Two weeks ago we learned that Mischa Barton, former star of The OC and current star of the upcoming CW series The Beautiful Life, was involuntarily admitted to the psychiatric hospital under medical Code 5150 after it was determined that her dangerous behavior made her a threat to her own health and safety. Since that time, Mischa has been well out of the spotlight, presumably getting her life back in order so that she can be released back into the public again. In fact, we learned earlier this week that Mischa was finally released from the hospital … and today we see photos of the troubled young actress making her arrival in NYC where she is scheduled to begin work on her new TV series … behold:

After spending time hospitalized, Mischa Barton re-appeared for the first time on Tuesday at LAX, where she’s headed to New York City to begin work on her new television show, The Beautiful Life. Mischa arrived at LAX just after 12 noon on Tuesday. The actress, 23, was released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center days ago, where she was being held under an involuntary psychiatric hold. A source told RadarOnline.com that Mischa is currently under the care of good friend Nicole Richie, who has stepped up to help the troubled starlet turn her life around. A CW spokesman for the show, which stars Barton as a pill-popping supermodel, said last week that production was scheduled to begin on Friday. Earlier this month police officers were called to the 23-year-old actress’s Los Angeles home to deal with a “medical issue”.

While it is really great to see Mischa up, around and back in public circulation … I have to say that I think it might be a bit too soon for her to be going back to work on a TV show. She was practically dragged away to the mental ward a couple of weeks ago and here she is, ready to plunge back into the high-pressure world of Hollywood again. It’s no secret that Mischa has had much difficulty keeping her sobriety in check and her recent breakdown is but the latest proof that she may not be equipped to handle the rigors of fame … and yet, her TV bosses think she is just fine enough to get back into the mix the same week she gets released from the psychiatric ward. I hope she really is OK, for her own sake. It would be such a tragedy if she suffers another dangerous breakdown so soon after her last one.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

As many of you may recall, Britney Spears suffered a mental breakdown back in January of 2008 and was placed under involuntary psychiatric hold by authorities under medical code 5150 (which essentially means that the patient can be held in the mental ward for up to 72 hours to determine if they are a danger to themselves). Yesterday it was reported that actress Mischa Barton was rushed to the hospital after she suffered a “medical incident” … but, according to sources, it turns out that she, too, was admitted to the psych ward under code 5150. Mischa must undergo further evaluation to determine if she is a danger to herself as she has, apparently, suffered a mental breakdown of her own:

Mischa Barton was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold (also known as a 5150) by the Los Angeles Police Department and transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Wednesday evening, a source close to the situation claimed to Access Hollywood. On Wednesday, Access broke the news that authorities had responded to the Los Angeles home of the starlet after receiving a non-911 call from her residence around 3 PM. A patrol car responded to the scene and began assisting Barton with a “medical issue,” a spokesperson for the LAPD confirmed to Access on Wednesday evening. The source claimed that Barton was placed under Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code by police and transported to Cedars-Sinai. According to the code, authorities can hold a person involuntarily if they present a danger to themselves or others, are gravely disabled or suffer from a mental disorder. This same code was used to hold Britney Spears twice in Los Angeles in January 2008. When asked about information related to the alleged involuntary hold, an LAPD spokesperson would not comment directly. However, the spokesperson did admit that if any person was held under a 5150, authorities would be prohibited from disclosing the information due to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws. According to the California Welfare and Institutions Code, the hospital can hold Barton involuntarily for up to 72 hours. A rep for the actress confirmed to Access that Barton will not attend the world premiere of her new film, “Homecoming,” which happens Thursday night in New York City, but released no further details on the star. Additionally, the director of Barton’s film said in a statement that those involved with the movie were “saddened” Barton will not be at the event. “I along with everyone on the ‘Homecoming’ team are saddened to hear that Mischa Barton will not be able to attend the film’s premiere tonight in New York,” director Morgan J. Freeman said in a statement to Access on Thursday. “Her performance in ‘Homecoming’ is fantastic, and she will be missed at our premiere. “We hope she is OK,” Freeman added, “and that her condition is not serious.” Sources close to the film told Access Barton was due to fly into New York City on Wednesday evening. She had a photo shoot scheduled and was going to head out to the premiere around 3 PM on Thursday. Barton is the star of “Homecoming,” playing Shelby, the ex-girlfriend of a football player in a small town, who does whatever it takes to get her beau back. The film co-stars Jessica Stroup of “90210” and Matt Long of ABC’s “The Deep End.”

