HOLLYWOOD Poor “Poor Things.”
This week’s arrest of troubled actress Lindsay Lohan in Santa Monica on DUI and cocaine possession charges has not only put the star’s career in jeopardy, it has likewise blindsided the production of a movie based on a real life, homegrown drama.
Lohan was set to play a supporting role in the dark comedy flick “Poor Things,” loosely based on the true story of Helen Golay, a Santa Monica landlord-turned murder suspect, who is currently awaiting trial in the L.A. County women’s jail in Lynwood. Rumors had been circulating, even before Lohan’s arrest Tuesday, that the production was in trouble. Now, speculation that the delayed production will be canceled altogether is gaining steam.
Lohan was set to start shooting “Poor Things,” also featuring Shirley MacLaine, when she entered rehab back in May. The film’s producers, who previously had supported Lohan, would not say Tuesday whether she would be part of the production.
Lohan is still set to appear in the film “Dare to Love Me,” which is to begin shooting this summer, said Michael Sands, a consultant for production company Bowline Entertainment.
“The producers have compassion and kindness for her, so for now she’s insured and still with the movie,” he said. “She hasn’t been convicted of any crimes.”
All Hollywood productions need insurance, and troublesome or troubled actors can often stand in the way of that requirement.
“I don’t see how she’s employable for the next 18 months,” said longtime publicist Michael Levine, who does not represent Lohan. “Who’s going to insure her?”
Lohan’s latest film, “I Know Who Killed Me,” is set to open Friday, but TriStar Pictures has subdued its marketing of the star.
Meanwhile, the fate of “Poor Things,” which was initially to have begun filming May 30, but postponed when Lohan was involved in a crash while allegedly driving under the influence, remains uncertain.
Last week, an item in the New York Post’s Page Six reported the film was canceled after Lohan’s wild child partying ways had scared companies out of financing the movie. Other news outlets have reported the Golay-inspired project was shelved due to unchecked spending.
Trent Haaga, who wrote the screenplay for “Poor Things,” said on Monday that he received a message from the producers that the item in Page Six was just gossip, and that pre-production was moving forward.
The film also stars Rosario Dawson and Olympia Dukakis in a dark comedy about so-called “Grandma Gangs” that murder men for financial gain.
The plot is based on the case of the 76-year-old Golay and 74-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt, of Hollywood, who face murder charges in the deaths of Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid, both of whom were killed in separate yet similar hit-and-run incidents in 1999 and 2005, respectively.
Investigators believe the two women befriended Vados and McDavid while they were still homeless, setting them up in free apartments and gaining their trust. The women allegedly convinced Vados and McDavid to sign them onto their life insurance policies before they met their demise.
Golay and Rutterschmidt are currently imprisoned in the county women’s prison in Lynwood and are awaiting a trial, tentatively scheduled to begin in early September.
“Poor Things” is being produced by Still Rolling Productions.
The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 26, 2007. Read the original PDF.