"Lovelace" Opens Big, Weinstein Drops Load (of Cash)

Well, I'm back after my third bout with the flu since November of last year and the slight cramp put in my style with Hurricane Sandy, so let's catch up on things:

And the Winner of The Complete Linda Lovelace Interview LP Naming Contest Is . . . 
No one. The entries we received were interesting, but none of them really got to the heart of the matter in concept or execution, so I'll be naming the record myself. My heartfelt thanks go out to all who played along. As they say, "There are no losers, just people who didn't win."

Some Final Thoughts on Lovelace
As mentioned here previously, Lovelace is no longer based on my book The Complete Linda Lovelace; that association went the way of all good things when any one—or some combination of all—of the following occurred (according to various conversations at various times between various producers and myself):

*At some point when James Franco was attached, he required that the original script, written by Emmy award-winning screenwriter Merritt Johnson, be rewritten. The original script was indeed faithfully based on my book and followed Linda from her beginnings to her association with me, told through interviews with Tom Snyder, Phil Donahue and myself.

*At some point, one of the financiers of the film required that the original script be rewritten.

*At some point, Linda's estate lawyered up with Catharine A. MacKinnon, Linda's confidante and advisor in the ’80s—Linda once confided that Kitty was less than thrilled with her association with me—who required that the original script be rewritten. A review below cites the film as being written "by Andy Bellin, inspired by the life story of Linda Marchiano and Catherine A. MacKinnon," which should tell you which version of Linda's story you'll be getting.

Regardless of who did what when to whom why, it's plain to see that the film doesn't exactly tell the "complete" story of Linda Lovelace, but one filtered through a prism of artistic ambition, financial pragmatism and feminist polemicism. That being said, my emotional attachment to this project is long gone, although I will take some credit for being a main driving factor in (finally) bringing the story of Linda Lovelace to the big screen.

And so to Linda's estate and Catherine A. MacKinnon, "You're welcome."

While the film was ultimately therefore not "Based on the book The Complete Linda Lovelace by Eric Danville" (and believe me, it's not!) the producers were willing to let me keep that credit as thanks for getting the proverbial ball rolling. Until their E&O laywer advised them against that. (E&O stands for Errors and Ommissions; making that lawyer the person whose job it was to make sure that all the I's were crossed and the T's were dotted, which they certainly did, as far as I'm concerned.) I was, however, given the title "Consultant," for which I pulled in a very polite sum of money for a few discussions about Linda and the unfettered use of my book for whatever anyone could pull from it, for which I am eternally grateful to all the producers and film companies involved.

On a final note, I haven't seen the film.

So as filmmaker Marty DeBergi would say,"Enough of my yakkin'!" (or as Gary Gilmore once famously said, "Let's do it").
 
Lovelace, starring Amanda Seyfried and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, had its official opening at the Sundance Film Festival last night, and, as they say, "The reviews are in!" Here's a sampling of the flick and what people are saying:

First, let's see what might have been: 

Now, have a look at a short clip from the film, wherein Linda Lovelace (Amanda Seyfried) is posing for a pretty picture. 

From our friends at AdultFYI.com: 

Porn history 101: Harry Reems on Linda Lovelace; The People Making the Movie Never Talked to Him 

Adult Video News coverage, with a nice mention of yours truly: 

With Lovelace at Sundance, Co-Star Harry Reems Speaks 

From Hitflix: 

Sundance Review: Lovelace doesn't go deep enough despite Amanda Seyfried's efforts 

From ScreenDaily:

Lovelace 

From Indiewire:
Lovelace

And finally, from Inside Movies by Owen Gleiberman, the only film critic about whose opinion I give a shit:

Sundance: 'Lovelace' is a porn biopic that gets under your skin, with a revelatory performance by Amanda Seyfriend as Linda Lovelace 

This just in from The Wrap: 
Sundance 2013: RADiUS-TWC Falls for Amanda Seyfried as "Lovelace" 

To recap: 

Lovelace. . . Not based on my book, but apparently kinda okay, while Amanda Seyfried is very good. 

My book. . . The story Hollywood and several other people don't want you to read. 

You. . . Able to read that story when the reissue of The Complete Linda Lovelace is available in a coupla weeks.