50 Shades Author E L James Appears On The Katie Show

Posted on September 17, 2012 by 17FL

Shy and humble as ever, E L James sat down today with @katiecouric to discuss the cultural phenomenon she has launched.

Katie wore a greyt black leather dress and accessorized it with an adorable blush :)

The online casting poll the Katie show conducted was announced, with Ian Somerhalder edging out Matt Bomer for Christian and Alexis Bledel running away with the Ana votes.

Popular questions about a fourth book and casting were asked as expected, but the author is sticking to her “Never say never” answer about the fourth book and continuing to stay cautiously silent about casting.

Each audience member received a copy of the new @FiftyClassics album from EMI that features 15 tracks that inspired the author while writing and made their way into the books.

They also received a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey, and after the show, the author graciously stayed to greet audience members and sign their books.

Backstage, the author answered Twitter questions sent in by #FSoG fans. This is a greyt first question!

Q: Please ask E L James if she’d consider a small part in her movies like Stephen King does.

A: Well, I’ve actually written myself into the book, as I play a very tiny cameo roll. I might try and do that if I’m asked to. If not, I don’t know. We’ll see. I’d be interested to know if people can find me in the book. Very, very small cameo role.

Watch/listen to the rest of the Q&A here.

Was your question featured?

Do you know which character in the book represents the author?

Here are links to the videos from today’s show that comprise the interview in case you missed it.

There are more bits and pieces from today’s show, so be sure and stop by Katie’s official website here.

For more information on the Fifty Shades of Grey: The Classical Album, go here. The album is also available through iTunes here and Amazon here.

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

Posted on September 16, 2012 by kitt

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!

Fall Premiere Season: Will Your Favorite TV Show Be Influenced by 50 Shades?

Posted on September 9, 2012 by kitt

Fans of SOAPnet will recognize this promo from July and August that boasted ’50 Shades of Summer!’

Did the tease work?

More teases have surfaced over the past few weeks from some of our favorite television stars. Since Fifty Shades of Grey dominated our summer reading, we eagerly expect references to the book to pop up all over this Fall’s television lineup!

Actor Paulo Costanzo teased us about a scene in an upcoming episode of his hit show Royal Pains while talking about his directorial debut on the series.

“When I read that scene, I was really like, ‘Oh boy. We’ve never seen this side of her before.’ It gave me shivers. It was a little bit of 50 Shades of Grey. It’s a little bit dangerous and sensual with underlying sexuality and fear. [Reshma] nailed it.”

Jill Flint, Paulo Costanzo, Mark Feuerstein, Reshma Shetty

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David Boreanaz (Angel) teased us with a tweet showing us a picture of some various paraphenalia from the set of his show Bones.

August 31, 2012

David Boreanaz ‏@David_Boreanaz

Fifty shades of Bones on set today. Pain or pleasure?. #Bones8 http://say.ly/dbR44UJ

David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel

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Max Greenfield talked to Celebuzz about upcoming episodes for his show New Girl saying, “I haven’t read anything in any of those scripts about Fifty Shades of Grey, but I’m sure that it’s going to come up. If we were going to do it, we’d have to dedicate an entire episode to it and go all out. Slowly but surely, everyone in the apartment will be reading it. It will be like a sexual awakening!”

Max Greenfield, Jake Johnson, Zooey Deschanel, Lamorne Morris

***

We decided to ponder what other TV shows might be influenced by our summer reading.

