NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > MISCHA BARTON’S HOSPITALIZATION EXPECTED TO HAVE LITTLE IMPACT ON CAREER

MISCHA BARTON’S HOSPITALIZATION EXPECTED TO HAVE LITTLE IMPACT ON CAREER

July 20 2009

Hollywood, CA – The history of Hollywood is littered with child stars gone bad. From tragedies such as River Phoenix to successes like Jodie Foster, restorative triumphs such as Robert Downey Jr. child stars have often had a mixed bag of success both in the silver screen and in life. Even though the dangers of Hollywood have been long
known the troubles have continued for many young actors with drug and alcohol abuse rampant amongst a certain set of young Hollywood stars the community seems set for another tragedy, with the only question of who that might be remaining.

For years much of the attention has been placed on Lindsay Lohan whose constant partying and increasingly erratic behaviour has put her squarely on the naughty list. With seemingly endless confrontations with the paparazzi and a high profile lesbian love affair, Lohan seemed a prime candidate for the troubled child star poster. That was until Mischa Barton came around. The growing power of the former O.C. has firmly upset the balance of the Hollywood starlet machine and with her recent hospitalization in a psychiatric ward was put the actress at the top of many people’s lists for the number one troubled Hollywood star.

“Ms. Barton was safely transferred to medical treatment for which she remains hospitalized, as per the recommendation of her doctor,” said Barton’s publicist. “Police were involved due to Ms Barton's celebrity status; to ensure her safe transfer to medical treatment. We will not comment further except to say that Ms. Barton is resting comfortably and is excited to get back on her feet for her new movie and her new television show.”

Barton missed the premiere of her new movie ‘Homecoming’ due to the hospitalization and filming of her new television series ‘A Beautiful Life’ had to be delayed.

“From what we’ve heard she’s in really rough shape. Drugs and a lot of partying are apparently taking a toll on her and that was at least part of the reason that she was put in the hospital. She has really come on string in recent years and has shown here that she can
really outdo peers such as Lindsay Lohan and maybe even Britney Spears. This of course is may just be the first major volley in a full scale assault that may life her to yet unseen levels,” said Scrape TV Entertainment analyst Tracey Temple. “I doubt anyone saw this coming to be frank. Lohan had set the bar so high and she was a genuine celebrity. True the O.C. was a big show but Barton just hasn’t shown the diversity or staying power that Lohan has. For a relatively unknown to come on and challenge the big players is to say the least very impressive.”

Many aspects of Barton’s life are believed to be based on the success of Tara Reid in the troubled star realm. Reid, who made it big in the hit film ‘American Pie’, has become more famous for her antics than her on-screen performances.

“Tara Reid set the stage for a different kind of troubled celebrity. Many of the celebrities that have gone through this kind of thing have been either very talented or very famous. Reid was neither but she still managed to create a partying career like none other. The same is likely true for Barton who has done very little in Hollywood aside from partying but has now set a whole new standard. Celebrities go into rehab all the time but very few have ever been admitted to the psychiatric ward. That’s a special kind of talent,” continued Temple. “The unfortunate thing in this case is that we probably won’t see a Robert Downey Jr. kind of redemption. He had a ton of talent which was being obscured by his behaviour and once he came out of it luckily that talent was still there. It has never happened that drug and alcohol abuse has actually created talent, though I suppose there could be a first time.”

Barton’s new movie, ‘Homecoming’, is not expected to be any good.

Samantha Dryden, Entertainment Correspondent

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