Fifty Shades of Grey

[Deleted]

So apparently E.L. James wants more control of the sequel including writing the screenplay herself. The director is most likely not coming back and the screenwriter for this movie hated the experience so much she wouldn't do any press for the movie. Considering the faint praise for this movie was that it was better than the book it sounds like the second one is going to be the disaster most people were expecting from this one.

I can't believe the studio gave her that much power. Sucks for the actors since they came out of the first movie relatively unscathed. And now they can't take any other roles until the sequel shooting date is set which has already been delayed because of this mess.

[Neurochick]

Feb 20, 2015 8:42:09 GMT -4 @bronze said:

So apparently E.L. James wants more control of the sequel including writing the screenplay herself. The director is most likely not coming back and the screenwriter for this movie hated the experience so much she wouldn't do any press for the movie. Considering the faint praise for this movie was that it was better than the book it sounds like the second one is going to be the disaster most people were expecting from this one.

I can't believe the studio gave her that much power. Sucks for the actors since they came out of the first movie relatively unscathed. And now they can't take any other roles until the sequel shooting date is set which has already been delayed because of this mess.

If I were EL James (not her real name BTW), I'd say, "whatever folks, just do a good job and keep the checks coming." And then I'd laugh all the way to the bank because I knew that I got over on everybody.

[gremlin45]

Feb 20, 2015 9:30:09 GMT -4 Neurochick said:

Feb 20, 2015 8:42:09 GMT -4 @bronze said:

So apparently E.L. James wants more control of the sequel including writing the screenplay herself. The director is most likely not coming back and the screenwriter for this movie hated the experience so much she wouldn't do any press for the movie. Considering the faint praise for this movie was that it was better than the book it sounds like the second one is going to be the disaster most people were expecting from this one.

I can't believe the studio gave her that much power. Sucks for the actors since they came out of the first movie relatively unscathed. And now they can't take any other roles until the sequel shooting date is set which has already been delayed because of this mess.

If I were EL James (not her real name BTW), I'd say, "whatever folks, just do a good job and keep the checks coming." And then I'd laugh all the way to the bank because I knew that I got over on everybody.

I think she wants to prove to everyone what an awesome writer she really is.

Good luck with that one, EL.

[Hamatron]

Well, if she was hoping to parlay this into more film work she is screwed. If you have a reputation for being difficult and people are refusing to work with you, it can kill your career (especially if you are a woman).

Not that she shouldn't speak her mind or ruffle feathers, but her book is shit. And what does she think she knows about movies?

Which makes me think of other authors who have had some control over their book's adaptation and those who have not. Steven King used to bitch all the time about directors misinterpreting his work, but when he gets more control over things, it never ends well. He doesn't seem to get that you can't make a literal translation of a book. Things need to get cut or adjusted.

Meanwhile, George RR Martin gets that from book to TV things will change, and seems to be having a blast seeing his stuff on screen. He's even written a few episodes. In the commentaries, he obviously gets that his scripts and the stories in his books might need to shift or be cut or be omitted for the sake of the show.

Other than script changes and casting, what did EL James have control over? She can't write... yet she wants to write the script. I guess it comes down to how bad does the studio want to make a trilogy. Honestly? I wonder if they will walk. I don't see a quality director being down for James controlling their creative choices.

[Beeelicious]

I saw the movie, reluctanctly, and the screenwriter was obviously a better writer than EL James. The book was absolute garbage, and while the screenplay wasn't anything to write home about, it was definitely better. I hope that everyone can get out of the sequel contracts, they cast unknowns, and it all goes straight to DVD.

[Sunnyhorse]

I know we've got a few folks here who are conversant with how Hollywood works -- would Johnson and Dornan's contracts include any wording that would allow them to walk away under certain circumstances?

[scarlet]

Forget Kanye, old Icy thinks she's a creative genius. I wonder if arguments like this are going on right now:

Icy: "FSoG has a 25% critical rating so clearly there's room for improvement."
Universal: "But the critics all agreed that even though it sucked, it sucked less than your books."
Icy: "Who cares about critics! My fans want a movie that's true to the book. Their inner goddesses need to be satisfied and I'm the person to do it."
Universal: link

[Deleted]

I read through the summary of the plot of the second book on Wiki, and I can't imagine how the movie version could be viewed as a romance worthy of a Valentine date. It's a lot "darker" than the first.

Three days since leaving Christian, Anastasia "Ana" Steele has begun her job at Seattle Independent Publishing (SIP), where she has been hired as personal assistant to editor Jack Hyde. Ana gets an uneasy feeling about him as he continually asks her out, but writes it off. Christian emails her to see if she needs a ride to her friend Jose Rodriguez's gallery exhibit in Portland, which she had forgotten about until Christian emailed her. The pair attend the show together and reconcile their relationship by making out in an alley and visiting a restaurant together. Christian buys José's portraits of Ana for selfish reasons, one of which is to prevent random people from buying them and displaying them in their homes, and the second is for his own amusement.
Christian reveals to Ana that he has bought SIP, but the deal must stay secret for another month. Ana is furious that Christian is interfering in her career, especially after he freezes the company's accounts so that she cannot go on an overnight business trip to New York with Jack. Christian insists that it was for her own protection, because Jack is a "known philanderer", as he apparently harassed his last five assistants. Their suspicions about Jack prove correct when he corners Ana after hours and blackmails her, demanding sexual favors. Ana's self-defense training allows her to escape. Christian has Jack fired and confiscates his work computer.
While attending a masquerade ball at Dr. and Mr. Grey's residence, Ana meets Elena Lincoln (whom Ana nicknames Mrs. Robinson) for the first time and finds out that Elena and Christian own a salon business together. Later, Ana is auctioned off and Christian bids $100,000 for the first dance with her. Ana is disgusted that Christian continues to be friends with the woman who seduced him when he was only 15 years old. When Mrs. Robinson realizes that Christian sees Ana as a girlfriend and not a submissive she becomes antagonistic towards Ana, trying to sow discord in the budding relationship.

*record scratch* WHAT?! Christian constantly steps into Ana's life without her permission and proceeds to take over every aspect of it. He is dominating her in every way and she is being submissive in every way. Except it's not in the context of a BDSM relationship, it's in the context of a Discovery ID show.

[Deleted]

Yeah, the second book was when I was all, check please. Not that the first was stellar but I did want to see how it ended. By the second book, I no longer cared.

[Wol]

Feb 20, 2015 13:21:29 GMT -4 Sunnyhorse said:

I know we've got a few folks here who are conversant with how Hollywood works -- would Johnson and Dornan's contracts include any wording that would allow them to walk away under certain circumstances?

Certain circumstances like force majeure possibly. Everyone gets all excited about a sequel when a film is successful out of the gate, but who knows if 2 or 3 will ever really get made? There was a lot of talk about the two sequels in the Dragon Tattoo series also, and those books and the film were much better received critically. So there's a lot of variables. If Sam Johnson doesn't come back, and a new director with clout comes in who wants new leads, we could see new actors. They might - and this is rare - have their sequel contracts tied to Sam Johnson so if she doesn't come back maybe no one does. And if they just say "f*ck it" and refuse to return, the studio can sue them but that's money and time when they are probably replaceable. Time will also tell if the fans go all Kristen/Bella and Robert/Edward or if the property can stand alone without that rabid attachment to the actors.

If we're hearing there was tension during production, I guarantee you it was 1000x worse IRL. When that stuff leaks it's usually just the tip of the iceberg. As for EL writing the sequels, IIRC she has worked in television so she's not unfamiliar with scripts. She's unfamiliar with good writing ability, but that's never stopped a screenwriter before.