A really interesting article by Sean Smith in the new Entertainment Weekly:
Wow. I have felt for a while that people were just waiting for one of these semi-talented starlets to fall. But which one? Paris? She'll be alright. She may deride scorn from just about everyone but she still has $$$ and lots of it. Nicole? Same thing - that Dancin' On The Ceiling cash from Pa will keep her safe. Brit-Brit? jury's still out on that one. But for LiLo, this whole thing is beyond tragic.
First off, I am by no means a Lohan fan. She was full of zip in The Parent Trap and spunk in Mean Girls (but i'd have to say that movie's script by Tina Fey and Rachel McAdams's sass was what gave the movie it's true bite.) But has there ever been a case of a young performer achieving so much, so fast and to have it all crumble? There have been inevitable comparisons to Marilyn Monroe in this whole Lohan mess. Where did it all go wrong? And why the vitrolic hatred all of a sudden?
"Her Career was over long before she had these troubles''
I think that's probably a very telling statement from one studio head who didn't want to be named in the EW piece. That roughly translates to "Despite her troubles, her career is in the toilet because her movies have bombed. No other reason than that." That's what it's all about. The Bottom line, the big bucks, the asses in seats. Lohan, despite much promise years ago has not delivered those things. That's why the hatred, and the turned backs now. Robert Downey Jr. went through similar circumstances in the 90's, but the studios gave him chances because he made them money. He made a boatload for Fox when in 1999 he was hired for Ally McBeal and ratings rose which the show, at that point desperately needed. Also the fact that Downey Jr. was insanely talented and respected which also didn't hurt. Now he's doing great work in classy movies like Zodiac and Fur and is starring in Iron Man for next summer, which could elevate him to Tobey Maguire level of fame and fortune. So where's the difference? are things truly different for men and women? That's probably a debate for another time.
As for Linds, Well, it's hard to feel sorry for her. Career wise she tried. Herbie: Fully Loaded was crap and I believe she knew it but it was a clever way to be in a movie that everyone thought would make a lot of money. The dopey family comedy formula seemed like it was the surest way to elevate her paycheck and star status - it works for Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and even Steve Martin. But it turned out to be a lazy movie that hardly anyone enjoyed and it was around this time reports of Lohan's partying started to come of light. Her nightclubbing antics were overshadowing her acting. Along with reports of her hooking up with different guys. Her relationship with That 70's Show star Wilmer Valderrama was keeping gossip rags going.
A step in the right direction happned when she was cast in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion alongside Meryl Streep who praised her in Premiere magazine. Praise from the classiest actress alive is nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately Prairie didn't do much BO which considering it was an Ensemble, classy Altman film was not surprising. But her next movie Just My Luck which was an inept exercise in trying to recapture some of that Mean Girls glory bombed bad. Things were not looking good. She followed that up with a cameo in Bobby and press for her Chapter 27 has not been good and there is no date for this movie which is sitting in some studios shelf. Last summer came the biggest sign of bad things yet. On the Set of Georgia Rule, the studios CEO James J. Robinson of Morgan Creek publicy reprimanded her for being
"Discourteous, irresponsible and unprofessional". Studios were starting to trmble in fear at the prospect of going near Lohan. She seemed too much of a liability. The film was released to middling BO. The Studio and the press blamed Lohan.
What is to become of Lohan now? Her last movie I Know who killed Me earned 3.5 million dollars. Reports say it cost 35 million to make - no doubt a sizable amount of that going to Lohan.
And now the claws come out. Studio heads are saying "She's Over.", "She's s a pain to work with. I think she's done.'' A far cry from the praise she recieved from Miss Meryl Streep one year ago.
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