Sarah Jessica Parker Replaces Demi Moore in Lovelace; Set Pics Reveal James Franco as Hugh Hefner
Posted 01.30.12 by Ryan
Last week, Demi Moore had to drop out of the upcoming Lovelace, just three weeks after being cast as feminist author Gloria Steinem in the biopic, which follows the life and career of the late 1970's porn star Linda Lovelace. While Moore had yet to shoot any scenes for the movie, her sudden hospitalization was a surprise for the production, which has been shooting since the end of December.
Directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (Howl) were sent scrambling for a replacement for Moore, and EW reports, have settled on Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) to play the role instead. Parker will start shooting this week.
While Moore's replacement was being settled on, the production continued, shooting scenes with James Franco playing the 1970's version of Hugh Hefner. Franco previously worked with Epstein and Friedman on Howl, playing the late beat poet Allen Ginsberg. For Lovelace, Franco was sporting a velvet shirt and pipe for a party scene at the Playboy mansion where Lovelace (Amanda Seyfried) is visiting, likely after her infamous 1972 adult movie Deep Throat has already opened. Daily Mail has several set photos of Franco in his Hefner costume, one of which shows Franco, Seyfried, and (just behind them) Bobby Cannavale as coiffed Deep Throat financier Butchie Peraino. Chris Noth who plays Anthony Romano, Peraino's financing partner, was also on set.
Written by Andy Bellin (Trust), Lovelace documents the troubled life of the former starlet, who later denounced her porn career and revealed that she had been forced into adult movies by her abusive pornographer husband, Chuck Traynor, played by Peter Sarsgaard (Green Lantern). The cast also includes Seyfried's Big Love co-star Chloë Sevigny as a feminist journalist working for a men's magazine; Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct, Casino) and Robert Patrick (T2) as Lovelace's parents; Adam Brody as Lovelace's Deep Throat co-star Harry Reems; Debi Mazar (Entourage) as Dolly Sharp, another Deep Throat; Hank Azaria as Jerry Damiano, Deep Throat's director; Cory Hardrict (Battle: Los Angeles) as radio DJ Frankie Crocker; and Juno Temple as Lovelace's best friend.