Red-hot ingenue Amanda Seyfried is in talks to headline “Lovelace,” a biopic of the late adult film icon Linda Lovelace. Currently set to play Chuck Traynor, her Svengali husband, is Peter Sarsgaard. Lovelace, of course, is best known for “Deep Throat,” an instant blockbuster upon its release in 1972 that captivated and polarized the nation and went on to become one of the highest-grossing independent films in Hollywood history.
Other A-listers such as James Franco and Kate Hudson are reported to have flirted with the roles. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman are directing from a script by W. Merritt Johnson and Andy Bellin, based on the biography “The Complete Linda Lovelace” by Eric Danville that was published in 2001.
Both Traynor and Lovelace passed away in 2002; Traynor from a heart attack and Lovelace following a car wreck. “Unfortunately, he died before I could kill him,” Lovelace’s sister, Barbara Boreman, said about Traynor in the 2005 documentary “Inside Deep Throat.“)
The story of “Deep Throat” and its magnetic, troubled star is rife with drama. It’s a rich, if risky, role for any female actor. “One of the first pornographic films to feature a plot, character development and reasonably high production standards, ‘Deep Throat’ made a huge impact on its release, though it was banned in the UK and was the subject of a number of obscenity trials in the US,” writes “The Guardian.”
“Variety“ reports that Traynor was “a would-be filmmaker who transformed [Lovelace] into a world-famous sex star. After years of being victimized, Lovelace quit the business and divorced Traynor, who she accused of taking advantage of her naivete and coercing her into porn and prostitution.”
Seyfried is currently starring opposite Justin Timberlake in the sci-fi thriller “In Time.” She has a number of upcoming films set for 2012 including “The Wedding” with a sprawling cast that includes Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro and Susan Sarandon; and “Gone,” a thriller co-starring Wes Bentley and Jennifer Carpenter.
Trivia: “Lovelace” is currently set to begin filming in December, just weeks ahead of another biopic based on the late performer. Malin Ackerman and Matt Dillon are starring in “Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story“ from Muse Productions which has a January 2012 start date.
“Inferno” earned significant blogosphere buzz when none other than Lindsay Lohan signed on the play the title role, but her participation was deep-sixed by her ongoing legal travails.
More trivia: Co-screenwriter W. Merritt Johnson earned an Emmy nomination in 2010 for scripting the HBO biopic “Temple Grandin,” whose inspiring life story is about as far afield from Linda Lovelace as humanly possible.
CLICK HERE for the Variety.com story.