NEW YORK — A federal judge won't block the release of "Lovelace," the Linda Lovelace biopic that is slated for release tomorrow.
Producers of "Lovelace" were hit with a $10 million infringement suit on Tuesday by Arrow Productions, which owns the rights to Lovelace’s iconic “Deep Throat” movie, seeking a court order to hold up the release.
Arrow Productions sued TWC, Millennium, Eclectic Pictures and United Entertainment, claiming the new film uses more than five minutes of footage from the classic 1972 porn movie without a license or permission.
The suit, which continues at U.S. District Court in New York, also alleges that the title “Lovelace” has been used without license or permission.
“We are relieved that common sense prevailed,” Millennium Films President Mark Gill said in a statement. “The suit was completely unwarranted. We believe this case was an insult to the legal safeguards in place maintaining our right to freedom of speech. It was without merit on every level.
"Arrow Productions’ complaint was transparent about its desire to control discussion about 'Deep Throat'— a film they describe as a ‘watershed’ in American popular culture — and to hinder projects that would compete with theirs. The law does not support either of these motives.”
Amanda Seyfried plays Lovelace in the film, which documents the "Deep Throat" starlet's transformation from adult superstar to anti-porn activist.
Peter Sarsgaard plays Chuck Traynor, Lovelace’s husband; Adam Brody plays Harry Reems, Lovelace’s costar in "Deep Throat"; and James Franco stars as Hugh Hefner.
The film, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, also stars Sharon Stone as Seyfried’s mother and Hank Azaria as the director of "Deep Throat."
"Lovelace" premiered in January at Sundance Film Festival and was later picked up by an independent distributor.
The movie is set to debut tomorrow in theaters and on video-on-demand.
