Jamie Dornan

[Ladybug]

I read on Lainey that his wife is due to have a baby soon, so it may be "family issues." His wife is the woman Colin Farrell was married to for a few months way back when.

[scarlett210]

I'm sure Universal isn't taking any chances this time. They've announced it because they know they have him locked in and are going to make sure he agrees to all the terms. Frankly, it's not a mystery what this film is going to be about, what the actors are going to be required to do and how insane the fanbase is to deal with. Any actor knows exactly what he's getting and Universal has probably made sure Jamie is there to stay. And frankly, Jamie Dornan is a complete nobody and needs 50 Shades way more than Charlie Humman did. It's a smart strategy. The Twilight actors were equally unknowns and so were willing to sign on for something just as inexplicably stupid to get their career off the ground.

[Augustus]

I'll repeat the same words I used when Hunnam was first announced: good luck to him. And I agree, he is really good in The Fall. He got the disturbing creepy vibe down pat in that, all the while being the appealing parent. I just wish they would drop this whole idea of making this into a movie.

[Deleted]

Oct 24, 2013 12:23:10 GMT -4 Freelance Exorcist said:

They're just not going to quit with the Fifty Shades, are they? The movie is supposed to be released in late 2014 and the Fifty Shades craze is cooling off.

It is? I thought all the fuss about the casting showed that there's still a lot of interest. Charlie Hunnan's thread here was mostly about the book/movie and I bet it never sees so much action again.

I really don't get it myself and why there's such a dramatic "Oh noes!" reaction to each dude being cast (no one seems to care about the young woman). Even if this movie is going to be shit, it's not like Hollywood doesn't put out shit movies every year. Would there be such a reaction if he was cast in a Michael Bay film or something? Because that would most likely be utter crap (the Transformers movies have a lower Rotten Tomatoes score than the a Twilight films) and yet still make millions. So what's the big deal about this movie? Because it's gonna have a lot of sex? Because its fans are crazy fangirls, which is somehow much worse than obsessed fanboys?

I don't even get why people who hate the book/movie even care so much about who's in it. I can only conclude this film's going to make a mint, because the people who love it will see it and the people who hate it can't seem to ignore it, so I doubt they'll be able to keep away, either.

[Atreides]

If Fifty Shades implodes a la Showgirls, Dornan can just return to the UK and continue to act there. He's a nobody in the US so he has nowhere to go but up.

David Morrissey was cast in similar circumstances for Basic Instinct 2. I remember them going through endless actors to play the male lead opposite Sharon Stone. They picked him, the movie turned out to be a massive dud, and David just kept quietly working. Now he's the Governor on The Walking Dead. Now I realize Basic Instinct 2 doesn't have 1/100th the hype of Fifty Shades but there are parallels.

[Hamatron]

Oct 24, 2013 17:53:41 GMT -4 @ronette said:

Oct 24, 2013 12:23:10 GMT -4 Freelance Exorcist said:

They're just not going to quit with the Fifty Shades, are they? The movie is supposed to be released in late 2014 and the Fifty Shades craze is cooling off.

It is? I thought all the fuss about the casting showed that there's still a lot of interest. Charlie Hunnan's thread here was mostly about the book/movie and I bet it never sees so much action again.

I really don't get it myself and why there's such a dramatic "Oh noes!" reaction to each dude being cast (no one seems to care about the young woman). Even if this movie is going to be shit, it's not like Hollywood doesn't put out shit movies every year. Would there be such a reaction if he was cast in a Michael Bay film or something? Because that would most likely be utter crap (the Transformers movies have a lower Rotten Tomatoes score than the a Twilight films) and yet still make millions. So what's the big deal about this movie? Because it's gonna have a lot of sex? Because its fans are crazy fangirls, which is somehow much worse than obsessed fanboys?

I don't even get why people who hate the book/movie even care so much about who's in it. I can only conclude this film's going to make a mint, because the people who love it will see it and the people who hate it can't seem to ignore it, so I doubt they'll be able to keep away, either.

Because it's fun? We already know the plot and how crappy it is, so it's fun to laugh at casting news. It's sort of like when people freak out about Batman castings (and wow, the internet was freaking out over the recent Batman casting news) or anything a well-known book is made into a movie (like the Great Gatsby).

People hate the book... There are a lot of reasons to be upset about the movie's potential existence. It's a really poorly written book. It has a lot of misogyny/abuse in it. It frames an abusive relationship as representative of BDSM, and something that needs to be cured. There's a lot to not like about 50 Shades. It's not even the sex that is incendiary. It's the way that the sex is presented and framed.

[thneed]

I really don't get it myself and why there's such a dramatic "Oh noes!" reaction to each dude being cast (no one seems to care about the young woman).

Yup. My theory is people get protective of the guys their fans of, especially if they're not mainstream-famous, or not American. It's more fun to like someone if he isn't known to the kind of people who like Kim Kardashian. When a celebrity crush, or fan-object, goes mainstream the way Colin Firth did, it exposes their flaws and makes him less desireable. I don't think people like woman actors in the same way, or if they did, it won't extend to the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, no matter how cool Ben and Kate was.

Honestly I bet he was thrilled to get the role. He's a struggling actor who works steadily in the UK. That doesn't pay much. This will be a giant step up for him financially and will put him in the rarefied Hollywood A-list at least, for awhile. And even if the movie is a Gigli-flop, that will be blamed on the material, not the actors. Worst-case scenario, he makes great connections and comes to the notice of casting people. And if he finds he really prefers doing tiny arthouse stuff, well, that's always open to him. Look at any of the Twilight people. Are any of them worse off than before? Even Robert Pattinson, who nmever misses a chance in interviews to go on and on about how he's really a scruffy rock musician and he doesn't care about fame and blah blah blah. And he's better off.

