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Lindsay Lohan ‘not really happy’ to be in rehab, says ‘Inferno’ director

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When Matthew Wilder, the director of the Linda Lovelace biopic “Inferno,” cast Lindsay Lohan in the film’s leading role earlier this year, he had no idea what he was getting into.

“Did I have an idea it would take all these turns? No. I thought we were in the closing chapter of all this stuff,” Wilder said Friday, referring to the 24-year-old’s infamous antics, which have recently included drug relapses and brief jail and rehab stints.

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A Beverly Hills judge has now ordered the actress to remain at the Betty Ford Center until Jan. 3. She could have been sentenced again to jail for violating the terms of her probation in a 2007 drunk-driving case, but instead must now continue treatment at the Rancho Mirage-based rehab facility, which she voluntarily checked into in late September.

Wilder said he has been in constant contact with Lohan during her stay at Betty Ford.

“I know that she’s not really happy to be there. She says, ‘I’m not at a spa,’ ” the filmmaker said. “People say that place is pretty nice and it’s not a real rehab, that she needs a boot camp. But from the way she describes it, it doesn’t sound like incredible fun. I know that she says there’s a lot of free time there in between the stuff that they do.”

As for her state of mind, Wilder described Lohan as “very clear and cool, and not freaking out at all –- not flipping out. Like, very even.”

The two frequently discuss casting decisions for “Inferno,” he said, though no other actors have been officially decided upon yet. Production on the film has been moved from Louisiana to Los Angeles, and Wilder hopes to be able to shoot the film after Lohan is released from rehab in January. It should be completed, he hopes, by her next court date -- Feb. 25.

The director said Lohan has had plenty of time to rehearse for her role in “Inferno” over the last few months, and doesn’t worry about her mental clarity.

“The corollary to all of this is that when you have stuff like this going on, it makes you want to dive into work more, rather than wallowing in the bad,” he said. “People say to me, ‘Don’t you think it’s awful having someone do all this with all the turbulence in their life?’ And I think it’s better to really pull all of this stuff out of you, rather than doing some romantic comedy and having to be cute.”

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-- Amy Kaufman

Twitter.com/AmyKinLA

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