Today’s Celebrity Birthday of the Day is being celebrated by Neil LaBute, and Mr. LaBute, if you’re reading this, then allow me to apologize in advance for what I’m about to say. To me, Neil LaBute brings to mind, first and foremost, the remake of The Wicker Man, which is notoriously one of the worst films of the past decade. It’s so bad that it’s almost good, and the highlights reels of the movie are astoundingly atrocious to the point where you think it might actually be intentional. I know it’s not fair to focus solely on a writer/director’s biggest failure, but if I didn’t start this little bio off with a Wicker Man mention, it would feel like an elephant in the room. LaBute has actually received a lot of acclaim for his stage writing, particularly for the plays The Mercy Seat and In the Company of Men, which he also adapted into a film. LaBute also wrote and directed the films Possession and The Shape of Things (based on another of his plays), and directed but didn’t write the films Lakeview Terrace and the African-American cast remake of Death at a Funeral. But sorry again, Neil, because all I can think when I hear your name is “HOW’D IT GET BURNED?! HOW’D IT GET BURNED?!” Neil LaBute turns 49 today.