Shia LaBeouf has signed on to lead Dante Ariola’s “romantic actioner” The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman.  Written by Matt Drake, Countryman centers on Charlie (LaBeouf), a charming gent who falls in love with a girl who’s past association with an “insanely violent crime boss with a gang of thugs at his disposal,” proves slightly hazardous to Charlie’s health. However, Charlie’s willingness to keep getting his ass kicked in an attempt to woo Gabi may lead him to having his heart literally broken.

The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman will be the feature film debut of Ariola, whose previous work includes commercials for Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Nike, HP, and PlayStation.  Drake’s script for Countryman was on the 2007 Black List (list of the best unproduced screenplay in Hollywood).  LaBeouf will next be seen in theaters this September in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Neil LaBute’s (“In the Company of Men”, “Nurse Betty”) next project has been announced. The writer-director will once again be teaming up with producer William Horberg to adapt Charles Willeford’s crime novel “The Burnt Orange Heresy”. The duo recently worked together on the “Death at a Funeral” remake. You can read more about this project and why I think this might be a return to form for LaBute after the jump.