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 (Dakota Johnson TV's Ben and Kate and The Social Network"), 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.
A statement from the studio reads:
"The filmmakers of Fifty Shades of Grey and Charlie Hunnam have agreed to find another male lead given Hunnam’s immersive TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey."
Sources tell THR that the actor was overwhelmed with the attention he received from the movie and got cold feet.
And so the hunt to find Christian Grey is back on.
The news of the lead casting led to a strong fan backlash, Several actors were sought for the film and passed. Ryan Gosling, Garrett Hedlund and Christian Cooke were all up for Christian Grey, while Shailene Woodley, Felicity Jones, Alicia Vikander, Imogen Poots and Elizabeth Olsen were all under consideration for Anastasia. All passed due to lack of interest, scheduling conflicts and/or other reasons.
Ian Somerhalder, Matt Bomer, Newcomer Erik Odom and Henry Cavill have also been linked to play Christian. Arrow star Stephen Amell had a meeting about the role.
You'll recall that director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) and actor Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike) shot test scene recounting when the ingenue Anastasia Steele loses her virginity to Grey in Van Sant's bid for the gig,
Jennifer Ehle will play Carla the mother of female lead Anastasia.
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.
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"
Cameras were scheduled to roll on the film adaptation at North Shore Studios in Vancouver on November 5th. The film was to be released on August 1, 2014 in the US. It's not known whether Hunnam's departure will lead to a delay.
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