A Drowning Woman Takes Down Those Nearest
Monday, April 23, 2012 at 4:37PM 
JA from MNPP here. Well it's official! As rumored slash threatened, Lindsay Lohsan will be playing Elizabeth Taylor in a Lifetime channel bio-pic centering on Liz's back-and-forth paparazzi-bait romance with Sir Richard Burton. I thought maybe this would go the way of Linds playing Lovelace and end up no more than hot air, but it appears it's for real, and she's maybe cleaned her act up enough...?
I'm forced by the sheer weight of the past several years sordid history to end that sentence with a question mark. Nevermind if this is even a good idea or not - skepticism regarding any project involving LL has become too deeply ingrained in me. Until this thing's actually on my TV screen, I will doubt.
What say y'all? Is it too soon after losing the legend to even contemplate this? Does Lindsay have what she needs to nail this... or to even walk away unscathed? Is it a gutsy move on her part or just a symptom of derangement? And who would you cast as Dick? So many question marks.
Lindsay Lohan, Liz Taylor, biopics
Reader Comments (15)
I keep hoping she'll find the role to return her to the spotlight in a graceful way. Every time I see Mean Girls, I wonder what happened. No idea if she can pull this off, but it's gotten to the point that her disasters aren't funny anymore. She has been a pretty decent actress in the past, and she had the looks before she shot them to hell, so...
I will say the look seems wrong, but it's also worth pointing out that pre-Woolf, Taylor was a beauty/leading lady more than she was really known for honing her craft. Playing the pretty girl while her life falls to pieces? Yeah, Lohan has some experience there.
Nothing's sacred. The best way to deal with it is to blunt your feelings. Also you can ignore this train wreck. I suspect no actress you respect will be in it?
Sorry - with the thought of Kate Winslet doing Elizabeth Taylor this seems like a travesty. I just can't imagine this movie on Lifetime will be anything but schlock. I just hope this crap doesn't keep something of real value being made someday soon. Sure - there is a good actress somewhere inside LL - but casting her in this role now just tarnishes ET, harkening back to when everyone considered her a slut. OK - maybe since this film is about this first Burton time in ET's life this casting makes some sense but still - I just hate LL's tawdry reputation being associated with the marvelous and amazing Elizabeth Taylor.
She's still nightclubbing and acting like a nutcase, so I would say it's only a matter of time (maybe a year?) before she's back in court room again. Nevertheless, it's impressive how well she has been able to sustain her fame on the strength of a few roles she was good in (not great) for the past 10 years. I thought she showed promise to be something in Prairie Home and Georgia Rule, but she seems to be unable to not sabotage herself. My theory is she just works to remain famous and get the perks. This role should keep her going for another five years because it's bound to be ridiculous and memorable.
At this point, with how much she has destroyed her looks through drugs and plastic surgery, can she really compete with her new peers: Emma Stone, Elizabeth Olsen, Jennifer Lawrence, Rooney Mara, Carey Mulligan, etc...? She's way, way too far down even the longest list.
Billybil -- agreed. At least Liz's messy personal life had style and Liz's own amazing sense of humor both about stardom and about herself; she understood her own issues and her own place in the world, onscreen and off.
Sometimes I force myself to compare my own reactions to the way I thought about Robert Downey Jr and the way I think about Lindsay Lohan. I really stayed a fan of RD and wished for his recovery, but with Lohan I tend to write her off more quickly. Maybe I react differently to a socially deviant female than to a man who acts in a similar way? I hope that's not the case, but it's possible. My point, I guess, is that I am forcing myself to think positively about LL. It's tough, though. I have some experience with addiction, and the truth is, nothing matters until you come clean. To me, that's the thing. She's got a disease and it's still terminal, no matter what contracts for movies she signs. I wish her well, but I think, like Downey, it might take until she's in her late 30s before she succeeds at recovery...I hope she lives that long.
She's a mess. She had so much talent and she just wasted it away. What she did to her body is also ridiculous.
I remember being so pumped and hopeful for a recovery that when I heard she was coming back, I was skeptical but happy. She was on SNL...her opening monologue was good, but she was nothing special in any of the skits and one of them was even awful (the prison one, where she played...herself). Still, I suppose I have hope since she seems to be more focused, is doing projects, and even dyed her hair back to the color it should be.
But...I just have so much trouble believing her. Especially when in an interview, Matt Lauer asked how long she's been sober and she responded with "It's been...a while. It's been a long time." Girl, what? That's not the type of thing you don't remember. It was super fishy and made me sad.
Yeah, but I mean...I don't want to get into a whole thread-hijack on the subject of addiction, but to me, that's what drug addicts do. The addiction is like HAL 9000: it places the perpetuation of itself above all else. I say this from my own experience. So, when people say some version of, "She's a mess and I don't trust her," I think, "Yeah, but that's true for all addicts." If she truly gets clean and sober and lives her life around that, I would like to think she could be an effective, maybe even inspiring, actress. I think she's at least 10 years off from that, but then again, I only am speculating from things I've experienced. Who knows if that's applicable to her?
I'm a huge Elizabeth Taylor fan, and I just have to wonder, WHY? (Aside from the obvious - ratings and attention - of course.) At least Sherilyn Fenn, who played Liz in a tv biopic in the '90s, resembled her. Has anyone ever compared Lohan to Liz before now?
She'll probably just get fired from the project regardless, so whatever.
I wonder what January Jones would look like in a black wig... mmm...
I think this is a great idea. When LL is on she is on, and I think a talented actress. I've always thought they looked kind of similar. Their lifestyles also are similar as they both were child stars.
Kinda looks like her in this pic:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/2006-11/17/xin_011103171036371504310.jpg
I think if she focuses it will be cool. Also will be cool to see her in Cleopatra makeup as I heard it takes place partially on that set.
I find it hilarious the first image releases is one where we can't really see her face. Her horribly mangled face.
Lindsay just looks too SMALL for the role. But, then, I thought that about Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe too and that turned out well for her.
I just can't imagine this movie on Lifetime will be anything but schlock. I just hope this crap doesn't keep something of real value being made someday soon. Sure - there is a good actress somewhere inside LL - but casting her in this role now just tarnishes ET, harkening back to when everyone considered her a slut. OK - maybe since this film is about this first Burton time in ET's life this casting makes some sense but still - I just hate LL's tawdry reputation being associated with the marvelous and amazing Elizabeth Taylor.
//At least Liz's messy personal life had style and Liz's own amazing sense of humor both about stardom and about herself//
@Nathaniel - that was exactly what I was thinking last night after reading this post! That sense of style and humor is something that's really missing nowadays - then again, it was probably somewhat rare even then? That's part of what made La Liz an icon, isn't it, perhaps even more than the movie roles themselves?
Get it Lindsy! everybody here is saying how she has potential, here is something where she could use it, and people complain. the thing that worries me is it's lifetime.