Lindsay Lohan To Play Liz Taylor?

Lindsay -- who will appear in court at 10 AM PT today for her probation progress hearing -- is in the final stages of negotiating the deal -- this according to sources very close to the actress/perpetual defendant. We're told the plan is to sign the deal early next week.

And we're told ... Lindsay is actually getting more scripts than she's received in years -- apparently producers have noticed she's finally showing some maturity.