Lindsay Lohan Could Bounce Back, Says Mean Girls Director

By Caris Davis

UPDATED 07/27/2007 at 11:00 AM EDT • Originally published 07/27/2007 at 07:00 AM EDT

The director of Lindsay Lohan's breakout 2004 movie Mean Girls has appealed to the troubled actress to pull her life together.

"Unlike other celebrities in the news going to jail, she's actually somebody who has got verifiable talent and [is] actually good at what she does," Mark Waters, who also directed Lohan in 2003's Freaky Friday, said Thursday.

Santa Monica police arrested Lohan, 21, on suspicion of DUI, possession of cocaine and another charge early Tuesday morning. She is said to be under medical care.

Waters said he thought that Hollywood would eventually accept the young star back before the cameras in future. But first, he said, she needs to grow up.

"I'm certainly not going to be seeking her out until she gets her personal life in order," said Waters, whose next film is The Spiderwick Chronicles (which he was promoting at the San Diego Comic-Con). "On a business level, most companies aren't going to want to take the chance making a movie with someone who is unreliable."

But gifted people can sometimes earn a second shot at the brass ring, he said, citing Robert Downey Jr. as an example of a volatile talent who has pulled his act together.

"I think eventually, because she is good, she will get around to working again," he said. "She's still so young. She's only 21."

But Lohan should avoid distractions, Waters said, such as blaming paparazzi for her problems.

"If you don't want to attract the attention, you don't have to attract the attention, " he said. "But if you crave the attention, believe me, they're there to snap it for you."

Meanwhile, in other Lohan news:

• TMZ on Friday posted interviews with three men who claimed to be in Lohan's car the morning of her arrest. The men say Lohan commandeered the SUV they were in to follow her assistant. Lohan's representatives had no comment.

• In divorce court Friday, Lindsay's mother, Dina Lohan told PEOPLE, "Lindsay is fine. She is in a safe place and getting help." At the hearing, Lindsay's father, Michael Lohan, was ordered to pay $500 a week child support for the next two weeks. The judge also admonished him for not making any money in the five months since he got out of jail.

• Reporting by DIANE HERBST and SCOTT HUVER