Dazed writer Aimee Cliff has taken part in one of the most extraordinary celebrity interviews you're ever likely to see – by sitting for an hour in silence opposite Shia LaBeouf with GoPro cameras strapped to their heads.
The bizarre interaction came about after LaBeouf emailed Cliff in September saying he would like to "start a dialogue" with her.
The pair corresponded back and forth about a variety of subjects, including "the connection between performances of physical fitness and metamodernism" and the 28-year-old actor's I am Sorry art installation in Los Angeles.
During their dialogue, which you can read here, LaBeouf claimed he was raped by a woman while taking part in the installation, which saw him sitting in a room with a paper bag on his head.
LaBeouf told Cliff:
One woman who came with her boyfriend, who was outside the door when this happened, whipped my legs for ten minutes and then stripped my clothing and proceeded to rape me. …
There were hundreds of people in line when she walked out with dishevelled hair and smudged lipstick. It was no good, not just for me but her man as well.
On top of that my girl was in line to see me, because it was Valentine's Day and I was living in the gallery for the duration of the event – we were separated for five days, no communication.
So it really hurt her as well, as I guess the news of it travelled through the line. When she came in she asked for an explanation, and I couldn't speak, so we both sat with this unexplained trauma silently. It was painful.
The actor has had a chaotic year, walking out of press conferences, appearing at film premieres with a bag on his head, and getting himself arrested for disrupting a Broadway performance of Cabaret.
During his correspondence with Cliff, LeBeouf eventually agreed on a time and place to meet for a face-to-face interview.
He told Cliff in an email:
I like the idea that we meet in person
with a go pro photographic record but no interview
we just look into each others eyes for an hour
connect on a soul level
and film that as the interview
and keep the words online
so we will both have go pro cameras strapped to our heads for the full hour
and the footage will be presented raw as a split screen
and you can use it on the Dazed video site
so I'm present in the magazine only in words obtained digitally
and online I'm present only through a mute physical presence
and the reality of my self lies somewhere between and beyond the two
it's thoroughly metamodern I think
Adding:
The result will be a gestural
collaborative document of the meeting
silent yet transparent
the words in the magazine should be accompanied
by images we took at Luke's house of my hands scrolling through our twitter page
typing the tweets, reading replies
they have yet to be used for anything
but they tell a wonderful story of self
they would represent my physical self in the magazine
as opposed to a photo shoot which is the antithesis of real
The resulting "interview" shows the pair meeting in a hotel room in London.
There is a clear awkwardness in their interaction as for an hour they sit in silence looking at each other.
Prior to meeting, LaBeouf and Cliff agreed their long email conversation would form the basis of the actual interview.
The resulting feature was published by Dazed on Thursday.
