I can kind of see a resemblance between Demi Moore and feminist activist/journalist Gloria Steinem, whom the former Mrs. Kutcher has been tapped to play in Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's Lovelace. But at this point the porn biopic -- the one starring Amanda Seyfried as Deep Throat star Linda Lovelace, to feature a cameo by James Franco as Hugh Hefner -- feels like it's turning into a bizarrely distracting hit parade-sideshow of stars/names playing real life Lovelace acquaintances. (Further evidence, just announced over the wires: Eric Roberts as... lie detector test administrator Nat Laurendi! For reals.)
According to a press release, Moore, Roberts, and Adam Brody are the latest cast members to join Lovelace, with Moore's Steinem turn described by Variety's Jeff Sneider as just a cameo-length role. Brody, meanwhile, will play porn actor Harry Reems, who co-starred as the doctor diagnosing Lovelace's unusual condition in the 1972 XXX flick Deep Throat. Raise your hand if you're ready to see the guy from The O.C. with a porn 'stache. (*crickets...*)
The popularity of Deep Throat and its crazy, mob-financed backstory notwithstanding, Lovelace's life is rife with rough drama: Her entry into the porn business under the thumb of abusive husband Chuck Traynor (portrayed in Lovelace by the ultimate guy you can't trust in movies, Peter Sarsgaard), her later claims that he forced her into prostitution and unwilling sex acts under pain of violence, including in scenes of Deep Throat, and her eventual foray into the anti-porn movement with supporters like Steinem.
Based on Eric Danville's 2011 book The Complete Linda Lovelace, the film's supporting cast already includes Franco, Sharon Stone, Juno Temple, Wes Bentley, Bobby Canavale, Chris Noth, Robert Patrick, and Hank Azaria; it'd be a shame for Lovelace's compelling life story to be lost in a cast almost entirely comprised of actors unable to completely disappear into roles. I imagine Big and the T-1000 talking about porn over '70s shag carpeting. (Okay, okay: Noth plays Deep Throat backer Anthony Romano, while Patrick plays Lovelace's father.)
Anyway, I digress. Filming is currently underway on Lovelace, so here's to hoping the pic turns out to be as penetrating a biopic as it promises to be.
[Press release]