Los Angeles, CA. (July 19, 2011) – Voltage Pictures and Wildwood Enterprises have cast Shia LaBeouf and Robert Redford in the political action thriller “The Company You Keep.” The announcement was made today by Voltage Pictures and Wildwood Enterprises.
Redford will direct from a script by Lem Dobbs (“Haywire,” “The Limey,” “Dark City”), based on the novel by Neil Gordon. “The Company You Keep” chronicles the story of a former Weather Underground militant wanted by the FBI for 30 years, who must go on the run when his true identity is exposed by a young, ambitious reporter hell-bent on making a name for himself. Redford plays the former radical at the center of this nationwide manhunt and LaBeouf, the determined journalist doggedly chasing him and his story. Producers are Robert Redford, Bill Holderman and Nicolas Chartier. Craig J. Flores is the Executive Producer.
“This is an edge-of-your-seat thriller about real Americans who stood for their beliefs, thinking they were patriots and defending their country’s ideals against their government.” said Voltage producer Nicolas Chartier. “It is absolutely amazing to have Shia LaBeouf, arguably the brightest young star in Hollywood today paired with the global icon Robert Redford.”
Redford’s Wildwood Enterprises originally acquired the novel and developed the screenplay with Voltage Pictures, who is actively selling the picture internationally. The picture is currently in pre-production and is set to film in Vancouver in September.
LaBeouf recently starred in the box office sensation Transformers: Dark of the Moon, reprising his role in the Michael Bay series of action films based on the popular Hasbro brand. He recently starred in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and can be seen in the upcoming drama The Wettest County in the World, directed by John Hillcoat and written by Nick Cave.
Redford and LaBeouf are both represented by CAA.





How long before Shia’s got his foot in his mouth about Redford?
So this is about an American terrorist on the run? wait I’m sorry an american patriot. wtf
How’s the script on this one? Political “thrillers” don’t seem to do well. And there have been some entertaining ones of late. BODY OF LIES was very entertaining, as was STATE OF PLAY, even if it wasn’t the mini-series. Still, glad to see material for grown-ups. Looking forward to it.
I’m sure Shia will have some great advice for Robert about how to make movies. Hopefully, he’ll tell him privately and not through the press.
It’s about time for the sundance kid to get back in front of the camera! Super Psyched about LaBouef and Redford on screen together! I’ll be in line for this.
What a great idea. Because LIONS FOR LAMBS was such a smash.
Great pairing, let’s see if the kid can act. Lions for Lambs never got the attention is deserved, let’s see what else he has up his sleeve.
Wow. Lem Dobbs, not holding back. Brilliant writer.
LD: Where do you begin? The world, society, culture, education, globalization? Check all of the above. People are just dumber than they used to be. Books are published now with glowing review quotes all over them that would have been rejected outright by every professional editor or literary agent when I was growing up. At the most immediate level, I think it’s mostly a talent problem. People look back at the glorious 70s and say, oh, you couldn’t make FIVE EASY PIECES now or THE LAST PICTURE SHOW or McCABE AND MRS. MILLER, or whatever. Why the hell not? What are they really saying? — that they don’t, in fact, think that much of the Coen Brothers or Danny Boyle or Atom Egoyan or Lars von Trier or Richard Linklater or Todd Haynes and Todd Solondz? That Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach might fall just a wee bit short in the talent/wit/maturity department in comparison to Woody Allen or Mike Nichols in their prime? That Jim Jarmusch is not quite Robert Altman? There still seem to be people who are allowed to make “their” movies. If anything, these contemporary names suggest Art and singular Vision more readily than Alan J. Pakula, Sidney Lumet, William Friedkin, and Hal Ashby ever did — so why does the work of these newer “filmmakers” seem less substantial by comparison? Or is this going to seem like a Golden Age twenty years from now? You can understand why financiers might have grown disenchanted with, say, Arthur Penn, given his last five or six at-bats, even though with the right script I would have liked to see someone like that given one more shot — but are great movies really being shut out of the system while moronic executives greenlight the next Lasse Hallström or Ed Zwick project? If LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is no longer possible because of cost, what’s stopping them from making ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST? I’m surprised they haven’t re-made it — yet. Because that’s their current economic ideal — a single recognizable actor in one location. But who would it be now? John Cusack? Let’s say someone — clerking in a 7-Eleven store, you might dream — was talented enough to write CHINATOWN now. Who would star in it, direct it, compose that great score, design the poster? If it could even get through the present studio system which, agreed, it wouldn’t. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA could not be made now not only because of budgetary considerations, but because there’s nobody in any department competent, skilled, or talented enough to make it — and furthermore, no longer the possibility of a wide audience intelligent enough to be receptive to it.
So it’s a talent problem and an everything else problem.
They better not make the Redford character sympathetic! “Real Americans who stood for their beliefs, thinking they were patriots and defending their country’s ideals against their government.” IS BULLSHIT! These radicals, who have NEVER APOLOGIZED (in fact Ayers said the day after 9/11 that “they didn’t do enough” They were NOT defending their country’s ideals… they wanted to TAKE OVER the country and planned for the need to KILL 250,000 Americans who probably wouldn’t “go-along” with their plan. This is all documented in the FBI tapes by an agent who was on the inside… I’ve heard the tapes.