I'm trying to think of any actor with a solid critical reputation whose career was ruined by taking one bad role, no matter how powerful. Elizabeth Berkeley, as mentioned, but she was only known as a tweener TV star. Ben Affleck had to do a whole string of terrible movies before his image took a hit. I can't think of a single person. Especially not a man, and in general people are predisposed to think that all actors from outside the US are all Olivier to begin with.

[Mutagen]

Oct 24, 2013 20:01:40 GMT -4 Hamatron said:

People hate the book... There are a lot of reasons to be upset about the movie's potential existence. It's a really poorly written book. It has a lot of misogyny/abuse in it. It frames an abusive relationship as representative of BDSM, and something that needs to be cured.

Yeah, exactly.  Not every criticism of 50 Shades can be categorized as "lol girl stuff."  Women are allowed to have problems with a woman-geared book that presents abuse of a female character as romantic. 

Plus, I think we are allowed to think the writing just flat sucks.  At least with a film we'll be spared the godawful prose.

[Freelance Exorcist]

Don't know why my comment got singled out, but okay.

It is? I thought all the fuss about the casting showed that there's still a lot of interest.

Yeah, they're talking about the casting, but what will happen when people lose interest in that? A lot can happen between now and next year, like another fad coming along and stealing 50 Shades' thunder.

I really don't get it myself and why there's such a dramatic "Oh noes!" reaction to each dude being cast (no one seems to care about the young woman).

No one cares about the "young woman" because not many people heard of her before this. She's kind of a non-entity. If the situations were reversed and a better known actress was cast as Ana and Joe Schmoe from Kokomo was playing Christian, the debate would be about her instead.

Even if this movie is going to be shit, it's not like Hollywood doesn't put out shit movies every year. Would there be such a reaction if he was cast in a Michael Bay film or something? Because that would most likely be utter crap (the Transformers movies have a lower Rotten Tomatoes score than the a Twilight films) and yet still make millions. So what's the big deal about this movie?

Could you clarify? Because it sounds like you're saying that because there are other movies out there that suck but make lots of money, that people should just shut up about this one. That's not cool.

Because it's gonna have a lot of sex? Because its fans are crazy fangirls, which is somehow much worse than obsessed fanboys?

Who is even comparing fangirls to fanboys? I'm sure that when there are stories going around about fanboys sending death threats to an actor simply for being cast in a film, they get their fair share of criticism as well.

I don't even get why people who hate the book/movie even care so much about who's in it.

Because it's something to talk about when we're bored. Because it's an interesting subject to discuss. Because of the train wreck factor. Because why the hell not?

I can only conclude this film's going to make a mint, because the people who love it will see it and the people who hate it can't seem to ignore it, so I doubt they'll be able to keep away, either.

Well I don't know about anyone else, but I'll definitely be staying away. Sorry.

[Hamatron]

Oct 24, 2013 20:14:09 GMT -4 thneed said:

I really don't get it myself and why there's such a dramatic "Oh noes!" reaction to each dude being cast (no one seems to care about the young woman).

Yup. My theory is people get protective of the guys their fans of, especially if they're not mainstream-famous, or not American. It's more fun to like someone if he isn't known to the kind of people who like Kim Kardashian. When a celebrity crush, or fan-object, goes mainstream the way Colin Firth did, it exposes their flaws and makes him less desireable. I don't think people like woman actors in the same way, or if they did, it won't extend to the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, no matter how cool Ben and Kate was.

Honestly I bet he was thrilled to get the role. He's a struggling actor who works steadily in the UK. That doesn't pay much. This will be a giant step up for him financially and will put him in the rarefied Hollywood A-list at least, for awhile. And even if the movie is a Gigli-flop, that will be blamed on the material, not the actors. Worst-case scenario, he makes great connections and comes to the notice of casting people. And if he finds he really prefers doing tiny arthouse stuff, well, that's always open to him. Look at any of the Twilight people. Are any of them worse off than before? Even Robert Pattinson, who nmever misses a chance in interviews to go on and on about how he's really a scruffy rock musician and he doesn't care about fame and blah blah blah. And he's better off.

I'm trying to think of any actor with a solid critical reputation whose career was ruined by taking one bad role, no matter how powerful. Elizabeth Berkeley, as mentioned, but she was only known as a tweener TV star. Ben Affleck had to do a whole string of terrible movies before his image took a hit. I can't think of a single person. Especially not a man, and in general people are predisposed to think that all actors from outside the US are all Olivier to begin with.

I can sort of think of a few. Kevin Costner (The Postman), John Travolta (Battlefield Earth), Eddie Murphy (Pluto Nash), Demi Moore (Showgirls). I mean, these guys are still working, but it knocked them from the top and they're going to have to work their way back.

There are plenty of examples of guys cast in movies that were supposed to elevate their star, but the movie failed so badly that it stunted their career forever. Taylor Kitsch (John Carter, that Wolverine movie) and Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern) spring to mind. Lilly Collins is probably facing a similar future with Snow White and Mortal Instruments being her big breaks/higher profile efforts.

I mean, it will raise his profile, sure. We'll have to wait and see if that's a good thing or not. Often what happens is that people get tired of hearing about an actor before their career really goes anywhere.