Shia Labeouf bringing film critic movie to Cannes

This year's Cannes Film Festival will provide Shia Labeouf with the opportunity to show that he's no one trick pony in the world of film-making. As well as starring in Lawless, which will be competing for the coveted Palme D'Or trophy, LaBeouf is also bringing a short film that he has directed, to the festival. He's previously directed music videos for the likes of Marilyn Manson and Linkin Park, of course, but the release of Howard Cantour.com is another step of progress for the 25 year-old. Howard Cantour.com, described in yesterday's Guardian report (May 10, 2012) as an "offbeat, irreverent vision of film criticism" will premiere in the Critic's Week sidebar on May 18, 2012. The short film stars comedian Jim Gaffiga in the title role of a movie critic, though not much further information has been made widely available about the film. LaBeouf will also appear on screen, in front of the camera at this year's Cannes festival, in Lawless. The John Hillcoat-directed movie, written by Nick Cave, also stars Tom Hardy and Guy Pearce. It faces strong competition from the Palme D'Or prize, from On The Road, starring Kristen Stewart and Sam Riley and Killing Them Softly, with Brad Pitt. LaBoeuf is best known, of course for his role in the Transformers movie franchise. His recent movies at Cannes, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Oliver Stone's Wall Street both went on to do well outside of the festival, though it's unlikely that his latest venture will receive quite the same attention.