Amanda Bynes, during one of her 2013 court appearances.
You know who we haven’t heard from in a while? Amanda Bynes. Well, that dry spell is over because Bynes is back! Her parents’ conservatorship that gave them total, Britney Spears-style control over her life and finances ended earlier this month, and right on cue we have the former Nickelodeon star’s first run-in with the law. Bynes was arrested over the weekend for driving under the influence after cops in Sherman Oaks, Calif., saw her stop at a red light — in the middle of the intersection. Police charged Bynes with a misdemeanor after they “determined she was under the influence of a controlled substance,” according to E! News, though exactly what substance is still a mystery. It’s nice to see her coming back playing the hits, though, like getting popped for a DUI. Bynes, after all, was given three years of probation for that very type of arrest back in 2012.
And that’s not all! Bynes is apparently making up for troubles starlet lost time, as Radar Online reports that she’s also flunked out of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, where she’d been studying since getting out of rehab last year. “Amanda just stopped going to classes,” a source says. “Everything had been going very well for her up until the conservatorship ended. Her instructors tried to reach out to Amanda, given her history of very public breakdowns, but got no response.” No word yet on if she plans to re-launch her Twitter account and start lashing out at fellow celebrities again, but here’s to hoping.
Damon chooses Clooney over Affleck — and Jen is furious!
Having to choose between famous friends can be tough, as Matt Damon learned when he chose to head to Italy for George Clooney’s wedding, missing Ben Affleck’s “Gone Girl” premiere in New York the night before. And the choice apparently did not go unnoticed by Affleck’s wife, Jennifer Garner. “Jennifer was furious that Matt didn’t go to the premiere. She flipped out that he ditched his best friend on his big night to go to George’s wedding instead.” Oof. Way to get on your best friend’s wife’s bad side, Matt. Funny thing, though — from perusing the red carpet photos of the “Gone Girl” premiere, you know who else apparently wasn’t there? Jennifer Garner, who was in Los Angeles the next morning to do press for her own new film. Maybe she was projecting? And in Damon’s defense, Affleck has had — and will continue to have — a lot of movie premieres. Clooney’s only going to get married maybe a handful more times.
Dunham bows to pressure, promises to pay opening acts
Lena Dunham was originally planning to have the opening acts on her upcoming, sold-out book tour perform for free, but that was before Gawker pointed out the fact. Now Dunham has doubled back, announcing that the acts — ranging from comedians to gymnasts to ukulele players — will all be compensated after all. “Some good points were raised and I’ve ensured that all opening acts will be compensated for their time, their labor and their talents,” Dunham tweeted. “The fact that Gawker pointed this out really proves Judd Apatow’s saying that ‘a good note can come from anywhere.'”
The Donald duped into serial killer retweet
Donald Trump is not happy. Comedian Philip Bradbury duped the “Apprentice” boss into retweeting a photo of British serial killers Fred and Rosemary West by tweeting that the photo was of his parents, who’d always said Trump was “big inspiration.” And since the quickest way to get Trump’s attention is to tell him he’s important, he gladly obliged. Whoops. “I thought I was being nice to somebody re their parents. I guess this teaches you not to be nice or trusting,” Trump tweeted after finding out the truth. “Maybe I’ll sue.” Bradbury might want to watch himself, because the Donald is probably actually serious. He does love suing people, after all. Aw crap, now he’s going to sue me just for writing that.
Hi @realDonaldTrump. My parents who passed away always said you were big inspiration.Can you pls RT for their memory? pic.twitter.com/veBxFNXnOd
— Philip Bradbury (@feckhead) September 29, 2014
David Fincher’s “Star Wars Episode VII” would’ve be so awesome, though
Sure, J.J. Abrams is busy making the next “Star Wars” film, but it could have been “Fight Club” director David Fincher in charge of revamping the franchise — though probably not likely, even he admits. Fincher tells Total Film that he met with Lucasfilm early on to discuss the famous franchise. “It’s tricky. My favorite is ‘the Empire Strikes Back.’ If I said, ‘I want to do something more like that,’ then I’m sure the people paying for it would be like, ‘No! You can’t do that! We want it like the other one with all the creatures!'” In even less kid-friendly matters, Fincher sees the “Star Wars” series as “the story of two slaves [droids C-3PO and R2-D2] who go from owner to owner, witnessing their masters’ folly, the ultimate folly of man,” he says. “I thought it was an interesting idea in the first two [films], but it’s kind of gone by ‘Return of the Jedi.'”
