Film and Television Production: #IAMSORRY: An Art Experiment for Many, A Patience Experiment for Me

Unless you live in a cave with no Wi-Fi or don’t work in the entertainment industry, you probably have no problem associating the words #IAMSORRY (Hashtag included) with actor Shia LaBeouf due to his ever growing eccentric behavior these past few weeks.

LaBeouf, who is better known for his roles in the Transformers trilogy and Holes, has been topic of discussion on tabloids and social media lately. The 27 year old plagiarized a graphic novel in his directorial debut, a short film that premiered at Cannes in 2012. Also, he plagiarized fourteen apologies he made. You thought that was strange? Well, he stormed out of a press conference for his latest two-part film, Nymphomaniac, and wore a paper bag at the Berlin Film Festival premiere of such film with the words “I am not famous anymore.”

The paper bag occurrence led to a so-called art experiment in Los Angeles called none other but #IAMSORRY. Taking place at a rented spot across the Buzzfeed headquarters, the experiment consisted of the actor sitting down (with a paper bag of course) for hours. People had the opportunity to walk in and tell him whatever they wanted for as long as they wanted.

Since I recently wrapped on a show and had the week off, I decided to swing by on the third day of the “show.” Doors opened at 11:00, so I got there between 10:15 and 10:30. Little did I know that the line would already be lengthy, but worse, that I wouldn’t get in.

You might think I’m crazy for waiting in line that long, let alone for wanting to talk to a stranger with a bag on his head. Honestly, it was refreshing and much needed. I got some sun and observed hundreds of “different worlds” who where there of the same reason. I got to meet people who work in the industry, I witnessed weird and unique people share their stories about moving to LA. Some talked about their favorite music, someone even brought a boom box. Another one in particular, claimed his upcoming book was plagiarized by LaBeouf. The man stayed there all day handing out flyers and explaining his situation. Even Ray J (Known for being Brandy’s brother and the reason Kim Kardashian is famous…) pulled in. He didn’t get in either. He thought he was too good to cut in line, but everyone refused to let him in.

It was 17:30 and there were still twenty people ahead of me. Doors closed at 18:00, so my chances of getting in were hopeless. I think the reason I didn’t make it was because some lady stayed in the room for almost an hour! I wonder what she told him. That lead me to ask myself what I would’ve said. Honestly, I didn’t plan anything. I probably would have sang Chingon’s version of “Malageña Salerosa” or I would have told him my story about LA in Spanish. The idea of attending was to see what all the hype was about, to experience something I would normally never do, and to test my patience. I was successful.