Grey’s Anatomy: Working in the double meaning of ‘Grey’ is a definite no-brainer for the show! This show has always brought on the hot and steamy, but perhaps favorite couple McDreamy and Meredith will seek to spice up their marriage with the use of a few toys?
Hawaii Five-0: Many of you have suggested Alex O’Loughlin as a potential candidate for Christian Grey. Wouldn’t it be Greyt if his character had to go under cover as a Christian Grey-type for a sting operation? Well first, McGarrett and Danno would probably argue over who is the better man for the job.
Two Broke Girls: Hmmm…maybe a dream sequence where Max and Caroline each dream that they meet their very own Christian Grey-type but have to sign paperwork saying they will no longer be friends. One signs, and the other refuses. When they wake up, will they share with each other who signed on the dotted line?
Glee: What would Sue say? Inappropriately threaten the Cheerios with a spanking? Give a pep talk in which she assures students and teachers alike that she can handle pain better than any sub Christian Grey has ever had so bring it on? Or sing a song dressed in leather and taunting a riding crop? Whatever reference, we know Jane Lynch will deliver it perfectly as Sue!
Go On: This is Matthew Perry’s new show about a guy who is forced to go to group therapy. Not sure if there will be guest stars who attend the group, but if so, there’s bound to be a dark, brooding handsome man who shows up for group admitting he was seduced by his mother’s best friend when he was 15 years old into a life of a BDSM, right?
Family Guy and The Simpsons: Both of these shows thrive on pop culture, so we won’t be a bit surprised if references, though slightly twisted, are made! Marge might surprise Homer with a Yellow Room of Donuts!
Modern Family: It’s anyone’s guess how #50Shades will be worked in on this show or with which couple! That’s okay. Surprise us!
SNL: They had a great Mother’s Day Gift parody skit that even E L James thought was funny! Can they top it? We’re sure they’ll try this season.

And, of course, what we’re really hoping for are nods to the upcoming movie worked into the shows of fan favorites for Christian Grey – Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) and Matt Bomer (White Collar).

But as it stands now, the one television show we can definitely report will be chock full of #50Shades will be Katie Couric’s new talk show named simply, Katie, when Ms. James is her guest on September 17th. It’s not too early to set your DVRs!

If you want to take part in a 50 Shades poll for the show, go here.

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Where do you hope you’ll be viewing Fifty Shades of Grey’s influence on your TV this Fall?

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Before Fifty Shades: Characters We Now See as ‘Fiftyesque’

Posted on June 29, 2012 by kitt

Speculation about who will be cast in the main roles of Christian and Ana is ongoing and according to the author herself, it will be awhile.

Perhaps you have already voted in some online polls or narrowed your choices down to your top 3 picks for each character. Or, can you only see one actor in each role?

And just because we are Fifty Shades of Neutral here at FStM, it doesn’t mean that we don’t have opinions on the topic off the record. We’ve surprised each other by bringing up new potential candidates in our discussions over the past few weeks, some of which come from actors/actresses you have pointed out to us. We love getting new names thrown into the mix, names that aren’t already on everyone’s radar. Case in point:

But before we hear who ultimately gets the part of Christian Grey, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at actors who we can now see had Fiftyesque qualities, even if they didn’t necessarily have a playroom to explore their kinky side in… ;)

One of the great things about the Fifty Shades fandom is that there is no age bracket defining who is reading the books, so we went way back in hopes of appealing to a broader range of FSofG fans!

1942: Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she ~~trips~~ walks into mine.”

Rick Blaine was the well-dressed, successful business owner who we knew felt like he lost everything the day he watched the woman he loved walk out of his life.

1974: Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby

Mr. Gatsby was enigmatic, known for his expensive parties and riches but shielded his secrets.

1986: Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun

He was cocky, handsome, and played to win. He wanted the one woman he wasn’t supposed to have. He didn’t have a playroom, but he did have a Danger Zone, and we wanted to be in it with him.

1986 (great year!): Mickey Rourke as John in Nine 1/2 Weeks

Rich businessman. Dangerous seducer. Loved the control. Wanted to play games. Blindfolds. Need we say more?

1990: Richard Gere as Edward in Pretty Woman

Prematurely grey. Handsome. Started out as a no-nonsense, cut-throat executive. People always did as he said. But we knew he was tormented by his past, a hurt he tried to work through as he played the piano. Very Fiftyesque.

1992: Antonio Sabato, Jr. as Jagger Cates on GH

Perceived bad boy on a motorcycle, but the quiet, strong, tortured Jagger on General Hospital was a fan favorite. He rescued the girl he loved.

1994: George Clooney as Dr. Ross on ER

Now he was Fiftyesque: Confident, charming, charismatic, handsome, brooding with an insatiable sexual appetite and a penchant for breaking the rules. Despite this, in the end he was the beast that was tamed by the love and forgiveness of Nurse Hathaway.

