Lindsay Back to Work as Mom Shields Her
Lindsay Lohan’s mother, Dina Lohan, says “there is only so much a child can take” in response to a studio executive’s charge that the 19-year-old star was “irresponsible and unprofessional” when she didn’t show up for work on her movie Georgia Rule.Â
In a letter (see below) delivered to Lindsay on Thursday, James G. Robinson, CEO of Morgan Creek Productions, scolded her for calling in sick on Wednesday to the set. “We are well aware that your ongoing all-night heavy partying is the real reason for your so-called ‘exhaustion,’ ” he wrote.
“My daughter is a wonderful child,” Dina Lohan says, saying of the attention paid to what has transpired between Lindsay and Robinson: “This is too much.”
As it is, Lindsay – who was briefly hospitalized early Wednesday morning for being “overheated and dehydrated,” according to her rep – has returned to work and made Robinson happy, he tells trade publication the Hollywood Reporter.
Yet as the dust was still settling, Dina Lohan fumed about Robinson in an interview set to air Monday on TV’s Access Hollywood: “Maybe he has personal issues with whomever, and it came out with my child. I don’t know him. I can’t judge him. I don’t think it was a smart thing to do to a young girl,” Dina tells the show.
Speaking about her remarks to Access, Dina Lohan says, “It’s so ridiculous, that I’m over it. … Basically, I have no comment about the letter.”
Describing the circumstances that she said led up to the incident, “On the set it was 105 degrees,” she says. “And she has bronchial asthma – so any extreme heat or cold, she can’t breathe.”
On top of which, says her mom, Lindsay “was wearing winter clothes and she was telling people, ‘I need water, I need water.’ And they just want to get the shot, want to get the shot.”
The elder Lohan said Lindsay was physically affected “after she had left (the set) and went home.”
Speaking to Access, Dina said, “I’m a mother and will do what I need to do to protect my child. … She’s a human being. There was one day when she was late, and they (director Garry Marshall and costar Jane Fonda) worked the schedule around her. Garry, Jane, everybody loves her.”
And now, apparently, so does Robinson. “I’ve never had a minute’s trouble with her. She’s every inch a lady,” the film executive told the Hollywood Reporter on Friday. “I felt I needed to remind her of her obligations to show up.”
Robinson informed the Reporter that Lohan returned to work on Thursday without incident. As for why he took the step of writing the letter – which then became public after its posting on the Smoking Gun Web site – Robinson said: “I’m just trying to get the movie made. I did what I felt I needed to do on behalf of the movie and on behalf of her, too. I wanted to set some limits.”
Besides, according to Robinson, “It was not a nasty letter. It was, ‘Come on be a professional.’ We’re halfway through with six weeks to go. There’s no turning back. I wrote the letter; it was from me, not some damn attorney. She showed up. That’s all I cared about.”
Going Robinson one better, Dina Lohan told Access of her daughter’s work in Georgia Rule: “She will win an Academy Award for this picture. … Justice!”
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Below is a transcript of the letter:
Dear Lindsay,
Since the commencement of principal photography of Georgia Rule, you have frequently failed to arrive on time to the set. Today, you did not show for work (all day). I am now told you don’t plan to work tomorrow because you are “not feeling well.” You and your representatives have told us that your various late arrivals and absences from the set have been the result of illness; today we were told it was “heat exhaustion.” We are well aware that your ongoing all night heavy partying is the real reason for your so called “exhaustion.” We refuse to accept bogus excuses for your behavior.
To date, your actions on Georgia Rule have been discourteous, irresponsible and unprofessional. You have acted like a spoiled child and in so doing have alienated many of your co-workers and endangered the quality of this picture. Moreover, your actions have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. We will not tolerate these actions any further.
If you do not honor your production commitments, including your scheduled call time for tomorrow, and any call times thereafter, we will hold you personally accountable. This means that in addition to pursuing full monetary damages, we will take such other action as we deem necessary to preserve the integrity of the Georgia Rule Production as well as Morgan Creek’s financial interests. I urge you to take this letter seriously and conduct yourself professionally.
Sincerely,
James G. Robinson
CEO, Morgan Creek Productions