A petition posed at Change.org has already garnered over 8,300 signatures in hope of getting the leads changed putting Matt Bomer and Alexis Bledel in line to play Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele.
What began as a posting on a fan-fiction website as a tribute to author Stephenie Meyer 's Twilight books soon became a word-of-mouth eBook hit that won a major reprint deal with Random House.
The sexually-explicit story follows 27-year-old billionaire Christian Grey and 22-year-old virgin college student Anastasia Steele, who develop a relationship steeped in bondage, S&M, domination and submission. The novel is the first in a planned trilogy. James has sold 31 million e-book and print copies in English-language markets worldwide, in the U.S. alone she has sold over 20 million copies in e-book and print.
The casting ended months of speculation about who might land the highly sought after roles.
Author James had final say on who will be cast in the film--The duo were said to be the frontrunners last month.
Ian Somerhalder, Bomer, Newcomer Erik Odom and Henry Cavill have also been linked to play Christian. Arrow star Stephen Amell had a meeting about the role.
There were rumors that Emma Watson was being eyed for Anastasia. Watson took to Twitter and asked "Who here actually thinks I would do 50 Shades of Grey as a movie? Like really. For real. In real life. Good. Well that’s that sorted then.” On the flip side Mila Kunis said that she would be open to playing Anastasia. Keira Knightley name was mentioned since she is often cast in films that Joe Wright directs.
Sam Taylor-Johnson, best known for directing the 2009 film Nowhere Boy and being married to actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson directs the film after a lengthy search.
Wright (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, Hanna, Anna Karenina) had been offered the gig but declined over scheduling issues. Wright was the favorite among the suits at Focus Features--the studio that won the screen rights to the book with Universal Pictures because so many of his movies focus on young female characters. He was among a short list of contenders that included Bennett Miller (Moneyball) Patty Jenkins (Monster) Bill Condon, and apparently even Steven Soderbergh.
You'll recall that director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) and actor Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike) recently shot test scene recounting when the ingenue Anastasia Steele loses her virginity to Grey in Van Sant's bid for the gig,
Kelly Marcel is writing the adapted screenplay. She previously worked on "Terra Nova" and penned the upcoming "Saving Mr. Banks"
"Moneyball" and "The Social Network" producers Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti won a bidding war to produce the film version of "Shades".
Now Brunetti has already responded to the backlash, saying "there is a lot that goes into casting that isn’t just looks. Talent, availability, their desire to do it, chemistry with other actor, etc. So if your favorite wasn't cast, then it is most likely due to something on that list. Keep that in mind while hating and keep perspective.”
As I said when all the fallout over Ben Affleck being cast to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Man of Steel Sequel hit a few weeks ago--I doubt anyone at the studio--or the author in this case--will fold under the pressure and cast another actor from the list or picked by the masses...
The film will be released on August 1, 2014 in the US
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