There are a lot of similarities between the late Elizabeth Taylor, who passed away last year, and faded teen sensation Lindsay Lohan. Both got their start as child actresses before moving into more adult fare. Both had personal lives that proved fodder for the tabloids. Both had legs. Both had arms. Both…were…people. OK, we’re just about out.

In all fairness, Lohan started out her career with the utmost promise, proving to be a winning screen presence and a gifted comedienne, and had even started moving into more serious roles, like a part in Robert Altman‘s last film “A Prairie Home Companion.” But well-documented legal troubles and struggles with substance abuse problems have seen that talent flame out, with only one major film part, a sedated-looking appearance in Robert Rodriguez‘s “Machete,” in the last five years (Taylor, meanwhile, made “A Place in the Sun,” “Giant” and “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” in the equivalent five years of her career).

But ever in search of a comeback, and as part of her continuing fixation with stars of lore (she appeared in a Marilyn Monroe-inspired photoshoot for Playboy, as those files you deleted from your browser history will relate), Lohan is actively courting those comparisons, as Deadline reveal that the actress — if that word can accurately describe her anymore — is in negotiations to play Taylor in the Lifetime original movie “Elizabeth & Richard: A Love Story,” a film that will focus on the tempestuous romance between Taylor and her fifth/sixth husband, and co-star in “Cleopatra” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” the great Welsh actor Richard Burton.

The film, penned by Christopher Monger (HBO‘s Emmy-award winning “Temple Grandin“) is without a director at present, but it’s seemingly a key part of the company’s upcoming slate. However, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a publicity stunt; Lohan (who’s currently serving out a sentence of 400 hours of community service) is essentially uninsurable these days, and has dropped out of countless projects for one reason or another, to the extent that we suspect certain producers use her to put their films in the spotlights, without any intention of casting her.

We hope we’re wrong. Monger’s presence suggests that the film has a chance of being a cut above most Lifetime movies, and there’s certainly more than enough drama in the Burton/Taylor romance to make a pretty compelling watch. And more than anything else, we hope that Lohan has corrected her self-destructive path, and is ready to live up to her potential again, despite the wishes of the tabloid rubber-neckers. But honestly, we wouldn’t hold our breath.