We’ve talked about being excited every time we hear that a successful novel/novel trilogy/novel series has been picked up and will be turned into movie/series e.g. “The Fault in Our Stars“, “The Hunger Games“, “Games of Thrones“, etc.
For “Fifty Shades of Grey”, the erotic romance novel by British author E.L. James, we couldn’t be more anxious. Nevermind that it has been labelled “mommy porn”, the prospect of being able to see how director Sam Taylor-Johnson intends to turn it into something watchable minus the overload of explicit scenes aka “raunchfest” (bondage, discipline, dominance, submissions, BDSM) should prove to be interesting.
With a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, Patrick Marber, and Mark Bomback, “Fifty Shades of Grey” initially cast Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson in the leading roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele respectively. However, a month after the announcement, Charlie Hunnam pulled out of the project and was quickly replaced by Jamie Dornan.
The full confirmed cast is as follows:
- Dakota Johnson as Anastasia “Ana” Steele
- Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey
- Eloise Mumford as Katherine “Kate” Kavanagh
- Luke Grimes as Elliot Grey
- Rita Ora as Mia Grey
- Victor Rasuk as José Rodriguez
- Max Martini as Jason Taylor
- Dylan Neal as Bob Adams
- Callum Keith Rennie as Raymond “Ray” Steele
- Jennifer Ehle as Carla Wilks
- Marcia Gay Harden as Grace Trevelyan Grey
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson as TBA
- Andrew Airlie as Carrick Grey
- Anthony Konechny as Paul Clayton
- Emily Fonda as Martina
How’s the production of “Fifty Shades of Grey” coming along, you ask? Eloise Mumford (who plays Katherine Kavanagh) said that director Sam Taylor-Johnson is handling everything just right:
She’s such a great director. I knew right away it would be tasteful and artistic. And the cinematographer is Seamus McGarvey. He did Anna Karenina. It’s going to be beautiful. In the end, the story really is a romance and a love story so it’s about that more than anything. I wish I could (give more details) but as you know, we’ve all been sworn to secrecy.
Don Johnson, on the other hand, who is the father of 24-year-old Dakota Johnson (who plays Anastasia Steele), has expressed his support for his daughter’s biggest role yet:
It will be a blip on her career because she’s going to be a significant actress for many years to come. This is what we do, and I am absolutely certain that Dakota will take a piece of material and a character which a lot of people might imagine could be inappropriate in some ways and turn it into something spectacular. Speaking like a proud father and a seasoned professional, I can tell you that she is a gifted, gifted actress, and this will just be one part in a long line of tremendous performances in her career.
However, in the same breath, he also said that he hasn’t picked up a copy of “Fifty Shades of Grey” because “he wouldn’t read that”.
In addition to not wanting to read the book, he also has no desire whatsoever to see the film. “It’s not something that I would go to anyway. I probably will not see it just because it’s not a movie I would see. I’ve never seen ‘The Vampire Diaries.’ I’ve never seen ‘Twilight.’ It’s in a category of films that I just wouldn’t be interested in”, he said.
Whoops? Meanwhile, “Fifty Shades of Grey” is slated for a Valentine’s Day 2015 release. Apt date much?
For more information, visit the film’s official website. “Fifty Shades of Grey” film is also on Twitter to follow them for more timely updates!
