Although 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation was divisive, the movie version of EL James’s bestselling novel could have been much weirder. Originally written as Twilight fan fiction, the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy became a publishing sensation in 2011. The erotic romance trilogy followed Ana Steele, an inexperienced student, as she embarked on a steamy affair with her brooding billionaire boss, Christian Grey. Fifty Shades of Grey’s movie adaptations weren’t quite as explicit as the source novel series, but they still courted controversy when the movies landed on cinema screens. Fifty Shades of Grey was released in 2015.
The adaptation was a huge hit, earning $569 million at the box office and spawning two sequels. For all the differences between the Fifty Shades of Grey books and their movie adaptations, the trilogy continued to fare well at the box office when Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed were released in 2017 and 2018 respectively. However, the Fifty Shades of Grey movies weren’t as well received among critics. All three movies were lambasted for their awkward acting, predictable plotting, and lack of crucial sex appeal. This may have been saved, or worsened, by a different screenwriter.
American Psycho Author Bret Easton Ellis Campaigned To Adapt Fifty Shades of Grey
The Controversial Author Tweeted About His Plans For A Movie
As surprising as it might sound, American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis pitched a take on the Fifty Shades of Grey screenplay when the movie adaptation was first announced. While the author is better known as a novelist than a screenwriter, the BBC reported that Bret Easton Ellis took to Twitter to campaign for the gig. Since then, Ellis has written screenplays for The Curse of Downer’s Grove and Smiley Face Killers. At the time, he had only scripted The Canyons and co-written a 2008 adaptation of his short story collection The Informers. Eventually, screenwriter Kelly Marcel scripted the adaptation instead.
Marcel was best known for 2013’s PL Travers biopic Saving Mr. Banks, meaning the franchise’s producers went with a much safer option than Ellis. The controversy surrounding the Fifty Shades of Grey books may have resulted in the filmmakers actively avoiding an author like Ellis as his work has frequently been censored and challenged due to its explicit content. While there is no doubt that Ellis’s take on the trilogy would have been wilder than the anodyne adaptation that viewers got, the author’s ideas for casting the project were surprisingly on point and prove his vision may have worked out.
Bret Easton Ellis’s Teased Fifty Shades of Grey Casting Was Surprisingly Great
The Writer Wanted Alexander Skarsgård and Kirsten Stewart For The Adaptation
Before The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Ellis was out of the running, the author proposed a few casting ideas for his adaption of the novel. Ellis wanted Kristen Stewart as Ana and Alexander Skarsgård for the role of Christian Grey, both of which were ingenious. Stewart’s Twilight connection could have been great, while Skarsgård is a perfect fit for the mercurial, sexy, aloof Grey. Alternatively, Ellis proposed Ryan Gosling and Scarlett Johansson. In the process, the author of American Psycho proved that his version of Fifty Shades of Grey may have been hotter, weirder, and better than what viewers got
