Why tabloid mess Lindsay Lohan is becoming the best actress of her generation
By Tom Tapp
She's been in celebrity catfights with Jessica Simpson. She has a father who's in jail. She's been hospitalized for "exhaustion." She's admitted (and then unadmitted) to having bulimia. And she's taken over from Paris Hilton as the queen of Hollywood nightlife, even though she's not yet of drinking age.
Lindsay Lohan's a tabloid mess. But she's also opened three $100-plus films, is working with Robert Altman and Jane Fonda, and is the only twentysomething actress whom Meryl Streep has called "so gifted it's shocking."
Lohan seems to have formed a strange bond with Streep. The two worked together on Altman's upcoming "A Prairie Home Companion" and are profiled together in the current W. The piece has Streep sitting serenely at Nobu defending Lohan like a mother hen, dodging the Lindsay-as-Diva questions while endorsing her talent: "Whatever acting is � I don't know what it is � she's in command of it. I think she could do anything she puts her mind to."
And whatever Lohan puts her mind to, she increasingly has the clout to make happen. 'Herbie: Fully Loaded" opened to the tune of $144 million worldwide last year. And, before that, "Mean Girls" grossed $128 million. And, before that, 2003's "Freaky Friday" did $160 million. Is there any other 19 year old who boasts those numbers?
Lohan also switched agencies last year, leaving Endeavor for the A-List embrace of CAA's Richard Lovett, who reps Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.
Her recent casting opposite Felicity Huffman and Jane Fonda in Gary Marshall's "The Georgia Rule" confirms her intentions.
Variety recently announced Loan will also star opposite Adrien Brody in the indie pic "Speechless" as well as the Aaron Eckhart strarrer "Bill" for GreeneStreet.
Variety:
If Lohan's deal closes, it would mark her sixth straight indie film, and it's not by coincidence. Sources indicated that after the thesp's successful studio run in pics like "Freaky Friday" and "Mean Girls," she is keen on working in character-driven pieces alongside reputable actors. The strategy is working."
If she can couple small "quality films" with a continuing box office prowess, the question really is not, "Is Lindsay a problem?" but "Who wouldn't want to be in business with this girl?"
