50 Shades Casting Recommendations

Another list of who should play which roles in the upcoming movie? Nah! We already know we can’t all agree on one choice. But maybe there are some elements to the casting recommendations we can agree on without mentioning any names.

Here are our top 7 casting recommendations:

1. Bring onboard actors that have actually read the books! A lot of actors keep talking about how they haven’t seen a script. There’s a reason for that – it hasn’t been written yet! So why not cast actors who have gone out of their way to read the books and made positive statements about wanting to be a part of the movies?

2. Think promo time – representation will be key! Some actors and actresses are just more comfortable talking about their roles and involvement with a movie than others. Some look at promo time as a chance to really reach out to the fans and say they are proud of the work and hope the fans will enjoy the movie, while others will show up because it’s in their contract, not that we’re mentioning any names.

3. Don’t bring anyone onboard who has a history of not playing nice with his or her costars.  We’ve all heard rumors of various stars not getting along on set over the years. And we’ll dance around a recent dispute between two male co-stars, but we’re not mentioning any names. Let’s save the drama for the story!

4. Bulk up the cast! If relative unknowns are found for the title roles, then support them with some really great well-known, seasoned actors. On the other hand, if major stars are cast in the lead roles, surround them with other recognizable stars, no matter what the cost! Bottom line: The fans have fallen hard for ALL the characters in this story and have envisioned ALL of the roles. We want to see the characters cohesively all come to life and tell their stories.

5. Cast at least some of the actors/actresses against type! Sure it’s easy to identify some of the book characters with other characters we’ve known who have similar qualities, but casting based on that may overlook the talent of various actors/actresses. When it comes to this movie, we are sure all involved will go out of their way to rise to the occasion (no pun intended – maybe).

For instance, perhaps an actor who has previously played a beloved superhero should play Jack Hyde, not that we’re mentioning any names.

And maybe Elena could be played by an actress who is best known for a late ’80s movie in which her character was a lot like Ana – a naive, young woman who was taken with the handsome yet tormented dancing instructor, but we aren’t mentioning any names.

6. Let’s look at the movies as a long-term franchise and be sure we have actors and actresses who are committed to the entire project. Continuity in a franchise means so much! So much is being invested into casting that we’d hate to see stars be replaced in upcoming movies because the original actor decided to walk away from the role, but we’re not mentioning any names.

7. So you think you can act, singer? You know how there are popular singers that decide they would like to try out acting? More power to them, but not all of these crossroadsovers are successful; and because this will be more than one film, let’s agree to gainfully employ actors and actresses who aren’t just testing the waters from their popular music career.

Do you have any casting recommendations for TeamFifty, without mentioning any names?

The 50 Shades Cure for End-of-Summer Blues!

Have the end-of-summer blahs set in yet? It’s inevitable. After all, summers are usually Greyt, but this summer was even better because Fifty heated things up! Well, summer may be over but with so much Fifty everywhere, we don’t expect the discussion of all things #50Shades to cool off! So there’s no reason to feel blue…only Grey!

RECAPS & UPDATES

  • Limited Edition Hardback Set Available in UK – Order via AmazonUK (here). We’ve been told there are plans for the set to be released in the States soon, so we’ll keep you updated. You can also look forward to a chance to win an autographed set, as tweeted by the author. We’re also excited about her new website coming soon!
    E L James ‏@E_L_James
    @osieperez @50ShadesMontage I will do a competition when I launch my new website… not sure when that will be though – so keep an eye!

  • Fifty Shades of Grey: The Classical Album Released – For more information, go here.

  • E L James’s Husband Niall Leonard’s Promotes New Young Adult Book Crusher – He did interviews with Today show here and CNN here and wrote a “day in the life” style article for the Huffington Post here.

  • FSoG Inspired Fashion Week – A lot of black and leather was seen from designers Lubov and Max Azria! Check it out here.

  • Web Video BOOKD: 50 Shades of Grey Episode (@radical.media) – We were asked to be a part of this episode, but due to logistics and timing, it just didn’t work out. But Crissy from the fansite Laters, Baby! makes an appearance :) Watch it here.
  • FSoG Parody Song Developments! Chris Ward dropped in to let us know his FSoG parody song has been getting radio air time in Ireland! Congratulations, Chris! You can leave him a comment/review on his Amazon page by clicking here.
  • @50ShadesofGrey Parody Becomes Book – This very fun(ny) parody Twitter account has 80,000+ followers and is even retweeted by the author. For more information on the book, go here.
  • FSoG Illustrations – WOW! Beautiful illustrations from The Stir depicting “scenes” from the books here. We highly recommend taking a look at these, especially if you enjoy graphic novels. Let us know if you were ‘pulled’ right into the books by these like we were!

  • Emma Watson Asked About Ana Rumors – While promoting her new film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, she admitted she still hasn’t read the books but thinks being considered for any role by fans is “flattering.” In a much more informal situation, she was on a plane with her Perks co-star Nina Dobrev (Elena on the Vampire Diaries and girlfriend of Ian Somerhalder), and the two did an on-air interview with Ryan Seacrest. He asked if Emma was going to play Anastasia Steele, as per the rumors of her being paired with Ryan Gosling as Christian Grey. Nina, helming the phone, relayed, “She [Emma] would be FAR more interested if he were playing Christian Grey.” Isn’t it nice to hear when stars are fans of another star? You can hear the full on-air interview here.

  • Ryan Gosling Asked About Christian Rumors – While promoting his new movie The Place Beyond the Pines at TIFF, @IamBenLyons for @extratv asked, “Any chance of Fifty Shades of Grey? Everybody wants to know.” Ryan’s response as he walked away was, “I haven’t… What is this book everyone’s talking about? Seems very popular.” You can watch the video here. That was not a direct answer from someone who is usually very quick-witted. Let’s respond appropriately, shall we?

From: 50 Shades Movie Fansite

Subject: Evasive Red Carpet Tactics

Date: September 16, 2012 5:17 PM EST

To: Ryan Gosling, Actor/Director and potential Mr. Grey

Sir,

Congratulations on your new film, The Place Beyond the Pines, which was picked up by Fifty Shades franchise distributors Focus Features during TIFF. We wish you much success with that project, as well as your upcoming directorial debut with How To Catch A Monster. However, we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that we felt your answer to Mr. Lyons’ question about Fifty Shades of Grey was a bit evasive, coy, and almost like you were hiding something (all ESSENTIAL QUALITIES of Christian Grey.)

Perhaps you’ve had to sign some paperwork on the topic, one of those NDAs? If so, well played, and we do understand about these things. Next time, just give us a wink or “oh-so-secret smile.”

50 Shades Move Fansite xoxo

  • Author to Appear on Katie! Yes, we’ve mentioned it before, but we are just so excited for this! Tune into Katie! on Monday, September 17th! The @katieshow airs M-F at 3pm ET on ABC.
  • Ms. James has begun her second US book tour! Dates and locations are listed at the top of our blog or you can find them here.

Summer might be over and the weather cooling, but #50Shades fans can count on topics related to the books and information about the movie to continue to be a sizzling-hot topic!