1995: Brad Pitt as Tristan Ludlow in Legends of the Fall

A son and brother, fiercely protective of his family, tortured when he couldn’t keep them all safe. It took the love and patience of a woman willing to look deep into his soul before “he came into the quiet part of his life.”

2001: Ben Affleck as Capt. Rafe McCawley in Pearl Harbor

Yes, Captain! The old-fashioned love story in the first half of Pearl Harbor completely swept us off our feet and so did the mature, responsible, respectable character!

2003: Ed Burns as Jake Vig in Confidence

Smooth talking, tall, and convincing–perfect combination for everything he tried to get away with in his ‘profession.’

2003-2010: Julian McMahon as Dr. Christian Troy in Nip/Tuck

Sex addict.

He craved constant pleasure. Sexually adventurous to the point it almost always got him into trouble, but his forceful pushing…of the envelope, that is…was half the fun of watching that show!

Note: We wonder if the show’s creator Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story) ever considered giving Dr. Troy a playroom.

2005-2012: Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan in Criminal Minds

Protective, intelligent, and keeps a cool head. Fit to Fight. A history of losing his father and sexual abuse as a child altered his life but also drove him to succeed. Sexy takin’ down the bad guys!

We know we left so many others off of this post, but that’s where you come in! Take the opportunity to tell us in the comments what other characters you’ve loved over the years that resonate with our beloved Fifty.

Is there a movie or tv character you truly loved in the past that reading FSoG rekindled your love for? Have you rewatched the movie or show recently with new Fiftyesque eyes?

Remember, it’s not just the actor, but the traits of a character he played!

Note: Current fan favorites, such as Ian Somerhalder, Henry Cavill, Matt Bomer, Alexander Skarsgard, Alex Pettyfer, etc., were omitted for the purpose of this post. We agree that they all have their own Fiftyesque qualities :)

Fifty Shades Back In Hollywood!

Posted on June 13, 2012 by kitt

With author E L James and her agent, Valerie Hoskins (Valerie Hoskins Associates), back in the U.S. this week, we are anxiously awaiting news on the next step in the movie process, which will most likely be the selection of a producer.

In the meantime, like many of you, we have been following the tweets of writer/producer/director (American Psycho) Bret Easton Ellis since he first said the following:

Bret Easton Ellis‏@BretEastonEllis

I’m putting myself out there to write the movie adaptation of “Fifty Shades of Grey”…

…

We love to hear anyone in the industry expressing interest over the story! We thought this was particularly interesting because many fans have suggested Christian Bale would give a great portrayal of Christian Grey based on his performance as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

…

He went on to divulge in tweets that he had notified his team about making a pitch this week. The fan response seems to be divided, however, with some fans expressing that the screenplay should be written by a woman. There has been an outcry over the actors and actresses he voiced he could imagine in the roles of Christian and Ana, especially when he ruled out fan favorite Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries). He has since tweeted that he would be contacting Ian.

…

We here at FStM aren’t worried, though. We realize these were just his initial suggestions before a potential meeting with Ms. James, who we also know has her own picks in mind. (Information she is withholding even from her own mother!)

…

As always, we are confident Ms. James will make her final selection for a screenwriter based on who is willing to be true to her vision of the movie, just as she did when she chose Universal Pictures and Focus Features to award the movie rights to. Per this article with Deadline.com, Ms. Hoskins said the movie “needs to be classy, sexy rather than full of sex” and they are seeking people to work with who have an understanding that this is meant to be a collaborative effort.

…

So who would you like to see adapt the screenplay? Would you prefer a woman for the task?

…

Interested In Roles, But Have They Read The Books?

Posted on May 18, 2012 by kitt

A movie deal made literally on the heels of the Fifty Shades of Grey book series being published has generated a lot of buzz but has barely given already-busy actors/actresses a chance to keep up and read the story that will be coming to the big screen.

We’ve already talked about the first few actors (Ian Somerhalder, Chris Pine, William Levy) who openly spoke about it here. As we said previously, that was just the beginning. Since then, more actors/actresses haven’t been shy about tossing their grey ties and handcuffs into the ring when asked if they are interested in playing the characters of Christian and Ana.

