Anna Faris, known for her roles in such lighthearted fare as the "Scary Movie" spoofs and the upcoming comedy "The House Bunny," has been spearheading an effort to make a biopic about industry legend and "Deep Throat" star Linda Lovelace, who helped move the adult industry closer to the mainstream before eventually speaking out against the business.
The movie is called "Inferno," and Faris is hoping it will help her make the leap from comedies to dramas.
“You’re not going to even know who I am,” said Faris, who has had small roles in the dramas "Lost in Translation" and "Brokeback Mountain." “I’m not there right now, but I will be when the time comes. I’ll be in a very dark place.”
Faris has been raising money for the project with colleague Matthew Wilder, a relatively inexperienced director who she wants to helm the movie. So far, they have no studio backing, which puts her in the same league as other filmmakers who have tried and failed to get a Lovelace biopic off the ground.
Longtime adult industry veteran Bill Margold only met Lovelace briefly, but he told XBIZ that he once met with Universal about a possible Lovelace movie that never happened. Margold said that a larger movie about the entire time period might be more interesting, though he added that "Deep Throat" has been receiving a surge of new interest.
The movie celebrated its 35th anniversary last year and was the subject of a well regarded 2005 documentary. Vivid's Paul Thomas is directing a remake of it with Sasha Grey in the lead role. Last year’s inaugural XFANZ Erotica Film Festival marked the 35th anniversary of the seminal movie's release as a part of its festivities.
"Everybody's jumping on the historical bandwagon," Margold said, adding that playwright David Bertolini will unveil his "Deep Throat"-based play "When Harry Met Linda" in Boston this September.
As for Faris' Hollywood movie, even though she doesn't have a studio yet, she told MTV's Movies Blog that she's secured Sam Rockwell to star opposite her. She didn't say who Rockwell would play in the movie, but it seems likely that he would play either Harry Reems or Eric Edwards, two porn stars of the era who worked with Lovelace.
Reems has retired from adult and currently works as a real estate agent in Utah. Edwards declined to be interviewed for this article.
Rockwell, if he has indeed been cast, might also play Chuck Traynor, Lovelace's one-time husband and manager. Faris had been holding casting calls for the role near the end of 2007.
But in any case, Faris says she's taking the role and the project very seriously, given the grim trajectory of Lovelace's life.
"It's a pretty tragic story," Faris said. "It's going to be a challenge, definitely."
