Taglines: The truth goes deeper than you think.
Linda Lovelace gets under the all-consuming influence of her abusive husband and self-declared manager, Chuck Traynor, who uses all means possible to persuade her to comply with his demands. The fragile woman becomes an infamous porn star, seems to be happy, but eventually breaks free from her husband and discloses the truth in order to prevent other women from getting similarly exploited.
From Academy Award winning directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (Howl, The Celluloid Closet) comes the true story of fame, abuse and betrayal set against the sexual revolution of the 1970s. Starring Amanda Seyfried and Golden Globe nominee Peter Sarsgaard, along with an all-star cast including Emmy Award winner Hank Azaria, Wes Bentley, Adam Brody, Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale, Academy Award nominee James Franco, Debi Mazar, Golden Globe nominee Chris Noth, Robert Patrick, Eric Roberts, Academy Award® nominee Sharon Stone, Academy Award nominee Chloe Sevigny and Juno Temple.
In 1972–before the internet, before the porn explosion–Deep Throat was a phenomenon: the first scripted pornographic theatrical feature film, featuring a story, some jokes, and an unknown and unlikely star, Linda Lovelace. Escaping a strict religious family, Linda discovered freedom and the high-life when she fell for and married charismatic hustler Chuck Traynor.
As Linda Lovelace she became an international sensation–less centerfold fantasy than a girl-next-door with an impressive capacity for fellatio. Fully inhabiting her new identity, Linda became an enthusiastic spokesperson for sexual freedom and uninhibited hedonism. Six years later she presented another, utterly contradictory, narrative to the world–and herself as the survivor of a far darker story.
Casting (2013)
In January 2011, pregnant Kate Hudson was offered the part of Linda Lovelace while James Franco was in talks to portray Lovelace’s husband Chuck Traynor. The production of the film was planned to begin after the birth of Hudson’s child and as of April 2011, the actress was still involved in the project. However, on November 1, 2011, Amanda Seyfried and Peter Sarsgaard were reported to be in discussions to play Lovelace and Traynor. Sharon Stone announced on November 16, 2011 that she would play Lovelace’s mother. In December 2011, Juno Temple and Wes Bentley were cast as Lovelace’s best friend and Larry Marchiano, her second husband.
In December 2011, Franco received the part of Hugh Hefner. Robert Patrick, Hank Azaria, Chris Noth, and Bobby Cannavale landed the respective roles of John Boreman (Lovelace’s father), Jerry Damiano, Anthony Romano and Butchie Peraino. On January 2, 2012, Adam Brody and Eric Roberts were cast as Harry Reems and Nat Laurendi, while Demi Moore agreed to a cameo appearance as Gloria Steinem. A few weeks later she dropped out of the film for personal issues and was replaced by Sarah Jessica Parker. However, Parker’s cameo was ultimately deleted. Cory Hardrict and Debi Mazar play Frankie Crocker and Dolly Sharp.
Chloë Sevigny plays a feminist journalist (2013)
To prepare for the role, Seyfried read Lovelace’s books and studied videos of her speaking. She also watched the film Deep Throat and underwent a New York accent training. Seyfried said of Lovelace: “She was such a different person than what we expect. It’s a good story to tell, and I’m really, really excited about it.” Brody prepared for the role of Reems by watching his interviews. He told that “the arrest and indictment of Reems on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute obscenity across state lines” are not shown in the film. He described as “brotherly” the relationship Reems shares with Deep Throat co-star Lovelace, explaining that “he was the antithesis of her husband [Traynor]“.
Filming (2013)
“We were doing a scene where I was supposed to be going down on Peter Sarsgaard. We used a popsicle, and I had my arms covering the popsicle. It was footage that he was going to show the Deep Throat guy, to get her into the movie, to get her cast. I was laughing hysterically throughout. I couldn’t stop laughing.”
The Hollywood Reporter reported on January 13, 2012 that filming had already begun in Los Angeles. A few days later, photographs of Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace on a film set were published. Scenes were shot in Glendale, California. Filming wrapped in February 2012.
During the filming, the cooperation between Seyfried and Sarsgaard went so well that she called him with hindsight “the best actor I’ve ever worked with”.
Lovelace (2013)
Directed by: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Juno Temple, Chloe Sevigny, Sarah Jessica Parker
Screenplay by: Andy Bellin
Production Design by: William Arnold
Cinematography by: Eric Alan Edwards
Film Editing by: Robert Dalva, Matt Landon
Costume Design by: Karyn Wagner
Set Decoration by: David Smith
Music by: Stephen Trask
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content, nudity, language, drug use and some domestic violence.
Studio: Radius TWC
Release Date: August 9, 2013
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