Shia LaBeouf was almost cast instead of Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name, the film's screenwriter James Ivory has revealed.
The acclaimed movie, released in 2017, tells the story of 24-year-old post-grad student Oliver (Hammer), who travels to Italy as part of his studies and starts a clandestine relationship with 17-year-old Elio (Chalamet).
In his new memoir Solid Ivory, 93-year-old industry veteran Ivory revealed that LaBeouf impressed in a screen test for the part of Oliver but was dropped after issues in his personal life came to light.
"Shia came to read for us in New York with Timothée Chalamet, paying for his own plane ticket, and Luca [Guadagnino, director] and I had been blown away," he wrote in an excerpt published by GQ.
"The reading by the two young actors had been sensational; they made a very convincing hot couple. But then, too, Shia was dropped. He had had some bad publicity."
Ivory continued: "And Luca would not call him, or his agent. I emailed Shia to offer reassurance, but then Luca cast Armie Hammer and never spoke to, or of, Shia again."
The film went on to garner four Oscar nominations, with Ivory winning the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Neil Wilkes
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