Poor Mischa … I was under the impression that she had gotten her life back in order. She scored some work in recent months including a role on the upcoming new series for The CW Beautiful Life. It remains to be seen what exactly the terms of her supposed “breakdown” are but hopefully we’ll learn more when her psychiatric evaluation is completed. I suspect that her people will want to keep the info under wraps but I’m sure we’ll be hearing more news about what exactly happened anyways. I hope she’s alright. I’m not the biggest Mischa Barton fan but I do care about her mental welfare. Get well soon, Mischa!!

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British television stars made their way to the Royal Festival Hall in London, England yesterday for the 2009 British Academy of Film and Television Awards (ie. the UK Emmy Awards). Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick, Skins star Kaya Scodelario and Mischa Barton (who really had no reason to be at the awards show at all) all appeared at yesterday’s award show … as did Jennifer Saunders who, it must be said, looked Absolutely Fabulous with her short blonde hair’do:

Naturalist David Attenborough, actor Kenneth Branagh and comedy duo French and Saunders have been honoured with gongs at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) awards. In a glittering ceremony in London, Attenborough picked up the specialist factual Bafta for “Life in Cold Blood,” his series on reptiles and amphibians — the eighth time he and his wildlife programmes have been honoured here. “Our thanks, of course, go to the spitting cobras, axolotls, golden frogs, dwarf chameleons, those happy tortoises, and this (award) belongs not to me or to them but the production team,” the 82-year-old said. Actor and director Branagh, best known for his Shakespearean roles on stage and on screen, took his first Bafta for a television appearance for “Wallander,” which he produced and also stars in as a Swedish detective. Accepting the best drama award, which comes 20 years after he won a film Bafta for Henry V, Branagh thanked the BBC for commissioning the show. “They took a risk in wondering whether the world would be interested in the troubled life of a melancholy Scandinavian, but as I have spent half my life trying to make a living doing that, it wasn’t such a stretch for me,” he said, referring to his performances as the Danish prince “Hamlet.” Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, who have been cracking jokes together for the past 30 years, were jointly given the academy fellowship, which Saunders said was a “great honour.” Golden Globe-winning US drama “Mad Men,” about an advertising agency in 1960s New York, won the prize for best international programme.

Additionally, Skins took home the Philips Audience Award which is the only award voted on by the audience and honors the Best Programme of 2008. It was accepted on behalf of the show by Kaya Scodelario (who plays Effie) and Hannah Murray (who plays Cassie):

I understand that over 22,000 votes were cast and the amazing show Skins came out on top. I absolutely contend that Skins is the best TV series on the air both in the UK and here in the US … it’s really an amazing show and I’m glad to know that it has been honored in this way. Congrats!!

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Lindsay Lohan, Mischa Barton, Mary-Kate Olsen and about 1,997 other celebs made their way out to Dubai, United Arab Emirates for the official launch extravaganza for the new £1 billion luxury resort the Atlantis Palm on Palm Jumeirah Island earlier this week. The party itself cost £20 million and it really showed. Here are a few pics of some of the red carpet arrivals from the Atlantis Palm launch party and some deets on the party itself:

The credit crunch may be biting … but there was little sign of parsimony in Dubai [Thursday] night. The world’s rich and famous gathered for the most expensive private party ever thrown – costing some £20 million – to open Atlantis Palm Jumeirah, a £1 billion resort on a man-made island shaped like a palm tree in the Persian Gulf. Two thousand film stars, popstars, supermodels and billionaires were flown in from around the world for the all-expenses paid one-night party with many of them staying for four days. The highlight last night was a one-off gig by Kylie Minogue and her 113-strong dance troupe on the beach. Apart from getting a free holiday, Miss Minogue was also paid £1.5million for a 10-song 45-minute medley of her hits – which works out at some £33,333 a minute …

