Mel Gibson has been living by the court-ordered book.
A judge said Wednesday he is pleased with the progress the actor has made while fulfilling the terms of his probation stemming from his bizarre DUI bust in July 2006.
After pleading no contest to misdemeanor driving under the influence a few weeks later, he was given three years' probation, fined $1,400 and ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for four and a half months, five days a week.
Although Malibu Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira complimented Gibson's recent behavior during the 20-minute progress-report hearing, he said the Braveheart star is still on probation for the next 18 months.
"You're on your own now with the self-help groups, so this is the most difficult time for you," Mira said. "Good luck to you as you continue on your rehabilitation."
"Thank you, Your Honor," Gibson replied.
Before Wednesday's hearing, Mira denied requests by numerous media outlets to bring cameras into the proceedings after the actor's attorney, Blair Berk, informed him during a sidebar conference that her client has been targeted by stalkers and has several restraining orders in place.
"People who are the subject of a restraining order are apparently encouraged to violate those orders by the view of the subject in public," the judge said.
Gibson waved to the TV cameras and paparazzi inevitably stationed outside the courthouse as he left through a back door.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker was memorably arrested for DUI on July 28, 2006, after a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy clocked him going 87 mph in a 45-mph zone on Malibu's Pacific Coast Highway.
He registered a 0.12 percent blood-alcohol level and was taken into custody, but not before he directed a barrage of anti-Semitic epithets at the arresting officer—a detail of the arrest that originally was missing from the Sheriff's Department's official report but was promptly leaked to TMZ.
An investigation conducted last year by the Office of Independent Review found that three law enforcement officers gave Gibson additional preferential treatment, aside from initially censoring his unflattering arrest report, although the infractions were attributed to "concern" for the sensitivity of the situation rather than a cover-up.
Among the breaks in protocol: Gibson was not palm-printed upon his release, a standard procedure, and an on-duty deputy drove him from the jail to the impound lot to retrieve his car without getting permission from a supervisor.
While the aftermath for the officers was relatively mild—wrist slaps all around—it was Gibson who was publicly flayed.
The actor issued multiple public apologies for his comments, eventually telling Diane Sawyer his arrest was "kind of a blessing," that he needed "public humiliation on a global scale" in order to finally get sober.