Admittedly, he hasn’t read the books, but when Access Hollywood described the story and character of Christian Grey to Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood, Battleship) in an interview, he replied, “I was born to play that part.” (Source)

His costar in the upcoming movie Battleship, Taylor Kitsch (John Carter), was also asked about playing the role by Access Hollywood. He also admitted he has not read the books. However, it seems Fifty Shades of Grey is definitely on his radar because he stated he is asked about the books “almost daily.” (Source)

When Celebuzz asked Chris Hemsworth (Thor, SWATH, The Avengers) about the role of Christian, he announced, “I’m not going to say anything. I haven’t read the book!” He did say he had previously heard about the books, as he was present when his Avengers’ co-star Chris Evans (Captain America) was asked if he would like to play the role. (Source)

A fan asked Michael Welch (The Twilight Saga) via twitter if he was up for the role. He responded:

“@carol_leomil: @MichaelWelchAct Do you would like to play Christian Grey in the movie? =)” Sure, it’s gonna be gosling though.

(Note: If we were E L James, we would take the opportunity to audition ALL of the actors interested in playing Christian because what a glorious and surreal opportunity it would be to hear several different smexy actors saying the words you wrote!!!)

Potential Ana actresses are speaking out too!

Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries) was asked about the movie by @mtvnews, and she stated, “I haven’t read it.” She went on to say that she didn’t think she should star in it alongside her Vampire Diaries’ costar (and boyfriend) Ian Somerhalder concluding, “Either he should get it, or I should get it.” (Source) Sounds like she would be interested in playing Ana under the right circumstances though.

In an interview with Kristen Stewart (The Runaways, The Twilight Saga, SWATH), Celebuzz’s Taryn Ryder asked about the FSoG movie roles going to Kristen and her Twilight Saga co-star (and rumored boyfriend) Robert Pattinson because of the story’s basis in Twilight fanfiction, only to be answered with “I haven’t read the book yet.” She goes on to say she wants to work with Rob again but it would need to be something ‘ridiculously ambitious’.” (Source)

And finally, Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Client List) has only just begun reading the books but declared to Access Hollywood, “I wanna be Anastasia so badly.” (Source)

So exactly who in Hollywood IS reading the books?

Eva Longoria tweeted after she met E L James backstage at The View. Hopefully this means that if she didn’t have the books already, Eva left that day with three new signed books in hand to read! Could they have discussed a part for her?

Eva Longoria: Look who I met in the green room of the View! E.L. James author of Shades of Grey! Who is reading this? Or read it? http://say.ly/Esb3gUF

Allison Williams (Girls) told Access Hollywood that she is reading the books. When asked if she would be up for playing the part of Anastasia Steele with all that it entailed, she waivered but didn’t seem to completely rule it out. (Source)

Wendy Williams, Ryan Seacrest, and Julianne Hough have also publically said they are reading the books. Jennifer Grey tweeted a few references specific to the books. Others are poised to read the books, including Fran Drescher, who has the books on her Kindle, and MTV’s Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz), who tweeted he is in possession of the books for research purposes. You can read the complete article where he mentions FSoG here.

Have we heard from your favorite(s) yet? If not, let’s hope they have upcoming interviews with @AccessHollywood, @mtvnews, @ChristinaMTV and/or @Taryder with @CELEBUZZ because they are not shy about bringing up the topic!!! Thankfully!

It’s begun.

Posted on April 27, 2012 by kitt

We say that almost like we were waiting for an invasion…and we were. “Fifty Shades of Grey” has certainly invaded mainstream, but what we’ve been waiting for is a response out of Hollywood.

Fans have no problem offering up who they can envision in the role of Christian (and Ana), but we’ve been excited for actors to step up to the plate and declare an interest in the role.

Ian Somerhalder (Lost, The Vampire Diaries) was the first! He did so on Ryan Seacrest‘s radio show, letting us know he was interested in portraying Christian in the upcoming movie. You can watch the interview here (and let us know how to interpret his body language as he spoke).

Next, Access Hollywood asked Chris Pine (Star Trek) about the role. He replied, ”It’d be a hell of a choice for me, I think,” hopefully meaning he’d be up for it. You can read more here.