A planned biopic of former porn star Linda Lovelace is moving forward, with the news that Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have been hired to direct the movie. The duo, who’s first fiction feature, Howl (about poet Allen Ginsberg), is due to premiere at Sundance, are best known for known for documentaries such as The Celluloid Closet and their Oscar winning Common Thread: Stories From The Quilt.
Lovelace is a fascinating figure far beyond the titilation of being the star of one of the best known porn films in history – Deep Throat. Initially appearing in hardcore (and even bestiality) movies, at first Lovelace seemed to revel in her status. However during her divorce from Chuck Traynor in the late 70s, she claimed that he was violent and had forced her into pornography at gunpoint (with some evidence to back her up).
She said that her marriage was plagued with beatings and rape, and that when she appeared in porn, it was basically enforced prostitution. While there has been some disagreements as to the extent Lovelace was a willing participant in her porn career (her assertions that everything was coerced have been questioned by many who were there at the time), there seems little doubt that her marriage to Traynor was viscious and cruel.
She then became an anti-pornography champion, speaking at public events and testifying at government hearings on pornography. However she later said she felt used by the anti-pornography movement, which got a lot mileage out of having Lovelace as a convert, but which never helped her out.
She died in a car accident in 2002.
There’s certainly plenty of material for a fascinating film. The movie, simply titled Lovelace, is being scripted by W. Merritt Johnson, based on Eric Danville’s biography, The Complete Linda Lovelace. The story will be told through the perspective of three interviewers at various stages of her life, so they can capture how she altered over the years.
The film should start shooting later this year, although as yet nobody’s been announced for the lead role.