Shia LeBeouf’s Strange Antics Continue In Berlin, Actor Says It’s All Part Of A ‘Performance Art Piece’

Since being caught in a storm of controversy surrounding his plagiarism of author Daniel Clowes, Shia LeBeouf has been on a run of bizarre behavior playing out in the public eye.

LeBeouf’s latest comes out of the Berlinale International Film Festival. First he offered a strange (and borrowed) response to a reporter's question during a Q&A panel for his latest film "Nymphomaniac Part I." When asked about the number of sex scenes he had in the film, he replied, “When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much.”

LeBeouf's words come from famous French footballer Eric Cantona, who uttered the phrase in a 1995 press conference after a hearing for an assault charge Cantona received when he “kung fu” kicked a heckler on his way out of a match. The phrase was a reference to the media’s hounding of him following the incident.

LeBeouf’s choice to use the ironically borrowed phrase can be seen in a similar vein. The media has too hounded him following his plagiarism and strange behavior, something he says is all a long performance art piece.

Later in the day he arrived at the Berlin premiere of the film with a paper bag over his head that said “I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE’, the only phrase he’s posted to his Twitter account for the last month.

LeBeouf also "plagiarized" the apology he had for author Daniel Clowes, which further aggravated the public. LeBeouf’s Twitter account links to a “Metamodernist Manifesto” he helped write. He has questioned a “cut and paste” society in another letter he posted but later deleted. His argument is that the “performance art piece” is a critical look at borrowed creativity in the modern era.

The actor announced he is retiring from public life in January.