in greater measure, our personas can feel at the mercy of forces far beyond our control. Our rebellion against the hand that feeds us can instigate a frenzy of commentary that sets in motion a feedback loop: acting out, followed by negative publicity, followed by acting out in response to that publicity, followed by more publicity, and so on."
You can read Franco's full letter here. What do you think of LaBeouf's "bizarre" behavior? Let us know in the comments section below.
