Shia LaBeouf will star in God of the Rodeo, a crime thriller set in Louisiana’s Angola Prison in 1967, focusing on inmate Buckkey, who seeks redemption during the prison’s first rodeo. Produced by Giannina Scott, Ridley Scott, and Michael Pruss, and directed by Rosalind Ross, the film illustrates the harsh realities of survival masked as entertainment. LaBeouf is also featured in Salvable and Henry Johnson, showcasing a range of dramatic narratives. Giannina Scott is involved in future projects, including Children of the Jungle, and has produced films like House of Gucci and Concussion.
EXCLUSIVE: Shia LaBeouf is set to headline God of the Rodeo, produced by Giannina Scott through her Cara Films, with Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss also on board via Scott Free Films. This crime thriller, written and directed by Rosalind Ross, draws inspiration from the investigative work of Daniel Bergner inside one of the deadliest prisons in the American South.
Taking place amid the harsh realities of Louisiana’s Angola Prison in 1967, God of the Rodeo follows Buckkey, a tough inmate sentenced to life, who discovers a flicker of redemption through an unexpected chance: the prison’s inaugural inmate rodeo. While Buckkey and his fellow inmates prepare to seize this opportunity for glory, they soon realize that the event is merely a brutal spectacle — a desperate struggle for survival designed to cater to the spectators’ bloodlust and fulfill the warden’s grandiose delusions.
Currently, LaBeouf appears in Lionsgate’s Salvable, a film showcasing an aging boxer attempting to break free from the confines of a small town while grappling with a strained relationship with his teenage daughter. The movie premiered on Friday in select theaters. He also stars in Henry Johnson, marking David Mamet’s first feature film in over ten years. Based on Mamet’s 2023 stage play, the film reunites its original cast — including LaBeouf, Evan Jonigkeit, Chris Bauer, and Dominic Hoffman — in a moral drama where a man’s act of kindness sends him spiraling into a web of manipulation and moral dilemmas, seeking counsel from authoritative figures.
In addition, LaBeouf featured in Francis Ford Coppola’s science-fiction drama Megalopolis, alongside Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, and Dustin Hoffman. This film premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and explores the clash between a visionary artist striving for a utopian future and those who cling to a regressive status quo fueled by greed, self-interest, and partisan divisions. He is represented by John Crosby Management and attorney Matthew Saver.
Ross’ spec script Barbarian made it onto the 2016 Black List and is currently being produced by Atlas Entertainment. She also wrote and directed the biographical drama Father Stu, starring and produced by Mark Wahlberg, which was released by Sony Pictures in 2022. Ross is represented by Range Media Partners, Heroes and Villains Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen.
Giannina Scott is producing Children of the Jungle alongside Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss for 20th Century Studios, with Roberto Bentivegna writing the script. Her collaboration with Bentivegna began when she enlisted him to adapt and write House of Gucci, featuring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jack Huston, Salma Hayek, and Jeremy Irons. That 2021 film was produced by Giannina Scott and Scott Free, with Ridley Scott directing for MGM. Prior to that, Giannina Scott produced Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, starring Liam Neeson and Diane Lane, written and directed by Peter Landesman. She also produced the Will Smith-led Concussion, the Sony Pictures drama that spotlighted the true story of neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who first uncovered CTE, a football-related brain injury, and fought to reveal the dangers associated with the sport.