Amanda Seyfried has landed the lead in directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s bio-pic of porn star Linda Lovelace, titled simply Lovelace. Seyfried will star opposite Peter Sarsgaard who is in negotiations to play Lovelace’s husband Chuck Traynor. Previously, Olivia Wilde had been reportedly approached to play the role.
Lovelace‘s script is by Andy Belling and W. Merritt Johnson and is based on Eric Danville’s book The Complete Linda Lovelace. Filming is expected to begin in January.
At the not-so-subtle urging of Traynor, Lovelace first starred in a series of pornographic short films before starring in the landmark porn film Deep Throat. The film proved to be an unexpected hit and launched the short-lived porn chic movement when it became fashionable for couples to attend softcore porn films like Behind The Green Door, Debbie Does Dallas and The Devil In Miss Jones. Even celebrities like Johnny Carson, Jack Nicholson and Barbara Waters have admitted to attending films during this time.
Lovelace would later leave her porn career behind and ultimately became an outspoken opponent of the porn industry. Needless to say, there’s a lot of intense drama from which a bio-pic can be constructed. Previously, the 70s porn chic era was mined for material before in Boogie Nights and Lovelace’s story was told in the documentary Inside Deep Throat.
Lovelace is one of two biopics currently in development. The other, Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story is set to be directed by Matthew Wilder and star Malin Akerman, taking over the role after Lindsay Lohan had been fired from the project. It was originally supposed to shoot earlier this year, but the project appears to currently be in limbo.
