SHIA LABEOUF NAMED SHOWEST “MALE STAR OF TOMORROW”

LABEOUF TO NEXT STAR IN “DISTURBIA” & “TRANSFORMERS”

Photo by Stephen Thorburn

LOS ANGELES — ShoWest has named Shia LaBeouf ShoWest “Male Star of Tomorrow,” it was announced today by Mitch Neuhauser, co-managing director of the event that will be held March 12-15, 2007, in Las Vegas. LaBeouf will be presented with the ShoWest Male Star of Tomorrow award at ShoWest’s closing night ceremony on Thursday, March 15 at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas.

"ShoWest has a long tradition of honoring break-out stars in this award category. We could not be more excited about honoring Shia LaBeouf as this year’s Male Star of Tomorrow. And talk about break-out, what a year 2007 is going to be for this incredibly talented rising star, with three major releases set for the coming months, one of which, ‘Disturbia’ we have the honor of screening at ShoWest this year,” noted Neuhauser. "His amazing presence on screen, natural talent and raw energy make him more than deserving of this award and we are honored to be recognizing him.”

LaBeouf can next be seen in the Dreamworks thriller Disturbia directed by D.J. Caruso. After his father’s accidental death, Kale (Shia LaBeouf) remains withdrawn and troubled so much so that he finds himself under house arrest. His mother, Julie (Carrie-Anne Moss), continues to cope, working extra shifts to support herself and her son, as she tries in vain to understand the changes in his personality. The walls of his house begin to close in on Kale as he takes chances to extend the boundaries, both physical and emotional, of his confinement. His interests turn outside the windows of his suburban home toward those of his neighbors, including a mutual attraction to the new girl next door (Sarah Roemer). Together, they begin to suspect that another neighbor is a serial killer. Are their suspicions merely the product of Kale’s cabin fever and vivid imagination? Or have they unwittingly stumbled across a crime that could cost them their lives? LaBeouf can also be seen this 4th of July as Sam Witwicky in the action adventure film from Dreamworks/Paramount Pictures Transformers. Directed by Michael Bay and costarring Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and Jon Voight, Transformers focuses on dueling alien races, the Autobots and the Decepticons, who bring their battle to Earth - as the forces of evil seek the key to ultimate power, our last chance for survival rests in the hands of young Sam Witwicky. LaBeouf will also be featured later this year in the Sony Pictures Animation film Surf’s Up voicing the young penguin, Cody Maverick. The film, co-starring Jeff Bridges, James Woods and Zooey Deschanel focuses on the behind-the-scenes look at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship and its newest participant, up-and comer Cody Maverick.

LaBeouf burst onto the scene in the Disney Channel’s original series Even Stevens which won him a Daytime Emmy award in 2003 for “Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series.” He then went on to make his big screen debut starring opposite Sigourney Weaver and Jon Voight in the film Holes. Additional film credits include Constantine, I,Robot, The Battle of Shaker Heights, Charlie’s Angels II: Full Throttle, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Bobby and most recently in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints co-starring Robert Downey Jr. and Rosario Dawson.

ShoWest is the largest annual convention for the motion picture industry. It is the only international gathering devoted exclusively to the movie business and the single largest international gathering of motion picture professionals and theatre owners in the world. The 2007 edition of ShoWest will be held March 12 –15, 2007 at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas and is expected to draw more than 5,000 members of the motion picture industry. Each year, ShoWest attracts delegates from more than 50 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. ShoWest is managed by Nielsen Business Media, a division of The Nielsen Company.