Malin Akerman To Play Debbie Harry In CBGB

Malin Akerman in Couples Retreat.
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

With Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's Lovelace all the way through production with Amanda Seyfried playing the titular porn starlet, it's looking less and less likely that Malin Akerman will get to play the same part in Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story, which is still stuck in pre-production (albeit with a fantastic cast that includes Matt Dolon, Harold Perrineau, Adam Goldberg, Paz de la Huerta and Sasha Grey). While we may never get to see Akerman play Lovelace, however, that doesn't mean we will never get to see her play a bombshell from a bygone era.

Variety is reporting that the actress has been cast to play Debbie Harry in the film CBGB, a biopic, if you will, about the famous New York venue during the 1970s. The project recently hired Alan Rickman to star as Hilly Kristal, the owner of CBGB and Rupert Grint is set to play Cheetah Chrome, the guitarist for the punk outfit known as Dead Boys. Harry, of course, was the lead singer of Blondie, who became a major figure in the music world when Blondie's debut album came out in 1976.

Randall Miller is directing the independent film based on a script that he wrote with Jody Savin. Akerman will next be seen in the musical Rock of Ages, which is directed by Adam Shankman and co-stars Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Diego Boneta, Catherine Zeta Jones and Julianne Hough. Production on CBGB will start rolling next month in New York.

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