Winona Ryder became a crowd and critical favorite after her starring role in Beetlejuice and went on to cement that profile by starring in popular films like Heathers, Edward Scissorhands, Dracula, Age Of Innocence, and Reality Bites. She was even supposed to star as Mary Corleone in The Godfather Part III and undoubtedly would have improved the ridiculed film had she not pulled out because of exhaustion. In the mid 1990s she starred in the box office bomb The Crucible and the disappointing Alien Resurrection, but with her talent Ryder could easily have overcome those setbacks. Butthen in December 2001, Ryder was arrested for shoplifting $5500 worth of clothes from a Beverly Hills department store. During the highly publicized trial Ryder was accused of being on various drugs to explain why a millionaire would steal clothing, and she was found guilty on most of the charges and had to serve probation. Though she has since worked steadily in lower budget films or bit parts in blockbusters (like 2009's Star Trek) her career has never recovered from the stigma of her bizarre crimes.
Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.
