Shia LaBeouf commits to "Necessary Death"

LOS ANGELES – Shia LaBeouf, who is about to walk the Cannes red carpet with Oliver Stone, will star in the romance-and-action feature "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman."

The title character travels to Budapest after his mother dies of cancer, and he becomes involved with a mysterious Hungarian girl. Unfortunately, she's in a relationship with a violent crime boss who isn't prepared to give her up.

Matt Drake's script landed on the unofficial 2007 Black List of most-liked unproduced screenplays that year.

Commercials director Dante Ariola will helm the project for Mandate Pictures.

LaBeouf's latest film, Stone's "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," will have its world premiere at the Cannes film festival in May.

The actor's recent big-screen work includes "Eagle Eye" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Next he'll film the third "Transformers" film for Paramount.

"Necessary Death" will be the feature directorial debut of Ariola, who won the DGA Commercial Director of the Year designation in 2007.

Drake co-wrote the film "Tully" and is writing the comedy "Project X" for producer Todd Phillips at Warner Bros.