For an actor whose every iffy career decision is gleefully reported in the tabloid press, it would appear to be something of a brave move. Former child star Lindsay Lohan is to play the porn star Linda Lovelace in a forthcoming biopic, according to several US reports.
The LA Times quotes a producer on the independent production, to be titled Inferno, who confirms that Lohan has signed on the dotted line to play the star of infamous 1972 film Deep Throat. The official announcement will most likely be made at next week's Cannes film festival, which the actor is likely to attend.
"We've all thought that Lindsay would be a great choice for a while now, and we're all convinced that she is going to do it," Wali Razaqi said. "For at least a year, the director and I have gone back and forth imagining how awesome of a performance she could give if she was in the movie."
One of the first pornographic films to feature a plot, character development and reasonably high production standards, Deep Throat made a huge impact upon its release, though it was banned in the UK and was the subject of a number of obscenity trials in the US. It has been suggested that the film made more than $600m (£395m) from box office receipts and home video sales, putting it among the highest-grossing films of all time, though such figures are impossible to confirm.
Lovelace, real name Linda Susan Boreman, later denounced the film and its makers, becoming an anti-pornography activist. She said she had been forced into the career – often at gunpoint – by her sadistic first husband, Chuck Traynor.
Razaqi said Inferno would focus on "the difficult stuff she went through and overcame". He added: "I would say it's probably one of the most challenging roles any actor could play – and not because of the sexual content, necessarily – but more because she was so battered and beat up emotionally, that I think it's gonna take everything Lindsay has to really be able to pull it off.
"Not that Lindsay's life is similar in any way – but she's been through a lot of ups and downs. A lot of times you're loved and then you're hated, and I think she can relate to those emotions and feelings. One week she's the 'it' girl, and the next, she's the 'what are you doing?' girl."
Razaqi also confirmed that Bill Pullman was attached to play Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in the movie. Matthew Wilder, who worked with Pullman on the 2008 biopic Your Name Here, about the last days of science-fiction writer William J Frick, will direct.
