Celebrity Train Wrecks

Published on May 2016 | Categories: Types, Magazines/Newspapers | Downloads: 44 | Comments: 0 | Views: 306
of 1
Download PDF   Embed   Report

Comments

Content

FOLIO LINE

FOLIO LINE

M c C l a t c h y - Tr i b u n e

A look at Hollywood’s bad behavior
By Charlie Toft, Film.com

Charlie Sheen’s two weeks of dominating watercooler talk in America have refocused attention on that species known as the Hollywood Train Wreck. The downfall of the rich and famous will always result in fascination and (assuming things don’t get truly sad) even a bit of schadenfreude. Here, we recall the 10 biggest Hollywood train wrecks in recent memory:

train wrecky signs began appearing: skipping interviews, working less, being replaced just before a scheduled appearance at the Academy Awards. By the time she was appearing with her husband on the reality show “Being Bobby Brown,” the hoarse, disheveled and foul-mouthed Houston was unrecognizable as the girl who was once “Saving All My Love For You.” She has since divorced Brown and admitted to past drug use, but her most recent CD and tour revealed an artist who is a shell of her former self.

and an incredible six separate visits to rehab. The charge that she stole a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store, which awaits legal resolution, could be her biggest crisis yet, with the prospect of more time behind bars. There’s good news for Lohan, though: her mother assures us she’s just fine

2
CHARLIE SHEEN
Here’s the thing about Sheen: Had the last two weeks never happened, he’d still be high on this list. He was expelled from high school even before becoming a public figure, and first went to rehab in 1990. He spent the ’90s dating porn stars and appearing on the Heidi Fleiss client roll. Sheen nearly overdosed in 1998, which seemed to set him relatively straight for a while, but it’s been a nearly constant litany of tabloid headlines since his Christmas Eve 2009 arrest after an altercation with then-wife Brooke Mueller. From there, it was a short step to last fall’s hotel room trashing in Manhattan, the two-day bender and hospitalization in January, tiger blood, the goddesses, “winning” and a million Twitter followers. The freak show has no end in sight.

10
DAVID ARQUETTE
He’s been sort of an actor over the years, but until recently he’s mostly been known as Patricia’s and Rosanna’s brother and Courteney Cox’s husband. He’s now carving out an independent identity as a train wreck, so good for him. The announcement that he and Cox were divorcing sent Arquette on the rounds of tabloid media, spilling so much embarrassing personal information that soon everyone was asking, “What took Courteney so long?” He checked into rehab in January (not wanting to miss New Year’s eve). An earlier version of this list had David Hasselhoff at No. 10, but Arquette pulled ahead by getting into a car accident in Hollywood on March 4.

8
TARA REID
Reid isn’t a great actress, but at one time she looked like she was going places, landing a small but memorable part in a Coen Brothers film (“The Big Lebowski”) and a key role in a major hit (“American Pie”) before age 25. But tabloid reports of her partying soon obscured any work she was doing, and she became a cautionary tale after undergoing a visibly botched liposuction. Her breast implants weren’t much better, as a nation discovered when she drunkenly exposed herself on the red carpet at Diddy’s birthday party in 2004. Reid recently announced that a “Big Lebowski 2” was in the works; news that surprised everyone else in the world, including the Coens.

rassments on his resume: a sex tape, an appearance on “Celebrity Rehab,” and the use of a device called a “Whizzinator” in an attempt to beat a drug test.

4
ANDY DICK
Bizarre behavior is part of Dick’s comedy repertoire, but in the time since his stint on “NewsRadio,” most of his craziness hasn’t been an act. He’s been arrested for drug possession, DUI, urinating on a building and groping women. A recurring theme with Dick’s antics is how often he’s made himself obnoxious to other stars. He’s been thrown off the set of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for repeatedly touching fellow guest Ivanka Trump, licked the faces of female celebrities at a roast of William Shatner, and gotten in a fistfight with former co-star Jon Lovitz. Most recently, he got himself thrown out of an adult film awards show for — you guessed it — harassing a porn star.

