Shia LeBeouf about Surf's Up and Transformers

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Penguins at Surf's Up premiere

Shia LeBeouf has made one big splash. The young actor is coming off a box-office smash, the thriller Disturbia. He provides his voice to a new kid-friendly 'toon', Surf's Up. Next month, he'll be seen in the hotly anticipated Transformers.

And, oh yes, he was just hand-picked by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for a key role in the upcoming Indiana Jones sequel. But, at Saturday's premiere (2 June), it was all about Surf's Up.

"Surf's Up is a documentation of Cody Maverick who is essentially the up and coming surfer in this little penguin surf world and it's being documented," LaBeouf told AP Television. "His rise to fame. He gets accepted into this Big Z memorial contest which is like the triple crown of the penguin world."

He wouldn't comment on Indiana Jones, but did discuss the making of Transformers, director Michael ("The Rock") Bay's actioner based on the popular toys.

"Transformers experience was insane," noted LaBeouf. "Everybody that was on that movie has scars. It's a bad ass movie. I know I can't say bad ass because it's a kids movie here, but I'm going to say bad ass because we are talking about 'Transformers' here, and it is. Bad ass."

Disturbia has emerged perhaps the biggest surprise hit of 2007, grossing more than 70-million US dollars in North America alone.

"It's an honor. I feel really honored that people are enjoying the movie," LaBeouf noted. "We worked hard on it. I never experienced anything like it so it's something new and very enjoyable."

Despite his busy work schedule and new "Flavor of the Month" status, LaBeouf said he's still the same old down-to-earth guy he's always been.

"Well, my life really hasn't changed that much," LaBeouf noted, smiling. "I got some new tires for my Nissan. Just got it cleaned yesterday, so that's a change. My mom is bringing me soup tonight. That will be a big change. Life is real normal."

Surf's Up release dates:

Russia 7 June 2007
USA 8 June 2007
Malaysia 21 June 2007
Singapore 21 June 2007
Hong Kong 2 August 2007
Egypt 8 August 2007
Spain 10 August 2007
UK 10 August 2007
Argentina 16 August 2007
Belgium 22 August 2007
Serbia 23 August 2007
Iceland 31 August 2007
Estonia 7 September 2007
Australia 13 September 2007
Germany 27 September 2007
Italy 5 October 2007
Netherlands 10 October 2007
France 24 October 2007
Brazil 26 October 2007
Finland 23 November 2007
Norway 23 November 2007
Sweden 23 November 2007
Japan 12 January 2008