The fact that Redford is involved as the Weather Underground militant automatically tells me they are taking a stand with the radicals, that they will be sympathetic to his cause. When hasn’t Redford’s characters not been sympathetic? In real life these people are still poisoning the minds of young Americans with their hatred propaganda. They are also behind the Flotilla set to break the blockade put up by the Israelis & the Egyptians (the media forgets to report that the Egyptians agreed to it… they didn’t want guns and other things getting through either).
Reviewers will still say: What? the ’60s again?…blah blah…Robert Redford’s heavy-handed liberal agenda…blah blah… Already doomed. (No matter how good it is.)
Lem Dobbs is a great writer. I’m sure the script is tighter than a virgin’s….new shoes.
However, Shia El Beef is so annoying, and buying him as a man and not a boy is very difficult. I’m sure it’s hard to maintain a believable demeanor of normal rates of ego when you’ve had that success at such an early age so I understand… but I don’t like it.
Add some giant Robots and I’m there.
Seriously.
Add the fxckin Robots Redford!
I’ll give Redford the benefit of the doubt. His quality standards are usually pretty high.
LeBoof– meh.
Thank God! It’s been far too long. There has been a desert of this important genre and it’s way past time.
At last we pay homage to the most important, adorable, beautiful, noble and special group of homo sapiens to grace Gaia with their compassion in all of Her-story: white “radicals” from 1960’s USA. (Bored suburbanites from newly wealthy families…)
Why, they marched for Civil RIghts! (Well, not so much. But they loved Hendrix!)
They “liberated” us from oppressive cultural norms! (Well, the pill did.)
They ended the Vietnam War. (And hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese were slaughtered and/or fled the newly “liberated” People’s Republic…)
Well sure, they only got “political” once the draft deferment for college students got revoked and folks who were enjoying tripping, pot and free sex suddenly were confronted with defending the country that allowed all this “liberation” at their Depression parents expense. Aha! I’m better than all of you! I’m a counter culture warrior, propelled by the intensity of my compassionate beliefs. (Did you catch my highlights in the morning sun?)
The 60’s generation’s near infinite capacity for self-adoration is truly its greatest, accomplishment. We can’t but praise (And praise, and really praise…) the sixties “radical” and thank Allah/Gaia or James Cameron that they are not going uncelebrated as time passes on and on. No! We come here today to yet again, remake All The President’s Men. Or to parahprase Winston Chruchill:
Never in the field of human self-celebration have so many felt so owed by so many others for so iittle. Thank you Woodstock. Thank you Saul Alinsky.
So brave. So edgy. So principled. So relevant. Even now, why this dramatic past is a volcano bubbling beneath us, crying out for recognition of these super-dooper people. Ours is but to love them and adore them. Theirs is to remind us to love them and adore them. More each day.
Give that man an Oscar. I need a drink.
Best. Deadline. Post. Ever.
Wow… that was awesome. Seriously, when I read the description of a story regarding a member of the Weather Underground that describes them as “real Americans” and “patriots” I laughed a little inside. Pure revisionist, my university music prof who is a former 60s counter-culture member is probably laughing as well. I’ll never forget him saying, “Those idiots thought they were doing something, they weren’t doing jack-s***!”
This movie will tank, because it’s about a subject matter that no one cares about, and if anyone bothers to Google the Weather Underground, they’ll get the full dosage. Those guys were/are buffoons. Seriously, Mr. Redford, stop making movies just to push a political agenda, you’re much better at simple story-telling and acting.
Your post is more informative and entertaining than this movie could ever hope to be.
Best. Deadline. Post. Ever. Redux
Well said!
That’s a rather, um, generous description of the Weather Underground.
Ditto. I would have said, “ridiculously generous” description.
Anyone wanna start taking bets on the date Shia starts bad-mouthing THIS movie?
Run away from this train wreck, Shia. Run like you’re being chased by robots.
Perhaps BIll Ayers will do a cameo, get into SAG and agitate for collective bargaining rights.
“we have no response … that was just perfect”
Shia LaBeouf is “arguably the brightest young star in Hollywood”?
Who wrote this? His mother, or his agent?
Or maybe I’ve just been blind to all that amazing acting he’s been showcasing in those Transformer movies.
Good news – been far too long since the last big Redford action pic, good to see him dipping his toe back in again.
the script is a great political thriller! read it!
JerseyJones… +1000 Internets sent your way for that most excellent post! Of course, it will probably attract the ire of the brain-dead Lib/Prog swarm that hovers over Hollywood like a self-righteous smog, but it was still full of insight that was hit the mark.
Kudos.
The story is not glorifying domestic terrorism AT ALL. It’s about a man who is innocent of it but still went on the run because he knew (or thought) he had no chance at an innocent verdict.
Well- judging by the description they sure are painting the WU in a rather generous light.
They should also tell us the story of how Obama and his Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayres met up, worked in the same 3,000 sft office, and later launched his political career at his house. Then, just Maybe, we would get more about the stupid story than Obama telling us about he’s just a “guy in my neighborhood” and “was an English professor” cock-n-bull story!