Readers, I want you all to think back to a simpler time. A time of Even Stevens and Holes. A time when Shia Le Beouf wasn’t starting fights at Broadway shows or wearing a paper bag over his face on the red carpet. Basically, I want you to remember a time when Shia wasn’t scaring the beewhowhatsit out of me in a Sia video. I had nightmares last night, yet I’m strangely drawn to watching said video over and over again. I even bought the song on iTunes. Damn you, VEVO!
When Dance Moms’ protege Maddie Ziegler first appeared in Sia’s “Chandelier” music video, I realized that her ability and raw talent were far more than I ever credited her for on the Lifetime reality hit. It’s weird and terrifying and amazing. However, Maddie is starring in the singer’s new (and equally controversial) video for her single “Elastic Heart”, and it’s every bit as freaky and frightening. The best (worst?) part? She’s dancing with Disney’s fallen method actor Shia. Wearing that creepy wig and nude leotard. In a cage. And Shia is also clad in nude boxer briefs. And he’s dirty. Very dirty. Sadly, Beans is nowhere to be found. Haven’t seen it? Youtube it immediately, but don’t say you weren’t warned/encouraged.
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ET Online is dishing on a recent interview that Maddie gave Entertainment Tonight regarding Sia’s new “Elastic Heart” video. The video has prompted many to call it out as inappropriate (in a pedophile-esque way), due to the coupling of Maddie and Shia. To me, on the face of it, it’s not inappropriate as much as it is jarring, but I can see how people would be concerned that it would entice those who aren’t just watching for artistic shock value. That said, I think the choreography is amazing…and Sia clearly has a dark side.
Talking to ET, Maddie explains, “I’ve never danced with a much older guy like that before — and it wasn’t like we were actually dancing together because we were fighting each other. We were battling,”adding, “I’m supposed to be portraying a werewolf and pretty much Shia and I have been just living in the cage for a year and I’m the strong one and I’m trying to pretty much kill him.” So there’s that. Even with that explanation, the video went right over my head!
Daniel Askill, who collaborated with the singer on the video, recalls how Maddie was cast as Sia’s muse. He states, “We’d actually talked about all sorts of different dancers, like much older dancers. We really wanted to find someone interesting who we thought could embody the idea of Sia in an interesting light. And it was really Sia in the end who-you know she’s a big reality TV fan? I remember her e-mailing or calling me one day and saying, ‘This girl Maddie [Ziegler]. I think this girl Maddie is amazing. Do you know of her?’ And I was like, ‘No. I’ve never watched Dance Moms, what are you talking about?’ She sent me a link so we could watch an episode of the show together. I’m not the fan of reality TV that Sia is, but it was clear that there was something very special about Maddie as a performer. So we contacted her and that was that.”
It wasn’t just a regular gig for Maddie either, who learned the concept of method acting while shooting the video. She remembers, “Every time in between takes they would say, ‘You need to be more aggressive. You need to bite him harder. You need to slap him harder.’ And I’m like, ‘I can’t. I don’t want to slap someone. That’s scary.’ Shia kept saying, ‘No, you need to hit me as a hard as you can. It’s not real until you hit me as hard as you can.'”
Maddie continues, “I really did bite Shia, and it was gross because we were dirty and I had to bite his dirty hands. I kept wiping myself off and I kept handing the wipes to Shia and he was like, ‘I don’t need the wipes’ and I was like, ‘Yes, you do.’ I brought perfume and everything. I didn’t want to smell and he was like, ‘Oh, I’m totally fine with it. I don’t care.'”
Thankfully, a persistent Maddie prevailed in getting Shia to clean up his act a bit. She reveals, “He actually listened to me. I was like, ‘I’m sorry, but you’re kind of dirty.'”
Mad props to a twelve-year-old who carries her own antibacterial wipes. Maddie has a big career ahead of her…I only hope she leaves Abby Lee Miller in Shia’s actual dust (and dirt and grime) as she pursues it!
TELL US-WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SIA’S LATEST VIDEO FEATURING MADDIE?
[Photo Credit: Maddie’s Twitter]