6
BRITNEY SPEARS
A few more years of relatively good behavior, and Spears may enter the Downey Zone and find her way off lists like this. But memories of her prime train wreck days are still fresh. Her wild child days started innocently enough, with an impulsive Vegas marriage to a childhood friend and quick annulment. But a short, tumultuous marriage to Kevin Federline set the stage for her to go crazy after her divorce: shaving her head, attacking cars with an umbrella, rehab, tanking at the VMAs, losing custody of her children. After a brief psychiatric commitment in early 2008, Spears was placed under the conservatorship of her father, and has since quieted down considerably. Good for her, if bad for the gossip rags.

1
MEL GIBSON
Why is Gibson No. 1? Because the fall has been so steep. (Notice anyone else on this list who has won an Oscar?) His beliefs have always been controversial, and there had long been chatter in Hollywood about how much he drank. But the train wreck portion of his career truly began in 2006 with his arrest for DUI in Malibu, Calif., and the belligerent anti-Semitic remarks he made to the arresting officer. His public breakup with girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva included charges and countercharges of violence, capped by her release of several tapes on which someone believed to be Gibson engages in lengthy offensive rants. Gibson reportedly has offered his support to Sheen, which is reason enough to keep him in the top spot.

9
RANDY QUAID
Most train wrecks get their start at a young age, and then they either wise up (congrats, Robert Downey Jr.) or become even worse. But the veteran character actor Quaid wasn’t a figure of controversy until three years ago, when he received a lifetime ban from Actors Equity for allegedly terrorizing his fellow cast members in a theater production. More recently, he and his wife have been living like Thelma and Louise, facing legal proceedings for allegedly skipping out on a large hotel bill, and seeking asylum in Canada on the grounds that a gang of “Hollywood star whackers” is out to get them. Unlike many on this list, Quaid might not yet have hit rock bottom.

7
TOM SIZEMORE
Hollywood is chock full of DUIs and marijuana busts, but methamphetamine is another thing entirely. Sizemore seemed to be on the road to a solid career as a supporting player following his performance as the sergeant in “Saving Private Ryan,” but he’s spent nearly all his time since then making straight-to-DVD flicks for quick cash, while battling addiction and legal problems. His rap sheet includes a conviction for assaulting girlfriend Heidi Fleiss and a bust for meth possession that landed him in jail. Other embar-

3
LINDSAY LOHAN
She’s only 24, but Lohan has already accomplished enough to merit a train wreck lifetime achievement award. Remember the good old days when a teenage Lindsay supposedly feuding with Hilary Duff was considered hot copy? In just the last five years, Lohan’s career has imploded amidst drunk driving arrests, constant clubbing

5
WHITNEY HOUSTON
Did anyone see this coming when Whitney burst on the scene as a wholesome, bell-voiced 21year-old? Not long after her marriage to serial bad boy Bobby Brown, some telltale

LESSER CATEGORIES OF HOLLYWOOD TRAIN WRECK
■ Retired train wrecks: Those who have stayed out of trouble long enough to where they’ve officially jumped the tracks and mostly made us forget their former issues. Drew Barrymore and Robert Downey Jr. are the official Hollywood poster children here. Special mention goes to Keith Richards, who clearly will never die. ■ High-functioning train wrecks:

ALL I M AG E S , MCT

Kiefer Sutherland is probably the best example, as he keeps enough space between his “incidents” that people never

really consider him to be troubled. ■ Web wrecks: Tila Tequila, obviously. Courtney Love transitioned from public crazy to Twitter crazy, but that switch cost her $430,000 in a libel settlement. If we see any more nude pictures of Chris Brown, put him on the list too. ■ Surgical train wrecks: Pamela Anderson, Lisa Rinna, Mickey Rourke, Lara Flynn Boyle, Bruce Jenner. ■ Train wrecks in training: Demi Lovato, Taylor Momsen, Miley Cyrus.

They’ve all acted out in the public eye, but it’s too soon to know if this is normal teenage misbehavior, or the start of a brilliant train wreck career. (Sorry, Mischa Barton: You’re too old for this category now.)
■ We’re got our eye on you:

Christina Aguilera.
■ Rest in peace: Anna Nicole Smith, Corey Haim, Michael Jackson. Not much humor to be had here. For more news and features on TV, movies and celebrities, visit FILM.COM.

HOLLYWOOD TRAIN WRECKS
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

Sponsor Documents

Or use your account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Forgot your password?

Or register your new account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link to create a new password.

Back to log-in

Close