Fifty Shades of Grey Information

Fifty Shades of Grey is an upcoming American romantic drama film directed by Sam Taylor-Wood and written by Kelly Marcel. It is based on the novel Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James.

Details of the cast have yet to be released.

Production

In early 2012, it was announced that there was professional interest in a film production of the Fifty Shades trilogy. Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Paramount, Universal Pictures, as well as Mark Wahlberg's production company all put in bids for the film rights, with Universal Pictures and Focus Features eventually securing the rights to the trilogy in March 2012. Author James sought to retain some control during the movie's creative process. The Social Network producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti signed on to produce the film, having been hand-picked by E. L. James, meaning that the finalized list of production companies ended up being Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Michael De Luca Productions, and the company jointly founded by Brunetti and Kevin Spacey, Trigger Street Productions, with Universal also acting as distributors. Although American Psycho writer Bret Easton Ellis publicly expressed his desire to write the screenplay for the film, Kelly Marcel, screenwriter of Saving Mr. Banks, was hired for the job. In February 2013, Universal chairman Adam Fogelson told The Hollywood Reporter about the release: "It's conceivable that we could be ready to release it as early as next summer."

Director

In June 2012, it was reported that Angelina Jolie was interested in directing the film and was currently in talks to direct the adaptation. In April 2013, it was reported that director Gus Van Sant had shot a scene with Alex Pettyfer as Christian Grey serving as a screen test for the studios. On May 9, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Joe Wright was also considered as director. However, a few days later Mike Fleming from Deadline.com reported that Wright's schedule would not allow him to work on the film. Other directors who had been mentioned for the job were Patty Jenkins, Bill Condon, and Bennett Miller. At one point, Steven Soderbergh was also considered. The search for a director was finally concluded in June 2013, when E. L. James announced that Sam Taylor-Wood would direct the film adaptation.

Casting

No official casting has been announced for the film and James herself has expressed that she felt that casting Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart would be "strange", "weird". Many actors and actresses such as Ian Somerhalder, Matt Bomer, and Alexis Bledel have been named as expressing an interest in acting in the film as Christian and Anastasia, while other actors such as Armie Hammer and Emma Watson have denied any involvement in the film. Katrina Bowden has expressed interest in playing the role of Anastasia's roommate, Kate Kavanagh. A recent Fifty Shades of Grey casting survey resulted in a near tie between Somerhalder and Bomer for the role of Christian Grey. Fans also voted Nina Dobrev as their top choice for Anastasia Steele, followed by Alexis Bledel, Anna Kendrick, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, and Kristen Stewart.

Filming

Filming has yet to take place.

Release

The film has a projected release date of August 1, 2014.