They were no ordinary fireworks of course – each one being a radio-controlled 27-inch shell with an on-board microcomputer to direct its flight. The display, which was visible from space, was also filmed by a squadron of helicopters hovering at 12,000ft and beamed on giant TV HD screens on the beach. Miss Minogue, 40, arrived at the lavish party dressed in a pink and black floral chiffon gown with flowing train and her blonde hair in a curly short hairdo. Speaking on Sky News, just two hours before she was due to go on stage, an excited Kylie said: “It’s staggering. I guess more is more here and they have done a great job. My room’s very nice. It’s a different set list to the tour I’m doing at the moment. It’s an edited show especially for tonight.” The 40-year-old star remained tight-lipped about how much she was earning for her set, she said: “I can’t tell you how much pocket money I get, it goes straight in my piggy bank.” Speaking about the hotel’s potential, she added: “I think there’s a lot of people who love this kind of thing you get sun and everything you could wish for. My crew and dancers have been having a great time.” Guests included filmstars such as Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron, Denzil Washington, Mischa Barton and Lindsay Lohan, supermodels Agyness Deyn, Petra Nemcova and Yasmin Le Bon, musicans Janet Jackson, Lily Allen and Shirley Bassey, sports legends like Michael Jordan and Boris Becker and some local royalty – the Royal Family of Dubai … Oprah Winfrey bagged the most exclusive £25,000-a-night suite high up on a bridge suspended between the resort’s two towers. Yet when she pulled out, the scramble for the suite was eventually won a man many Britons may have never heard of – Shahrukh Khan – who is apparently the ‘Tom Cruise of Bollywood’ and as such the most famous filmstar in Middle East. Robert De Niro – a partner in the Nobu restaurant chain which has a site in the resort – had to make do with a £15,000 presidential suite. That left filmstars Lindsay Lohan and Charlize Theron with £10,000 a night Lost Chambers suites submerged alongside one of the world’s largest aquariums in the depths of the Atlantis resort, each with a truly jaw-dropping bedroom view of 65,000 sharks, rays and fish. No one paid for an air ticket to get there. The travel bill alone was estimated to be £3 million. Yesterday, the starry crowd spent the day riding camels, stroking dolphins and trying out the resort’s giant waterpark. A cocktail reception last night was followed by dinner on the beach, Miss Minogue’s show and they the fireworks. Though Dubai is mainly a ‘dry’ country, there was not much evidence of that at the soiree with some 1,000 bottles of Veuvre Cliquot champagne being thrown back. All of that drink was presumably needed to wash down the 1.7 metric tonnes of lobster that was eaten, 4,000 oysters, 3,000 kilos of smoked salmon and 5,000 portions of the best sushi – all prepared by 500 chefs and served by 1,000 waiters.

Ye gods! Talk about excess. It never ceases to amaze me how economic strain can take its toll on so many people thruout the world and, yet, celebs never seem to feel the pinch. Forget the millions of starving and dying people suffering each and every day, the rich and powerful live extravagant lives that most people can’t even dream of. It really sounds like a spectacular event but the amount of excess is pretty staggering. I’m not hating, I’m just … boggled. Yeah.

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Mischa Barton got snapped enjoying a little smoke recently at a trendy LA hot spot or, more appropriately, we can call the place a joint. Miss Mischa got caught rolling her own cigarette and was spied puffin’ on said hand-rolled cig … tho it’s impossible to know with certainty what exactly she was smokin’ in that cig … behold:

Now, we all know that Mischa has had problems in the past with substance abuse. She was arrested for drunk driving but managed to plea bargain her way out of serving any jailtime. I’m CERTAIN that Mischa would not want to jeopardize her freedom by doing something stupid like smoking an illegal substance in public view of anyone who happened to be standing near her (with a camera, BTW) at a club. I’m gonna assume that Mischa was merely smoking a hand-rolled tobacco cigarette … cuz, she’s not dumb enough to puff on a marijuana cigarette in public … right?

[Photo credit: BIG! Pictures; Source]

Mischa Barton was snapped with an 12 18 pack of Bud Light as she made her way out of a liquor store in Hollywood, CA last night … behold:

Yeah, I kinda pegged Miss Barton as a drinker but I never really considered that beer might be her booze of choice. I am having a hard time imagining Mischa Barton chugging on a can of beer but … well, here you have it. At least the girl is keepin’ it real by drinking the domestic stuff. While Pabst Blue Ribbon is my domestic beer of choice, I can’t really hate on the girl for reppin’ other good ol’ American-made beer.

[Photo credit: X17]

Uh Oh! Mischa Barton ran into a bit of wardrobe difficulty in London, England as the poor girl suffered a mishap as she tried to make a graceful exit from a fashion show by taxi last night. An ill-fitting dress coupled with a lack of undergarments conspired to make an evening of embarrassment for poor Miss Barton … behold:

Actress Mischa Barton suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction last night as she revealed a little more than intended while leaving a fashion show in London. The star’s breast slipped out of her satin red and gold evening gown as she jumped into a taxi after the Fashion For Relief show at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. The stunned 22-year-old quickly covered herself up and buried her head in her hands as the car pulled away.

Aww … I know that I give the girl her fair share of grief here on the blog but I kinda feel bad for her this time. You can tell that she was prolly thinking “OH EFF!” in that last pic when it dawned on her that she got caught mid-wardrobe malfunction again — and sure enough, here we are the next day talking about it. I mean, it’s still kinda funny … but I do feel a smidge bad for her. OK, I’m over the sympathy now ;)

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]