Lohan confirmed to play Liz Taylor

LOS ANGELES, April 23 (UPI) -- A producer working on "Liz and Dick" has confirmed Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan will play screen icon Elizabeth Taylor in a Lifetime television movie.

Producer, Larry Thompson, told E! News Lohan's "perfect" for the part and the network had no qualms about hiring her, despite her recent legal and substance-abuse issues.

"We have wanted Lindsay from Day 1," Thompson said, in an announcement confirming what Lohan had announced in an interview with the "Today" show that aired Feb. 29.

"She had a lot in her life that was going on. We needed to give her time to take care of her business, and while we negotiated the deal for her we prayed for her -- and wonderfully she has behaved. She's cleared herself and we're ready to start this movie," the producer said. "We truly feel that Lindsay Lohan is perfect for Elizabeth Taylor for our movie … . I think Lindsay -- who is very gifted -- deserved another chance. We never, of three pages of 'what ifs' in the negotiation, there never was 'What if she can't act?' We know she can act."

"I have always admired and had enormous respect for Elizabeth Taylor," Lohan said in a statement reported by the Los Angeles Times. "She was not only an incredible actress but an amazing woman as well. I am very honored to have been asked to play this role."

Production on the movie is slated to begin June 4. It is to air in October, E! News said.

Lohan's film credits include "Mean Girls," "Freaky Friday" and "The Parent Trap."

Taylor died last year at age 79. She won two Academy Awards and was married eight times, including twice to Richard Burton. Her film credits include "National Velvet," "Father of the Bride," "A Place in the Sun," "Giant," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Suddenly, Last Summer," "BUtterfield 8," "Cleopatra" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"