There's been a lot of talk about Linda Lovelace of late. The tragic and tangled life story of the Deep Throat star, who died in 2002, has been mined by not one but two upcoming biopics: Lovelace and Inferno. However, while the former has been gaining tons of attention by scoring cast members like Amanda Seyfried in the title role, Sarah Jessica Parker as Gloria Steinem and James Franco as Hugh Hefner, the latter has predominantly drawn notice because it was poised to be Lindsay Lohan's big comeback. Of course, Lohan was eventually canned when mounting personal turmoil repeatedly delayed production. Then, in the fall of 2010, Malin Akerman was brought in to replace her. It seemed a major upgrade in the talent department, and Inferno, which was based on Lovelace's autobiography Ordeal, seemed back on track.
But Inferno couldn't seem to catch on. In the spring of 2011, Akerman was still attached and eager, but still there were no announcements on when cameras would role for the biopic. And now, a year later, Akerman seems resigned to the film's demise, telling THR:
"I don't know if that's even going to go. Last I heard, which was just before Christmas, we were supposed to start shooting in March, and now it's April. It's been one of those doomed films that I absolutely love and totally believe in."
She went on to confess financing has been an issue, due in large part to the Seyfried-fronted Lovelace pulling focus, expounding, "I would hope and love for [Inferno] to go, but now this other movie is coming on that Amanda Seyfried did, and I kind of feel like, 'Shit, we should have been on that, we should have done it.'"
It's hard to know what to make of this news, not just in what it means for Inferno but also whether it's good or bad news for Akerman. To begin with, casting news was still breaking in January, when indie star Adam Goldberg was said to be in talks to jump into Inferno. However, it's pretty damning that the proposed production start date has come and gone and the film's star has heard nothing from Inferno's producers. At this point, even if they did manage to get Inferno going again, there's no guarantee Akerman would recommit after so many delays and so much ahead of her.
Personally, I'm a fan of Akerman and feel her good looks have often undercut her ability to get roles beyond eye-candy girlfriend parts. Yet here she was offered something gritty and intense that could prove her abilities as a dramatic actress and leading lady, and so I was rooting for her involvement. But plagued as it is by problems, this project does seem doomed to die or be botched. And with a full slate of films hitting this year, from the quirky rom-com The Giant Mechanical Man to the 1980s musical Rock of Ages to her comedy vehicle Hemlock Drive, Akerman may no longer need Inferno.
