The New Yorker magazine has published an excerpt from the Girls creator Lena Dunham's memoir, Not That Kind of Girl, in which the actress talks about her battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a condition that also affects her character, Hannah Horvath. It reveals that Dunham was "afraid of everything" as an 8-year-old. The serious topic is discussed with moments of humour, such as when she took an article about a woman with OCD to show her therapist. "Her symptoms aren't much worse than mine: the magazine's description of her most horrible day parallels my average one. I tear the article out and bring it to [my therapist], whose face crumples sympathetically, as though the moment she'd been dreading had finally arrived. It makes me want to throw my needlepoint supplies in her face. Do I have to do everything myself?" Not That Kind of Girl is due to be published by Random House in the United States on September 30. – The National staff
Miley Cyrus’s homeless youth is a wanted man
The homeless man who accompanied Miley Cyrus to the MTV Video Music Awards and accepted an award on her behalf has a warrant out for his arrest. Jesse Helt, 22, was arrested in Oregon on charges of criminal mischief, criminal trespass and burglary in 2010. According to court records, he broke into the apartment of a man he believed was selling bad marijuana. Helt, who was 18, pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and criminal trespass and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and probation. The warrant was issued in November 2011 after he breached that probation. Helt moved to Los Angeles and lived on the streets while trying to find work as a model. Cyrus, who met Helt through a Hollywood homeless centre, let him accept her award for Video of the Year on Sunday. Polk County's director of community corrections Martin Silbernagel said they were looking for Helt to arrest him. Court records also show that Helt was arrested three times as a juvenile for offences such as marijuana possession and being a minor in possession of tobacco and liquor. Cyrus responded on Twitter: "People who are homeless have lived very hard lives. Jesse included. Does looking down upon the homeless help people excuse their inaction?" – AP
Journalist working on Robin Williams biography
A New York Times cultural reporter who has written extensively about Robin Williams is working on a book about the actor and comedian. Publisher Henry Holt and Co said it had acquired the as-yet-untitled biography by Dave Itzkoff. No publication date was given. Williams, who found fame as the star of 1970s sitcom Mork & Mindy and went on to win an Oscar for his role in the film Good Will Hunting, committed suicide this month at age 63. Itzkoff's Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies was published this year. – AP
TV versions of Shutter Island, Minority Report and The Omen announced
With movie stars increasingly jumping ship from the big screen to television roles, it was only a matter of time before we started seeing more small-screen versions of popular movies – and a host of high-profile adaptations have been announced. HBO is working with Martin Scorsese on a TV version of his 2010 film Shutter Island, which will delve into the history of the psychiatric hospital that messed with Leonardo DiCaprio's mind. Steven Spielberg is developing a small-screen adaptation of his 2002 sci-fi film Minority Report, about a futuristic police unit that arrests criminals before crimes are committed, thanks to tip-offs from precognitive psychics. Damien, a horror drama based on The Omen series of films, has been given the go-ahead by the cable network Lifetime. It will be written and produced by the former Walking Dead showrunnner Glen Mazzara. In addition, NBC is working on a small-screen version of the 1997 film The Devil's Advocate, which starred Al Pacino as Satan. – The National staff
