Unless you live under a rock, you are aware that Lindsay Lohan has had more than her share of troubles in the last few years and there have been a number of moments already when folks have speculated she is due for a big comeback. Normally I do not follow such gossip, but I was intrigued by a recent New York Times story that suggested that yes, Lohan is poised yet again for redemption because the reasoning was this:
New York City will be Lindsay Lohan’s salvation! We’re talking the city itself.
Apparently, there is a long list of celebrities who’ve fallen big time and publicly so and later found redemption (yes the article uses this word: redemption) by uprooting from wherever they live and moving east to the Big Apple–a list that includes Lil’ Kim, Sean Combs, Anne Heche, and um, well, Monica Lewinsky. Woody Allen is on the list but he’s lived here all along.
In the article, “Can New York Save Lindsay Lohan,” reporter Douglas Quenqua speculates on this subject that:
“It could be her greatest role since “Mean Girls.” Disgraced starlet ankles Hollywood for Gotham, a humbling return to the city of her birth. Able to blend in among the city’s obscuring crowds, our starlet finds peace and — eureka! — a path to redemption. Soon, she wrangles a small, serious role Off Broadway that reminds the world she can act (and show up on time). Other roles follow. Critics nod, the media applaud, Martin Scorsese is on the phone. Lindsay Lohan is back. Bow, curtain, fin.”
Apparently, between the possibility of appearing in a theater production combined with the serious reduction in the paparazzi frenzy (I mean, in truth, I’ve lived here for about ten years now and I can only recall seeing one paparazzi frenzy in all that time), New York has a long history for fostering a celebrity’s salvation:
“The promise of reinvention lies at the heart of the allure of New York, a place one can simultaneously get lost and be discovered. Historically, that has attracted not just the unknown in search of fame, but the infamous seeking redemption. . . “New York City could be the savior for Lindsay Lohan,” said Ronn Torossian, a publicist who has helped stars like Lil’ Kim and Sean Combs try to restore scandal-tinged images.”
So Quenqua is not alone in thinking a new, reformed image is around the corner for Lohan–though, he is cautious to point out that while New York is a great atmosphere for transformation and change, ultimately, the burden is on Ms. Lohan to make it happen. “Of course, as the self-help mantra goes,” he writes, “neither New York, nor anyone else, can really save Lindsay Lohan — Ms. Lohan must save herself.”